The Kaziows

Showing posts with label Hippie. Show all posts

Tips for Caring for Cast Iron

Friday, December 5, 2014

I feel like because I'm a Southern Girl (yeah, I'm capitalizing it!) I should have learned to care for my cast iron skillet in my grandma's tiny country kitchen or while learning to cook beside my mama. Cooking in cast iron is pretty common just about everywhere, but it's almost sacrilegious to cook any other way in the South.

So why don't I know how to take care of my skillet? Well, my mama is notoriously impatient, especially in the kitchen - so she never taught me to cook - and I was one of the youngest of about a bazillion grandkids and more often that not was swatted on the behind while running to the back door as I was told "if you don't get out of this house this instant...." There was no need for my grandma to finish the threat; I knew whatever would happen if I didn't go and play was not going to be pleasant... and, frankly, my imagination was probably more effective than anything my wonderful grandma would have ever done to me. Most likely I would have been put on dishes duty, which would have solved my current dilemma.

Back to the cast iron. I didn't learn to cook until after I got married and only got my first cast iron skillet last year. So I'm a bit behind the curve here.

Available from Amazon.

I always thought you couldn't wash an iron skillet with soap because you don't want to strip that precious seasoning, so for the past year I've been scrubbing it with Epsom salt and re-seasoning it regularly in the oven.

But I was still having problems with my skillet. Food would stick and aren't these skillets supposed to be non stick? And my skillet wasn't smooth and shiny, what's up with that? Every cast iron skillet I've ever seen has been a gorgeous shiny black and just as smooth as can be.

Then I found this article on The Truth About Cast Iron. Yay! You mean I CAN use soap to scrub off that burnt on food?! Oh my goodness, I see the light!

I don't know if anything in that article is true or good for my skillet, but I've been using a couple of their tips, specifically warming it up by rotating it and trying to make sure my food (eggs or meat or fish, especially) are room temp before dropping them in, and I've been having better luck. I have washed it with soap a couple of times (making sure to warm and reseason it afterwards, of course) and was actually able to fry an egg in it yesterday. Today I'm going to try to cook fish fillets. We'll see how it goes.

I really want this relationship with my cast iron skillet to work out. If I can cook things in it and keep it looking good, my plan is to ask Mike for one of these bad boys:

Check it out at Le Creuset's website here.

I don't feel like I'm good enough in the kitchen yet to deserve something so beautiful, but I'm working towards it. Maybe next year.

Also Available at Amazon.

In the meantime, talk it up in the comments! What are your tips & tricks for keeping your cast iron all sparkly and beautiful? Do you love it better than Teflon-coated or stainless steel? What's your favorite cookware? Let us know!

Know someone new to the cast iron club? Don't forget, sharing is caring!

(Now I'm off to trick my husband into reading this!)

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclaimer here.

Yummy Flourless Mini-Muffins

Thursday, November 13, 2014

I had Monday mostly to myself with no real plans to speak of. I cleaned a little, took a bubble bath (it's a hard life, right?) and then I made these:

They consist of an egg, some peanut butter, and a banana. And, of course, chocolate chips. We mustn't forget the chocolate chips.

And, boy are they delicious!

So simple to make and I can pretend they are sort of healthy ... or at least not terribly unhealthy.

Aaannnddd since mine is the house where bananas go to die, I needed something to do with those extra ripe bananas besides freezing them for banana bread or smoothies. Fortunately for me, you can't really taste them in this recipe because I'm not a banana fan. I only eat them because they are packed with nutrients.

Enter this recipe from Averie Cooks. It really was as simple as she said and just as tasty as she claims.

If you're interested in other gluten free goodies, check out my gluten free Pinterest board. I'm always looking for more tasty recipes to try and I'm going to try to share more of my experiments here, but please keep in mind that I'm no kitchen queen.

In spite of that, I was easily able to make these mini muffins. I hate baking in my German oven - I still haven't worked out how to use it properly and most things burn - but these were easy peasy.

I followed her directions almost exactly except that I didn't have any vanilla extract on hand (what?!? how did that happen?) and I had to bake them a little longer than her recipe called for (again with the weird oven I don't know how to use properly).

This will be a go-to recipe for us. Good for quick breakfasts or sweet treats and easy to pop into a ziplock bag for road trip snacks.

Oh, and did I mention that they are under 100 calories each? I don't usually count calories but that caught your attention, didn't it? Now, go on over to Averie Cooks and try this recipe! You won't be sorry.

Is Norwex Really Better?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

A few years ago, a friend from our very first Air Force assignment mentioned Norwex to me. (Hi, Julia!) I had been complaining about washing my windows and how they are always streaky and I just hate doing it. Can you feel me on this? Does anyone enjoy cleaning windows?

After she mentioned it, I checked out her sales page and thought, "well, that's interesting. Maybe I'll give it a try when we move."

Then I promptly forgot about it.

Fast forward two years, or maybe three - I can't remember for sure, and a different friend in my neighborhood was moving out and had a box of cleaning stuff she asked if I would take. It was kismet that I said yes to this random box of cleaners because I clean almost my whole house with vinegar and baking soda. I hate using chemicals and won't unless I feel there is no other option. Lo and behold, she had two brand new Norwex cloths in the box. I asked if she knew those were in there and she laughingly said,

"I love the idea of healthier, eco-friendly cleaning; I really do.

I just keep going back to the stuff I'm used to using. I've never even tried them."

Hmmm. Yeah, I fall into the same habits day in and day out, too. But now I have these brand spanking new Norwex cloths and why not give it a shot? What's the worst that can happen, right?

These.Things.Are.Awesome.

I was hooked immediately and can I tell you how much cleaner my house is on a regular basis now? Typically, my house gets messy but it's never actually very dirty so it's not like these cloths have worked miracles or anything but they are so easy to use and do such a good job in every room and on every surface that I will definitely be ordering a couple more.

And that window cloth? For the first time in my adult life, I have streak free windows. Regularly. I can wipe my windows once a week or every other week and it's done. I did have a bit of a learning curve here, but what works for me is to use the multi purpose cloth slightly wet and follow it with the purple glass cloth dry to shine and polish. I think the real key might be to not get the window cloth too wet before using, though.

You want to know about time, don't you? Besides going through an entire roll of paper towels, I used to spend several hours washing all of our windows. It was pretty much an all day job... so it didn't get done very often. Now? I can do all of the windows on all three floors of my home in about an hour. If I'm just focusing on our main floor, I can do that in about 15 or 20 minutes. That's washing the inside AND the outside. (For reference, my living room has 2 big double windows, my dining room has 2 sets of French doors. I have a double window in my kitchen - this one takes the longest because it's hard to reach - and one medium sized window in my half-bath. The front door is frosted glass and beside it is another window the same size as the door.)

It really is that fast. The lazy girl in me loves that; I would much rather read a book than clean windows. I'm not spraying gross chemicals and breathing them in or absorbing them through my skin. I'm not generating an entire garbage bag full of waste. The hippie in me loves both of those things.

I use the multi purpose cloth everywhere else. I dust with it, wipe the table, clean the sinks and bathroom shelves. I even wipe down the tile walls in the bathroom. It is antibacterial, but I don't use it too often on the kitchen counters. I would really like a separate cloth for that, but I do use it to wipe down my cabinets, refrigerator, and dishwasher. Oh! I almost forgot doors and trim work! A couple of swipes and those sticky little hand prints are gone! No scrubbing, no harsh cleaners. No ruined manicures.

You read that correctly - it cleans everything and leaves nail polish perfectly intact.

It really is amazing.

When I first got them, I thought there would be nothing special about these cloths. They're just microfiber squares with a finished edge so they don't unravel. I didn't truly think they would be any different from any other microfiber dish cloth you can pick up at the supermarket. So I did just that - I bought a 4-pack of what looked like higher quality microfiber cloths and came home and cleaned with them.

There is such a difference. A huge difference. I don't know if it's the weave or if it has to do with the silver that the Norwex cloths are charged with, but the Norwex works infinitely better. After seeing the differences, I hate the other cloths I bought and never use them but since I spent $10 on them, I feel like I can't toss them just yet.

So that's my Norwex spiel. I don't sell it and I get no commission if you decide to try it. I just wanted to share my experience because these two little strips of fabric have made my life so much easier. I feel like I am one HUGE step closer to being the domestic goddess I want to be.

I have so much fun cleaning with these that I usually put on a cute apron while I'm using them even though there is nothing to get my clothes dirty. I'm just silly like that.

I plan to buy at least 2 more cloths - one for the kitchen and one to keep in our main bathroom - and I really want to try their mop. Maybe Santa will bring me one for Christmas.

If you want to give it a try, here's the link to my friend Julia's store. Or you can go to the main Norwex page to find a consultant in your area. They would maybe have some products you could see in action. This link connects to the two products I have and use.

If you use Norwex or try it out, let me know what products you love and how you use them to make your life easier and cleaner and healthier. I'd love to hear back from you.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

It's impossible not to know it's fall. Even if you didn't look at the calendar yesterday - like yours truly - or the leaves in your area aren't turning - not like yours truly; Germany does fall really well - I'm guessing your Facebook or Instagram feeds were hoppin' with pictures of pumpkin spice lattes, boots and scarves. Mine were.

Side note about pumpkin spice lattes - they are good enough and I know people love them but what I'm super stoked about is the caramel apple spiced cider. It's my absolute favorite. Some people are all about the pumpkins; this girl is all about the apples. One of the baristas at my local Starbucks messed up last year and made it with cinnamon instead of caramel, and letmetellya - that was one delicious drink, too!

Lots of resources for natural cold remedies

Oh, how I love apples...

But back to the original topic - fall. I hope you all had a great first day of fall. I woke up with my first cold of the season. As beautiful as I think this time of year is, I am just not built for cold weather. So I spent the day cuddling under my favorite blanket and looking up natural cold remedies. And, hey, sharing is caring, right?

A few years ago I started using this honey & cinnamon syrup the moment I start feeling a cold coming on. I made a big(ish) container of it yesterday and will keep some in the fridge for the rest of the winter. If you want a little extra immune boost, you can add some organic apple cider vinegar to the mix (I use Braggs, but I think anything with the mother would work). Also, I don't think the proportions matter much; I just eyeball it. Every time my nose or throat tickles, I take a spoonful. It can also be mixed into tea or if you use the ACV, just mix some with hot water - that feels amazing on sore throats. And, yes, I do actually feel quite a bit better today. (:

A friend who lives here made this elderberry syrup and you can read about how much her kids love it here. Annnddd she has a great source for elderberries in case you can't get them locally. This recipe is next on my list; I just have to get the elderberries.

I found this Golden Milk Recipe that uses turmeric, ginger and coconut milk and doesn't that sound amazing? This might just be my bedtime treat tonight since I have everything already in the kitchen. And as soon as I get some cute little jars, I'm totally trying these honey infusions. They are pretty similar to what I'm doing with the honey & cinnamon syrup, but with the addition of heat and variety of other flavors.

I am also really interested in trying kombucha since it's probiotic benefits would be immune building, but, frankly, the process to make it seems rather involved and I have a lot going on from now until the end of the year. I think this project will have to wait until after we've moved. I've seen kombucha in supermarkets but I've heard it's not as potent as a health drink. Thoughts, anyone?

So that's my life today - curled up under a blanket with cozy socks on drinking what Mike calls my "weird hippie vinegar drink." I have borscht simmering on the stove and if I continue to feel better, I might go to the market and grab a few things to make chicken and dumplins tomorrow. We all know the benefits of bone broth, right? And the dumplins - those are just comfort food. ;)

Hopefully after a couple of days of nutrient rich soups and some of mother nature's finest cold remedies, I'll be ready for the weekend... and a trip to Starbucks for an apple cider!

I hope your fall started off healthier than mine did, but I'm curious - do you have any magic remedies to share?

He Loves Me!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Some girls get jewelry.

Or shoes.

Or Coach or Michael Kors purses.

Yesterday I got this:

Easy to fold down, easy to open, easy to store during bad weather. And just look at all of that drying space! This baby is awesome!

And a HUGE upgrade over what we had been using. <-- That's an affiliate link to something pretty darn close to what I have been using for the past two and a half years. And, you know, it's done it's job really well and stores easily. I can't complain about it but I was ready for something more.

Sigh.
He loves me. He really, really loves me.

I just can't stop smiling.

I might go wash some clean clothes just so I can use it.

Home Sweet Home

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I love to travel. That probably goes without saying, right? But you know what else I love?

Coming home.

I love my house. I don't own it, but it's definitely mine - at least for a little while. Military spouses generally fall into 2 camps: the first are just moving through. They don't really decorate or move in and get comfortable in their community. Maybe they don't even build good friendships. That's sad to me, but I've been there, too. Sometimes it just hurts too much to say goodbye and start over again. The second camp knows that home is what we make of it; home is where we are at the moment. We might be here only a year or two, but for now we can make this a home. We don't just live in this house - WE.LIVE.IN.THIS.HOUSE.

We yell and fight here.

We love and hug and kiss here.

We laugh here. A lot.

This past weekend we went to Amsterdam and of course I came home with treasures. The town we stayed in was having a community yard sale for Koningsdag 2014 (King's Day for you non-dutch speakers) so I'm really not to blame for my lovely new ... vases? Sure, we'll call them vases even though they will never hold flowers. ~~I'm just lucky~~ Mike's just lucky I got out of there with only a couple of things. It helps that we were rolling in a convertible and it had less than zero trunk space!

Now for the past ~~three~~ ~~four~~ five days (yes, it took me 2 extra days just to take a picture of them and finish this post- I'm the worst) I've been trying to find them a home in my home. We're working on our issues and I haven't found their sweet spot just yet. I have noticed, though, how very different my house is from where we started out.

When Mike and I got married, I had all the plans. All of them, I tell you. I bought real furniture (vs. temporary furniture that doesn't make it past a move or two) with goals in mind. I knew I couldn't afford the dream home in my head, but I bought pieces I thought would give me time to build that dream. For the record, that dream was all clean cut lines and warm woods and slightly over-sized pieces. I was all about a Tuscan color scheme - all of those rich earthy colors that make every room so warm and cozy. Then it morphed into what I lovingly call "coffee shop couture." Somewhere along the way- in Texas or Florida, I think- I moved more towards blues and browns and bronzes. Still earthy'ish but different from where I had been. Everything matched. It all flowed from room to room with a nice cohesiveness that perhaps I needed then. I upgraded some of our wall art and accessories and I thought it was really coming together. I almost felt like a grown up.

If you had told newlywed me (or even 30 year old me) that one day I would live in an eclectic German cottage with random pieces from yard sales mixed with Ikea furniture and curtains I painted myself (and did a really poor job with, if I'm being honest) and some of that original furniture (it really has held up well) and the world's most comfortable leather chair that we picked up beside a dumpster, I would have laughed you under the table. I read all of the home decorating magazines and perused all of the best websites and I was a girl with plans.

But you know what? I'm happy with my home. I like being here. It's a comfortable space and it has good energy. It's welcoming and warm and full of colors I never expected. I have an orange-red ceramic picture frame I love that I would never have bought 10 years ago. And Stoner Dave, our buddha from the Target clearance aisle - he's pretty awesome. I just don't want to pigeon hole my space right now. Maybe this is another phase for me, but right now I have no plans for our decor. I'm just letting it morph into whatever it wants to be. I'm letting go of that control and it feels so good.

Perfection really is overrated. Or misunderstood, I'm not sure which.

It's Fall, y'all!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Or Autumn, depending on where you're from. The Harvest Moon has just passed. The hay is being rolled in. The horses near our village are enjoying the weather- if their romping in the fields is anything to judge by.

This would be a great time for a horseback ride... I'll have to mention that to the mister.

I love fall. Do you? The crispy weather, the leaves changing colors and crunching under your feet. The chilly breezes resulting in pink cheeks. The shoes. The boots. The jackets. The scarves.

I currently have my eye on a G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S emerald green vest that I just think I have to have. The mister disagrees.

The mums decorating my patio. The sunflowers in my window. Pumpkins and gourds and squash everywhere.

So while everyone is getting excited about pumpkin everything- pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup- I'm kind of lamenting the end of summer. Yes, of course I'm excited about fall- this is probably my second favorite time of year and my absolute favorite time to buy clothes, but I'm going to miss fruit. Perhaps I should get excited about apple everything- apple cider, apple crisp, apple pie... what else can I work apples into?

Specifically, I'm going to miss strawberries. I paid over $10 last week for two small pints of fresh strawberries because I realized it was likely the last time I'd be able to get them for a while. I do love strawberries. And watermelon- another summer time goodie. (I was really spoiled in Florida where we could have those things pretty much any time we wanted.)

The problem with buying so many strawberries is that we can't eat them all before they go bad, so I decided to try making a Strawberry Vinaigrette. I've been making our own salad dressings for a while now and I rather enjoy the process and I feel like they must be healthier for us. They are fresher, at least.

And, yes, I store my dressings in used Snapple bottles or sometimes used Coconut Oil jars. I find that either one is the perfect size and I don't have to buy anything new. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, man!

Overall, the process is pretty simple:

Set up the blender
Add Strawberries, chopped up
Add EVOO, Apple Cider Vinegar, a splash of Lemon Juice, and honey if you want
Add herbs, salt, and pepper
Blend to your hearts content
Taste, adjust, blend
Repeat #6 as necessary

If you're a recipe person, here are a couple to try out:

I worked mostly from the recipe from The Gracious Pantry, but I tweaked it a little, adding some tarragon and a dash of fennel seeds. I used a bit more ACV, too, because I like the vinegary bite it adds. And I didn't measure anything as I was going along. I think next time I'm going to try it with balsamic vinegar. I love drizzling it over fresh strawberries and eating them that way - so decadent! - so I'm pretty excited about that.

So I guess my pink days are over for a while and now I'm moving on to orange. I'd like to try a pumpkin soup this year and a butternut squash soup. Mmmm.... soup....

What are your favorite parts of fall? Is it the clothes? The Christmas Shopping? The fact that the kids are back in school? Or do you spend your days savoring the last little bits of sunshine before winter sets in? (Around here winter can be rather gloomy.) And if you have any yummy dressing recipes you like, please share away! I love trying new things!

Book Crush #1

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You

What a great reference if you're trying to eliminate as many chemicals as you can while still living a perfectly normal life!

Did you know:

"The average personal care product contains around 126 ingredients. The government doesn't require pre-market safety testing on any of them." (page 45)

"[Tear-Free Baby Products] contain a special mix of toxic chemicals that work by numbing your baby's eyes so she can't feel all the other harsh chemicals stinging!" (page 43)

"In the past 35 years, the EPA has restricted only 5 toxic substances and the FDA has banned 11. Meanwhile, the European Union has banned more than 1,100 chemicals that it considers unsafe in personal care products alone." (page xvi)

If any of that sounds interesting or disturbing to you, you'll probably like this book. She does a great job of presenting complicated information in a very usable format. And even better: she keeps it real- she points out that she cheats, too, and that it would be impossible to live 100% nontoxic. I like that. It's all about making changes where you can when you're able to. It's about doing the best you can in the moment.

I feel like I should mention that she does promote her own products (have you checked out The Honest Company yet? Ah-mazing!) but it doesn't bother me. She and her team have done a lot of research (so that I don't have to - yay!) and put in a lot of time to develop a safe and effective line of products we can be confident in using. Why shouldn't she promote her hard work? She does promote other brands, too, and gives recipes for natural home made options as well.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I've been reading this series for years because I never want it to end. Never ever ever. I'm really not sure I want to live in a world where Jamie Fraser doesn't exist and I know he cannot live forever. If you're an avid reader you probably understand my attachment to a completely fictional character. I don't want to read the pages where he dies. I'm getting very nervous because I'm dancing closer and closer to the end. The book after Echo is set to be released in March 2014.

It actually might be a few years before I can read the next installment, Written in My Own Heart's Blood, until I know if there will be another one after it.

If you haven't read this series, it starts with Outlander. I always like to read a series in order, but I especially recommend it with this one. There is an intricate web woven through these stories and you won't want to miss a bit of it.

Media Mention: Snatch. One of Guy Ritchie's best.

Don't like to read? That's ok! (Actually it makes me a little sad for you, but hey! To each his own.) I admit this movie definitely isn't for everyone, but it's one of my favorites. It's violent and vulgar and culturally offensive. I think it's hilarious. Sound good? Want an added layer of enjoyment? Turn on the "Piker Subtitles" so you can understand what Brad Pitt is saying. A special shout-out to my cousin, Josh, for that tip! Thanks for that suggestion! It was awesome! Jolly good time!

We Recycle, Yes We Do! We Recycle, Do You?

Friday, August 2, 2013

I recently had a funny Facebook conversation with a fantastic cousin-in-law turned friend where she poked fun at Mike & me for driving a Land Rover. Why do we hate Nature? she asked.

screeeeeeeeeching halt. full stop.

Oh, my. It's funny how sometimes you see yourself very differently from how others view you, isn't it? I wouldn't consider myself a full on hemp-wearing, bathing-in-streams hippie but I love the term Conveniently Crunchy (a friend from my college days coined it and I think it fits my lifestyle pretty perfectly).

I try to make changes where they make sense for us. I love to hang my laundry to dry, except for towels, that is; they still go in the dryer because I like them to be fluffy. I shop at farmers markets for fresh produce- it tackles being outside, eating healthier and reconnecting to my food source all at the same time. Triple Score! I clean most of my house with vinegar and baking soda and I cut down on chemicals where I can. I use coconut oil as a moisturizer (more on the wonders of coconut oil in a later post! Or if you're dying to know right now, our good friend Google can help you out). I'm trying to grow some of my own food but that has not worked out yet.

Also, we recycle. A lot. And not just because Germany requires us to.

Garbage day on our street. I've only had to prop my black garbage open like that once.

When we first moved to Germany, this is what I had to say about their recycling program:

"Recycling. I believe in recycling; I really do. I wasn't so great at it at Luke's house, but normally I'm all for saving the planet. Here it's a requirement. It breaks down like this (I think): normal paper and cardboard in the blue bin, plastics/waxy paper/metal/food containers in the yellow bags.

Compost in the brown can (or the compost pile in the backyard, but I haven't figured that out yet).
Residual garbage in the black can. Sounds easy, right?

I've spent more time trying to figure it out than should be required for any reasonably intelligent person. It's helped now that I have multiple garbage cans and am color coding them with electrical tape.

Add to it all that garbage day is Tuesday, but they don't pick up all types of garbage on every Tuesday. There's a very convoluted rotation that I haven't mastered yet. And you can't overfill the black bin or you're assessed a fee. You can purchase red bags to avoid the fee, but I don't know what you can put in them or where to buy them or when they would be picked up or if I should take them somewhere, so we don't have red bags. Also, plastic bottles bought on base are recycled with yellow bag garbage but plastic bottles bought on the economy are taken to the place in town to be recycled but they must have the caps on.

Don't get me started on glass.
We're supposed to do something special with glass, but I have no idea what it is."

If you're new to Germany and stopped by this blog randomly, have hope! You will figure this out! It's really not so hard once you get used to it and find a system to help you organize your garbage.

Here's what I know now and how I make it work:

In my kitchen I have 3 garbage cans:

The black tape is for true garbage- I rarely have very much of this, it's really just cooked leftovers and a few paper towels, which I'm considering getting rid of in favor of having more reusable cloths.
The yellow tape is for anything that is recyclable- and around here, that's pretty much everything. Plastics, metals, styrofoam- anything you think might recycle goes here. You can rinse your food containers if you like (and it's recommended, especially in the summer or if you have animals who will open your bags); sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.
There is also a small garbage can under the sink for raw foods waste (peelings or apple cores, that kind of thing)- this garbage goes into the brown bin outside or to the compost pile. I don't really use this garbage can because I don't like cleaning it. I find it easier to just take the waste outside right away so it doesn't get smelly. I generally use the Rachael Ray trick of putting my raw garbage in a big bowl while I'm prepping and cooking dinner. Then I can just empty it and wash it with no worries and no smell.

Pretty boring, right? Simple works best for us.

A quick dissection of this picture, should you require it: These are 2 very simple garbage cans. I didn't realize when I bought them that the one of the left (for true garbage) would be WAY too big for what I need it for. I could easily do with a small 8 gallon can for garbage. I really should see about getting a new one. 13 gallons works pretty well for me for recyclables (on the right). And that's the door to my dining room they are sitting in front of. If I didn't keep it closed I would have nowhere for my garbage cans to sit - my kitchen is THAT tiny. I'll post a home tour one of these days so you can see. It's comical. (:

The Publix reusable shopping bag hanging on the door is currently Mike's lunchbox. He doesn't care what he carries his food in as long as it's convenient. (I just like that he is eating healthy home cooked food instead of ordering out all of the time.) The other green bag hanging on the left holds my reusable shopping bags and the one sitting on the floor (you can barely see the corner by the watermelon) usually has either glass or plastic bottles in it, or sometimes both.

Outside we have 3 big bins:

The Black Bin: for regular kitchen garbage. One really cool thing about the German system is that instead of paying a flat rate for garbage pick up, you pay according to the number of people in your household and the size bin you need. That's awesome for Mike and me because we've never exceeded our limit in the smallest size bin. On the other hand, if you have 17 kids, well... you pay more. I'm sure some people don't like it, but it seems fair to me. If you DO exceed your limit, there are special bags you can buy for around 3 euro or so and that cost includes the cost for pick up as well, which is nice. I see them sometimes on the streets around holidays but we've never needed one. We've never come close to filling up our Black Bin except on weeks when we forget to put it out for pick up. With 4 weeks between pick ups, we do come close to filling it up. "Full" would be approximately two 13 gallon garbage bags full. Maybe you could squeeze 3 bags in there.
The Brown Bin: this is for anything "composty." Yard clippings, uncooked food. If you'd toss it into a compost pile, it can also go here. We do fill this one up frequently, especially in the summertime. If you fill up the Brown Bin and still have stuff to get rid of (maybe you trimmed back all of your hedges) there are places on the outskirts of most villages to dump yard waste. At Christmas time Mike and I go to these spots to get greenery cuttings to decorate with.
The Blue Bin: Our Blue Bin is huge and it's for paper. I'm still unsure if magazines can go in there so sometimes I toss them in and other times I put them in yellow bags. I'm moving away from magazine purchases, though - yay for Pinterest!- so this is becoming less of a conundrum.

The yellow bags we just store in the garage until garbage day and then set them on the street. They will pick up as many yellow bags as we set out. And yellow bags ("gelbsacs") are free from the Rathaus (City Hall).

We also have a composter in the very back of our yard, but I am still unsure how to use it so I mostly don't. I've bought a couple of books and will learn more about that. It's definitely something I want to try.

So that's pretty much it for the way they do things around here. An average two week period for us produces 2-3 yellow bags and not even a whole regular garbage bag of waste. I think we have more recyclables because I mostly buy American groceries and they have much more packaging. German manufacturing companies are assessed fees partly based on how much packaging they use for their products, so you don't get little things like wax paper between your cheese slices. How fantastic is that?! I love corporate responsibility!

I still don't really know the garbage pick up rotation. I had it down for a while but they changed it so I'm lost again. ~~I just watch to see what my neighbors are doing.~~ Mike mostly puts the garbage out if he's home- so thankful for him! He's way smarter than me.

OH! I forgot about the glass and plastic bottles! We don't have many plastic bottles, but the ones we buy in our village have a little symbol on them. Those we take back to the store, put them in a machine and it gives us change back for each one we turn in. It's fun on yellow garbage day to watch the pick up men sort through the yellow bags and pull out bottles they can turn in for change. Over about 4-6 weeks we might get back 3-5 euro in change but we don't buy sodas and we mostly drink tap water. If you buy a lot of bottled water, though, I bet it really adds up!

The glass has a drop off point in the center of our village. We just load it up and take it as often as we need to. This varies for us. We usually have to go immediately after having people over (those wine bottles take up a lot of space!) but sometimes I'll have one random glass jar sitting for months until I find another use for it.

That's our Standard Operating Procedure for Recycling in this house. We do other random stuff, too, but I think maybe that's a different topic for a different day. I could go on and on about what being a military spouse has taught me about home goods and the joys of living simply.

I also love looking at all of Germany's innovative products that help make garbage management easier. Every home store has a whole section dedicated to garbage. That's amazing to me. We don't own any of it because, for us, simpler is better, but it's fun to look at.

If you're interested in setting up a recycling center at your house, check out some of these products to help you get started:

Suncast Recycle Bin Kit BH183PK

Whitmor 6863-3484-BLK-BB Aluminum Handle Triple Recycle Sorter Black

Gaiam Folding Recycling Bags (Color Coded) Set of 3 (Paper, Glass, Cans)

Or check out IKEA- either in person or online. They usually have a HUGE selection of options available. Disclaimer: I have an Amazon Associates account so if you buy anything I link to on this blog, I might get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I do not link to random things - only to products I've tried and liked or something I would be willing to try myself sold at a price I would be willing to pay.

Maybe I get too excited about garbage, but I really like recycling. I think it's a great way to help a little bit with the planetary burden we're creating. I love how easy Germany makes their recycling program and really wish more cities in America would get on board. It just makes me feel good to take care of our earth even if it's just a little bit.

All of that aside, I'm still not quite ready for his-and-hers matching Prius's just yet! I mean, that Land Rover is seriously fun!

Ultimate Reset: The Recap

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Three weeks ago Mike & I started Beachbody's Ultimate Reset Cleanse. You can read about our start here.

The Ultimate Reset is a program from Beachbody. Learn more on their website. This is just my experience.

The idea behind this program is that we live in a toxic environment and sometimes we need to "reset" ourselves and get back to what we probably already know is good for us. That statement is a little weird. I would say it's true for most people, but I certainly understand that plenty of people simply don't know much about nutrition or healthy living. Or perhaps they have different ideas about what those things mean.

In any case, Mike & I do know a bit about health and nutrition- but sometimes we choose to ignore our knowledge and eat pizza and drink sodas instead. Because they are tasty. And we are lazy.

Before starting this cleanse, I had several specific goals in mind. If you ever try this program or any other, or just want to change something in your life, try writing down your goals so you'll have something to help keep you on track. How else will you know if you've been successful if you have no criteria to judge by?

Fresh, yummy staples. I actually cooked with them!

So these were/are my goals and how the Ultimate Reset did (or didn't) help me achieve them:

Eat at home. We all know eating at home is healthier than eating out. Fresher ingredients, more control over preparation, and better portion sizes are the big reasons why. One of the reasons I was most excited about this program was because of the meal plan. Beachbody told me what to cook & eat every day. It took very little effort on my part and considering how lazy I've been in the kitchen lately, it was exactly what I needed. Most nights pre-cleanse went something like this:

What do you want to eat?

I don't know. What do you want?

I don't know. Do you want to eat here or go grab something?

I don't care. I don't really want to go anywhere but I don't want to cook either.

Yeah, winning! <-- I SO need a sarcasm font. That's NOT a great way to eat healthy or to enjoy time with your spouse.

So did the cleanse help? Heck yeah it helped! It was awesome! Having a predetermined menu was fantastic and the fact that it was all healthy, fresh food was a major bonus! The food was so delicious and we both felt so satisfied that we're going to stay on this eating plan for a while longer. We were never hungry and there was plenty of variety for us. I mean, we LOVE food and neither of us would be happy if we had to eat the same thing day after day.

Determine the effects of sugar/grains/bread/dairy/meat on my digestive system. My reasons for this one are too complex to go into on a blog, but I have been concerned that my diet is the source of some issues I've had for some time now. I struggled with which ones to eliminate first. Beachbody took care of that for me. During the first week, the program starts eliminating animal products and breads. By the 3rd week, it's totally vegan. Now I have the joy of adding things back and paying attention to how I feel as I do so. I firmly believe that food is either our greatest medicine or our slowest form of poison. I want to continue shifting towards the former.

My results? After 3 weeks, I feel fantastic. I have had no GI distress except for the one time I cheated (more on that below). Living without meat, wheat, sugar and dairy isn't so hard. In the spirit of full disclosure, I continued to have some Greek yogurt in the morning (not every morning, just on days I wanted it) and sometimes I still put a little Feta cheese on my salads. I don't overdo it in either area and I've noticed no negative effects from either one. I'm also going to keep fish in my diet a couple of times a week or so. It's delicious and I love it and it doesn't make me feel bad, so it stays. As for red meat or lamb, I don't know. Since I usually only crave them once a year or so, it may be a while before I eat them again. I'm not a big fan of chicken and even less so after cutting it out for these past few weeks. I just don't care for the texture.

So, yeah, the Ultimate Reset gets another great big thumbs up for this one, too!

Have more energy, without stimulants.

Result: Yup! Done! My list of projects completed over the past three weeks: 2 bathrooms reorganized, all of the laundry kept up with and put away (I didn't know this was humanly possible until these past few weeks), planning a living room redo is well in the works, my long term clothing storage cleaned out (well, I've finished the first clean out; I'll look at it again in a few days to see what else I can cull), my daily closet cleaned out and reorganized, my entire house is mostly clean on a daily basis, I cleaned out the junk drawer (I only ever do this when we're moving), the dog has been to the groomers, my library/sitting room is cleaned out, my home files are sorted, and I'm sorting stuff for either a yard sale or donation.

Seriously, I don't usually have that much energy. Cleaning out ONE room might take me 2 or 3 weeks after I finally got motivated enough to do it. Some days I just couldn't stop moving. And, no, there was no jittery, over-stimulated feeling like diet pills cause. My body just felt like it was functioning properly.

Exercise daily- at least some yoga, a nice long walk with the dog, and something more challenging. "Challenging" could be running or lifting weights, an exercise video or a swim- whatever I feel like doing that day, but I need to Move Every Day.

Ok, I failed here. I did yoga most days and I kept moving almost all of the days. Lola was walked regularly (but I can't swear to every day). I completely failed at the "challenging" part. I have big plans to do better in this regard, but in the spirit of full disclosure, some days I felt ... worn out. I wasn't tired, exactly, I just didn't have that abundant energy every single day. I'm chalking it up to detoxing. Overall, I felt great but some days I just needed a nap. So I took one.

The good news is I can totally get on track now! There's nothing holding me back. I feel fantastic.

Losing a few pounds and/or inches would not come amiss. I mean, I do have a bridesmaids dress to wear soon! And my over-achieving, already gorgeous sister is doing crossfit to get in shape for the wedding. CROSSFIT! Shaking my head....

Isn't this what most of us care about? Show me the numbers! So, did it work? A big, fat heck yeah! I'm down just over 2.5" from my waist and 2" from my rump, a full inch from my upper arm and about 1.25" from each thigh- and keep in mind that I didn't exercise hard. I didn't even exercise lightly every single day. I'm calling it a win.

You can't tell me that doesn't look delicious! (Oh, and it was! This salad was a favorite for us.)

Just for S's & G's this is what I wrote weekly:

Week 1: At the end of week #1, I am down about 3" - 1.5" from my waist and 1.5" from my ghetto booty. I have no idea if I've lost pounds because I don't own a scale - they are SO 80s! Even though I realize it's mostly water weight, that's not a bad start. Also, I feel great! I'm not hungry and have more energy than normal - without coffee. GASP! I did try a cup of coffee one day with Truvia and almond milk (rather than sugar & creamer) but it just didn't taste good. In addition, my KP (keratosis pilaris) is clearing up. It's just a vanity issue, but I love that it's going away. My seasonal allergies are also much better. OH! And my house is clean! I have so much energy it's easy to keep things nice & tidy. The worst part of this week has been avoiding chocolate. I've realized that I eat when I'm bored. The moment Mike leaves for work, I turn on a movie or TV show and I want to snack. I've gone to the pantry several times this week and stared down the chocolate but it hasn't beaten me yet!

Week 2: Confession: I cheated. This week has been harder. We've been busier so I haven't been prepping and cooking as much. We've eaten a lot of salads because they are fast and easy, but even with that option we got caught out too late one night and we got way too hungry. We went to a restaurant for dinner where I had a chicken cesar wrap, thinking it was probably the healthiest thing available and what was the big deal since I could have a couple of pieces of toast last week? Well, let me tell ya about my reaction. Three hours later I had a splitting headache, my sinuses were stuffy, my neck and shoulder hurt like the dickens (they don't normally hurt if you're curious). The next day my KP was back on my arms and I had a new patch on my stomach. 2 days later, I'm still bloated. What the heck, man? So I'm sensitive to either wheat and/or gluten. I'm going to get my diet nice and clean for a while and then try some instant oatmeal. Why oatmeal? It's wheat free but still has gluten. If I react to that I'll know gluten is a culprit. If not, it's probably just wheat.

Week 3: If I thought last week was hard, this one has been harder but in different ways. We're pretty much operating on salads and apples right now because this week suddenly got crazy busy. I don't crave the junk food or the convenience foods like I did the last 2 weeks, but I miss having the home cooked meals from week 1 so I need to get back to that. But you know- Mike & I talked about it and we're both pretty happy eating this way. I know he misses meat - I see his eyes light up when he sees me pack a chicken breast with his lunch. It's very satisfying and the food is delicious. Also, I had a bit of chocolate last night. I just had such a long day and needed something comforting. Enter dark chocolate with sea salt caramel filling. But you know what? I had one square and it was enough. Normally I would have had the whole bar and then maybe another one. Followed by some chips. I'm not going to feel guilty about it.

Update from the next day, RE: Chocolate splurge. Apparently a square of chocolate isn't a terrible thing. I'm not bloated today and I didn't gain 5 pounds overnight. My measurements are exactly the same today. Guess it's true what they say about moderation.

That's it for the Ultimate Reset. Think it sounds awesome? It is. I think this is definitely something we will come back to from time to time. We're definitely keeping the food plan and recipes, but to varying degrees. Mike isn't interested in being vegan at all but I feel good when I eat less meat & dairy. He seems fine with wheat and rice; I do better without them and - more surprisingly - I don't even miss them. We both thrive on fruits & veggies and I've learned lots of new ways to cook them and fun new combos!

It's all about finding what works for your body and finding balance.

One of our favorite recipes that came in the Ultimate Reset Book: Roasted Corn & Edamae Succotash.

That picture above? You can't tell me it doesn't look delicious. (Oh, and it is!) And it only takes about 15 minutes of easy prep to prepare. It's supposed to have red bell peppers and cilantro as well, but I forgot to buy them and I'm not going back to the store right now.

All the disclaimers:
We're all adults here, but just in case: I'm not your doctor. I'm not a doctor at all and this is not intended to be medical advice. I have no idea if this is a good program for you. If you have concerns, speak to your health professional of choice. The Beachbody website (linked above) does state that this program isn't recommended for those who are pregnant.

About gluten sensitivities & intolerances: If you suspect you suffer from either one, talk to your doctor while you're still eating gluten. A simple blood test can tell you if you're producing the antibodies required for diagnosis but you must have gluten in your system for it to show up. For more info, check out The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

My doctor wouldn't run the sensitivity test; she'd rather blame my GI problems solely on my pancreatic trouble. I have no idea if she's right or not. What I do know is that wheat & gluten cause chronic inflammation. Inflammation isn't good for your pancreas (or at least, it isn't good for mine). I don't know for certain if the two are related, but I do know that I feel 100% improvement from not consuming either wheat or gluten for the past 2 weeks. I've had ZERO pancreatic pain. And neither wheat nor gluten is required for a healthy diet or lifestyle. (Worried about folic acid? Take a vitamin. <-- Again, just a suggestion. Not intended to be medical advice.)

I'm not your lifestyle guru, either. I don't know if yoga and clean eating is something that will help you physically or spiritually. I don't know if they will balance your karma or your chakras or buy you points in heaven. Those are questions for someone far smarter than I am. My guess is they could have as much impact as wearing a red kaballah bracelet, but I've never worn one so I don't know from personal experience. (Please don't get your panties in a bunch, that was a joke.)

This blog is a personal account of what I did and my results from it. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

So now that that part is out of the way, let's talk! What are your thoughts about this program or programs like these? Are they awesome or just a waste of money? Do you like eating clean or do you find it too hard to maintain every single day? Do you ever do random things partly to torment your husband (or wife) just because you secretly find it amusing?

Fresh Fruits & Veggies, Oh My!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Sometimes we do things besides traveling to awesome places all over Europe. Sometimes- oftentimes, actually- we do perfectly normal things. Like grocery shopping and vacuuming the house.

Ok, alright! Maybe the vacuuming doesn't happen all that often- it's actually been a while since

the vacuum has seen the light of day, but I digress.

Today I spent my morning at the Commissary (our grocery store on base) where I ran into a great friend (that's one of the greatest things about a military community- you see your friends all the time!) and we did our shop together. Normally that would be kind of annoying since we'd probably be buying different things but today was different - our shopping lists were nearly identical! How did that happen, you ask?

You probably didn't ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway because I'm an over-sharer, remember?

Tomorrow Mike & I (and this fabulous friend of mine) are starting Beachbody's Ultimate Reset Program. It's a 3 week cleanse that has a rather detailed eating and supplement plan and is supposed to be really great at kicking your butt into gear. I need that lately. I've been very lazy about cooking and exercising. We've been eating out a lot and seeing lots of movies. I can feel it taking it's toll.

I know a lot of people are critical of cleanses like this - and with good reason, our health is nothing to take lightly- so I thought I'd share a little about this one, from where I am right now.

Each day you follow their supplement schedule. The supplements are:

Alkalinze- to maintain alkalinity since most of us are in an acidic state and that's not optimal for health or performance.
Soothe- reduces inflammation in the body and enhances digestive health. This is especially exciting for me since I have pancreatitis. I'm willing to try anything that will help with that. The Soothe supplement has a lot of Aloe in it and that's supposed to be especially good for folks like me.
Mineralize - adds minerals. This one is a powder that you shake into water. I tasted a little of it. It tastes like salt.
Detox- helps get the poop out.
Revitalize - brings good flora back to the gut. I'm curious about this one because until now I've always thought that live cultures were better, but we'll see. Plus, I can eat yogurt so it should be ok.
Optimize - improves metabolism. This one has lots of amino acids and some herbs and enzymes. Again, if it'll help my pancreas function a little better, I'm all on board!

In addition to all of that you eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies, some meat (but not every day), minimal grains and very little dairy. I'm pretty happy with all of that. The Reset box came with a book of recipes and a lot of them look really good. I'm excited to try them. The food really focuses on eating fresh produce rather than convenience foods. We are tweaking the food plan just a little to fit our lives more. I don't like sushi, so I am certainly not going to make my own. Also, Mike will get a little bit more food and more meat than I will. It's what he needs to function at work and to keep up his exercise schedule.

I read where some people were criticizing this program for pushing Shakeology shakes on the participants, but I've read all the info in the box and online and I don't know where they are getting this idea. The program does say that to use Shakeology on occasion is ok, but they don't encourage it. The goal is to learn to eat properly. If you don't know what it is, Shakeology is Beachbody's powder mix - sort of like protein powder- that you put in smoothies or milk or water for a quick meal on the go or for post workout treat.

I have a love/hate relationship with exercise. Once I get moving I really enjoy it and usually tone up quickly, but I'd much rather sit on the couch and watch a movie or read a book. If only I could get skinny by reading.... I'm kidding, "skinny" is far, FAR from my list of goals. There are so many things I'd rather be than "skinny." But that's another topic, and again, I digress.

Exercise. The program book recommends taking it easy on your body during this cleanse. A nice daily walk and maybe some yoga or Tai Chi and that's about it. My friend (from above) has done this cleanse before and said she had so much energy she was able to keep her normal exercise schedule (and she's ambitious at the gym!). I think this is an area where I will just listen to my body and do what feels right. It's also one of the places I want to improve and get back on track.

So that's about it. I've spent today shopping, washing and prepping food, cleaning out my refrigerator, and enjoying my last Snapple and the end of my chocolate chips (yes, I eat the semi sweet chips right out of the bag- they are delicious frozen!). Oh, I didn't mention drinks did I? Well, not surprisingly, you drink water. Lots of water. And then some more water. The program allows a cup of green tea or black coffee, too, but I probably won't drink those. Maybe some green tea, we'll see. I actually have a new one I like a lot- it's a mix of lemongrass and spearmint and it is delicious! On second thought, I'll probably keep that.

I'll post an update in a couple of weeks to let you know how it's going. In the meantime, wish me luck!

Oh, and if you have specific questions, feel free to ask; I'll try my best to answer them or find an answer for you.

Slideshow Widget

Showing posts with label Hippie. Show all posts

Friday, December 5, 2014

SHARE »

Thursday, November 13, 2014

SHARE »

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

SHARE »

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

SHARE »

Thursday, May 29, 2014

SHARE »

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

SHARE »

Monday, September 23, 2013

SHARE »

Sunday, August 4, 2013

SHARE »

Friday, August 2, 2013

SHARE »

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

SHARE »

Sunday, July 7, 2013

SHARE »

Hey, y'all!

Labels

Search

Archive

PinOverload

InstaLove