by Alice | Oct 28, 2016 | DIY Recipes, Halloween
The time of delectable candy, inventive costumes, spooky decor, and pumpkins is back to haunt us once again! This year, why not create something healthy and nontoxic? Check out some of these wonderful ideas below.
These grinning ghoul bottles need just a few items: clear bottles with label removed, nontoxic orange paint, recycled black construction paper, glue, paper bags, and ribbon. Love the idea of re-purposing items for these spooky decorations.
Create these adorable organic grape skewers with chocolate chips and Greek yogurt! A sure winner for fans of deliciousness.
Use recycled black construction paper for this fun DIY!
Love this adorable pumpkin wreath! A classy Halloween decor.
These sour gummies from Trader Joe’s have been amazing: if you (or your little ones) like gummies to snack on, these are made with tapioca syrup and cane sugar, while the colors are derived from fruit and vegetable extracts. They are $1.99 at your local Trader Joe’s!
Green Halloween tips:
- For costume ideas, try thrift stores instead of your Halloween Superstores: these tend to be of nicer quality, and you can reuse them year after year (generally lower prices as well).
- For trick-or-treating, decorate an old bag or pillowcase instead of purchasing plastic jack-o-lanterns for those treats
- Opt to walk around your neighborhood with your children: this reduces CO2 emissions and is eco-friendly
- For candy that you are handing out to children, find organic or fair trade chocolate or gummies instead of Hershey’s or Tootsie Rolls.
What are your favorite ideas to green your Halloween? Let me know in the comments below!
by Alice | Dec 22, 2015 | DIY Recipes, Holidays
The holiday season is officially upon us: and it’s brilliant. It may be cheesy, but the time of the year with glorious Christmas lights, cheerful music, and spending time with loved ones always puts me in a wonderful mood. In the spirit of festivities, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite holiday crafts to complete (either as gifts or something fun to make with others).
Make and Tell / Design Mom – Printables
image courtesy of Make and Tell
Crafty blogger Steph of Make and Tell is generously offering these free printables. They would look beautiful as gift tags, Christmas tree decorations, or in a festive garland.
Princess Pinky Girl – Peppermint Bowls
image courtesy of Princess Pinky Girl
How adorable is this? Create bowls out of peppermint candy for holiday decorations.
POPSUGAR – Upcycled Sweater Pillows
image courtesy of POPSUGAR
Upcyling products is always great: looking to extend the life of your no-longer worn sweaters? Make these great sweater pillow covers- the tutorial is on POPSUGAR.
Hey Gorgeous Events- DIY The Perfect Mix Favors
image courtesy of Hey Gorgeous Events
Hot chocolate is one of my favorite drinks during the holiday season. Feel free to substitute these favors with organic marshmallows and chocolate squares. For those of you who dislike alcohol, leave out the Kahlua!
Martha Stewart- Glittered Candleholders
image courtesy of Martha Stewart
In love with all things glitter? This incredibly easy DIY glittered candleholders from Martha Stewart are sure to please.
Brit + Co- Embellished Stockings
image courtesy of Brit + Co
Time to hang these gorgeous stockings over the fireplace! Stocking stuffers not included. The best part is that Brit + Co has a template just for you!
What are your favorite holiday traditions to celebrate over the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!
by Alice | Oct 30, 2015 | DIY Recipes, Halloween, Health
It’s that time of the year again: a plethora of costumes, haunted houses, and an excuse to binge on (organic and fair trade, of course) candy. Wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween! In honor of this fun holiday, I rounded up some of my favorite healthy ideas for Halloween. These are perfect to make with your children, or for you and your friends and family.
Veggie Skeleton | via Feeding Four Little Monkeys
image courtesy of Feeding Four Little Monkeys
Great opportunity to learn about science + eat healthy with this innovative skeleton made out of vegetables!
Frankenstein Kiwis | via Two Healthy Kitchens
image courtesy of Two Healthy Kitchens
What’s more spooktacular than the original monster created by Dr. Frankenstein? These kiwis are sure to please.
Orange Pumpkins | via Spaceships & Laser Beams
image courtesy of Space Ships & Laser Beams
These healthy “pumpkins” from Spaceships & Laser Beams are adorable! All you need are organic celery stalks and oranges or clementines. These would make a great snack in the middle of the day.
Stuffed Jack o’ Lanterns | via Healthful Pursuit
image courtesy of Healthful Pursuit
The creativity behind this is such fun! Instead of carving a pumpkin, why not carve out a tiny face on bell peppers? Organic bell peppers and whatever pasta that you may desire: gluten-free, spaghetti, or zucchini noodles, this will be sure to please.
Candy Corn Inspiration | via Navy Wife Cook
image courtesy of Navy Wife Cook
From Navy Wife Cook, I love this candy corn inspired fruit dessert. Always use organic when you can- oranges and pineapples make up the bottom two portions. Though she uses whipped cream as the top layer, I would suggest organic Greek yogurt instead with live and active cultures!
Halloween Lunch | via A Pumpkin and a Princess
image courtesy of A Pumpkin and a Princess
It’s adorable when your food is in the shape of characters: pictured here, we have broccoli monster eyes, a mummy hot dog, and a banana ghost.
Jack-o-Lantern Fruit Cups | via In The Playroom
image courtesy of In The Playroom
Organic oranges + fruit in the middle? I’m sold!
Spiderweb Berry Platter | via Will Cook for Smiles
image courtesy of Will Cook for Smiles
A berry platter with vanilla yogurt + honey cream cheese! Doesn’t it look downright terrifying with the plastic spiders? (If your children are scared of these eight-legged creatures, I’d suggest to omit the spiders from this otherwise delectable plate!)
Frankenstein Avocado Toast | via Vegan Chow Down
image courtesy of Vegan Chow Down
This uber-cute toast is made of avocado, seaweed, sliced olives, tomatoes, pretzels, and whole wheat toast (for a healthier option).
Tropical Candy Corn Smoothie | via Boulder Locavore
image courtesy of Boulder Locavore
Look at how beautiful this candy corn smoothie is! White layer: coconut milk and shredded coconut; Orange layer: papaya and freshly squeezed orange juice; Yellow layer: pineapple, lime, and water.
What are your favorite healthy snacks to make for Halloween? Let me know in the comments below!
by Alice | Mar 5, 2015 | DIY Recipes
Photo courtesy of A Typical English Home (http://www.atypicalenglishhome.com/2014/09/my-favorite-natural-cleaning-recipes.html)
When we first embarked upon the natural path, skincare was the first thing that we started on. However, there was no way that we could stop there. It occurred to us that replacing conventional products for greener ones had to happen for our day-to-day lives. As a result, we opted for healthier food options as well as green cleaning. Today on the blog, we’re introducing our favorite green cleaning options!
Drains
The best part is that this natural drain cleaner won’t harm the pipes. To declog drains, we use either ACV or white vinegar and baking soda. If you’ve created volcanos during elementary school science class, you know that this combination makes terrific bubbles. We first sprinkle the baking soda on the drain, then add the vinegar. Make sure to sit back and watch the vinegar and baking soda do their magic! Afterwards, rinse well with water.
Fruits & Vegetables
We love using apple cider vinegar (ACV) to clean off our organic produce from the farmer’s markets and health food markets. Instead of your typical veggie wash, we use ACV that has been diluted to 5%. The best part is that it’s available at most stores like Safeway, Target, Whole Foods, etc. After first washing the produce, we let it soak in ACV for a minute, then rinsing it with distilled water (we use a reverse osmosis water filter).
Laundry
We use Dr. Bronner’s peppermint castile soap for laundry loads, diluted with distilled water. Not only do our clothes smell minty fresh, the scent is still there after we remove our clothes from the dryer!
Leaving Shoes At The Door
Instead of wearing our outside shoes all over the house, we opt for indoor slippers. The reason? This stops us from tracking dirt, bacteria, and oils into a clean house.
Line Drying Clothes
This is one of our favorite ways to save on the electricity bill for dryers. If the weather is nice outside, we line dry our clothes outside in the sun. While line drying clothes indoors may be easier, doing this may add mold and mildew to your homes. If absolutely necessary, hang the wet clothes in a room that is seldom used, and add an air filter to clear out any mold.
Refrigerator
The trick here is to reuse coffee grounds. Simply put into a muslim bag, and let the fresh scent of coffee waft over your nose as you open your fridge. We also scrub the interior with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.
Sink
There’s so many uses for lemons here: we scrub our sinks with half a lemon, and keep the other half there to help dissipate smells from dirty dishes. We also crush up a lemon into the garbage disposal to remove unwanted scents. As a bonus, citrusy scents are quite uplifting.
Soap
To save money on soap, we purchase foaming soap dispensers! We fill up the bottle about 1/8-1/10 of the way with our favorite organic soap, then the rest with distilled water. To keep the bottles sanitary, we replace every 2 1/2 weeks, and clean the bottle in between uses.
What are your favorite green cleaning tips? Let us know in the comments below!
by Alice | Feb 12, 2015 | DIY Recipes
Who doesn’t love Valentine’s Day? We remember our childhood years where we exchanged Valentine’s Day cards with all of our classmates. While it’s more about roses and chocolates these days, we like the idea of creating something healthy for the holidays.
We’ve rounded up some amazing healthy and fun Valentine’s Day ideas for your loved ones!
Healthy Heart Valentine’s Day (Frog Prince Paperie)
Photo courtesy of Frog Prince Paperie
Don’t these yogurt parfaits look heavenly? It’s the perfect combination of organic greek or plain yogurt, granola, and berries.
Pomegranate Ice Cubes (Two Loves Studio)
Photo courtesy of Two Loves Studio
This is the most creative one we’ve seen: look how beautiful these ice cubes are! Best of all, they have pomegranate seeds, which have a large amount of antioxidants, and are incredibly fresh.
Healthy Strawberry Snacks for Valentine’s Day (Modern Parents Messy Kids)
Photo courtesy of Modern Parents Messy Kids
These healthy skewers house strawberries and grapes, though you can add any combination of fruits that you like. We recommend organic fruits, as strawberries tend to have higher amounts of pesticides on them.
Healthy Banana Split (School Bites)
Photo courtesy of School Bites
School Bites used Greek yogurt, as depicted in this scrumptious looking photo. This is a great take on a typical banana split!
Healthy Cheese (Celebrate the Big & Small)
Photo courtesy of Celebrate the Big & Small
Look at this fantastic grapes and cheese plate! To achieve these, you simply need a heart-shaped cookie cutter. The best part is that these work great for your kids’ snacks this Valentine’s Day, or to share with significant others or friends.
Free Printable Lunchbox Notes (Alpha Mom)
Photo courtesy of Alpha Mom
This is a great idea instead of Valentine’s Day cards: as a bonus, encouraging your children to eat fruit never hurts.
10 Healthy Valentine’s Day Treats for Kids (Spark People)
Photo courtesy of Spark People!
Healthy fruits (with plenty of antioxidants) in heart shaped bowls? Watermelon and grilled cheese in the shape of hearts? These are just some of the great ideas from Spark People regarding Valentine’s Day.
“Bee Mine Valentine (Earnest Home Co)
Photo courtesy of Earnest Home Co.
Who doesn’t love a great jar of organic and raw honey? Earnest Home Co. offers a free printable for this Valentine’s Day card gift idea.
DIY Valentine’s Day Decor (Today’s Every Mom)
Photo courtesy of Today’s Every Mom
The heart garlands are especially adorable: all you need is red stock paper and a stapler!
Creative Crafts for Kids (Real Simple)
Photo courtesy of Real Simple
Arts and crafts always make for a fun activity: check out these beautiful Valentine’s Day cards. Real Simple includes free templates so you can DIY to your heart’s content.
Do you have any creative and healthy ideas for Valentine’s Day? Let us know in the comments below!
by Alice | Feb 4, 2015 | DIY Recipes, Health
We hope that everyone has been having a great 2015 so far! What better way to keep those New Year’s resolutions than starting off the year with eating healthy? Today, we’re going to discuss a few options that are delicious and wholesome. We know it’s easier to reach for that tempting chocolate chip cookie as we’re watching Netflix, or to pick up takeout if we’re tired after work. But creating healthy meals can be fun and not take up all of your time (especially for moms with young children, and for you working professionals out there!)
Breakfast
Organic green juice: the before photo
To the right, we have a peek into what we have for our organic green juice each morning. Here, we’ve got organic kale, oranges, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, bananas, pineapples, apples, and turmeric powder. All of the ingredients listed can be found at your local Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market. As for the organic turmeric powder, we purchased from Safeway. Of course, feel free to shop at your local farmer’s market too! Tip: washing and cutting everything the evening before will help save you time in the morning. We love using our Blendtec blender, though we know there’s quite a few blenders out there. Which one’s your favorite?
Snacks
Oatmeal with Red Beans
This warm snack will be sure to keep you full during your workday! We love cooking with oats, but if you’re pressed on time, the quick-minute Quaker’s Oats are easy to use too. Here, we’ve added red beans into the oatmeal to make it tastier. It’s the perfect combination that will keep you satisfied and healthy! Other combinations include salted nuts (we get them from Costco for $14.99), organic cinnamon and honey (available at most grocery stores), and organic apples, bananas, and blueberries (the tart fruit juxtaposed with the warm oatmeal is sure to delight).
Lunch
Pork, organic broccoli, and rice
Here’s something simple that we love to make: pork, organic broccoli, and steamed white rice. We marinated the pork in organic soy sauce and garlic, and baked it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes in our toaster oven. As for the broccoli, we boiled it for three minutes on high heat in a pot on the stove! (We washed it three times in a bowl, does that make us totally clean obsessed?)
Dinner
Ribs, organic spinach, fish, clams, and rice
To the right, we’ve got organic spinach, miso fish, clams, and pork ribs paired with steamed white rice. The clams were actually part of the soup that we made, and they’re easy to clean to cook! The pork ribs were marinated in garlic, organic soy sauce, and just a pinch of sugar added. As for the miso fish, we baked it for 15 minutes at 400 degrees in our toaster oven. Since spinach cooks relatively fast, it was the last part of the meal that we made.
Tips:
- Purchase vegetables and fruit that are in season to help save money on grocery bills
- Eat a wide variety of different colors and types of food
- Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh, so pick some organic ones up next time at the grocery store!
These are just four examples of easy and delicious meals! As you can see, we used a wide variety of vegetables for optimal health. But why stop there? Organic green beans, cabbage, and winter melon are alternatives that you can find easily in grocery stores.What are your favorites to make? Let us know in the comments below!
