Fresh Tip: How to keep fresh herbs fresh and convenient

So, I know that I haven't blogged anything in awhile. Sorry! I have been super busy starting back at work and moving, but things have finally settled and I have lots planned for you all. Yay! I thought I would start off with something that I tried awhile back.

In this journey to eating healthier, I started trying to stay away from most processed foods and start buying fresh foods (mostly fruits and veggies). I started exploring the produce section of the grocery store which I usually avoided, except for maybe a bushel of bananas or apples. Turns out, you can buy fresh herbs (who knew, right?). I got unusually excited about this idea, and my husband I got some. Now, I don't know if you have ever had fresh herbs, as opposed to the dried, prepackaged herbs I grew up with, but let me tell you, so much better! I could actually taste the flavor it added, and the smell was delicious! I'm never buying prepackaged, dried herbs again. So, if you are like me and have seen the light, here is a fun, convenient way to store and use your herbs.

All you need is:

• Fresh herbs of your choosing
• Ice cube tray 
• Olive oil

It is actually really simple. At the grocery store, you can buy bundles of herbs like rosemary, basil, scallions, thyme, and parsley. They actually give you quite a lot to one bundle (way more than I could use in any reasonable amount of time before they went bad). Now, I realize that most grocery stores' pricing varies, but for this post, I am just going to go with Wal-Mart (because, we all know we end up there no matter how hard we try to resist). For the dried, prepackaged herbs, the price is somewhere between 3-5 dollars, depending on the herb and brand (and that's for the smaller container). The fresh herbs from the produce section were all around 3-4 dollars for great big bundles. So, the fresher herbs were, on average, cheaper than the ones already packaged. So, not only do they taste better, they are cheaper, too. Awesome!

(Parsley, scallion, rosemary, and thyme. Almost had a Simon and Garfunkel song going... so close!)

But, alas, we arrive at the dilemma of the fresh herbs going bad quickly, while the others last longer. So, here comes my nifty trick! After chopping up all the herbs, place them into the ice cube trays and fill them with olive oil. Then stick them in the freezer. Yup, that's it.

 (I made different types. Some were just the leaves of the spices, others were finely chopped, and then, I did a whole tray of mixed herbs.)

Now, you have individual olive oil and herb mixtures that you can just pop out and throw in the pan with your dinners! The herbs stay fresh without losing any flavor this way, and these are easy to use. The great thing about freezing fresh herbs (and fresh food, in general) is that they will stay fresh for a ridiculously long time. Mindblowingly awesome, right?

(I do recommend not using star shaped ice cube trays, no matter how awesome they are (which they are), because they make the popping out part a bit harder then needs to be)

If you're not completely sold on the idea of fresh herbs yet, here are some more interesting facts about the dried prepackaged herbs you might not have known.

• Prepackaged herbs have a shelf life. So all those bottles of herbs you have in your cabinet - that have been in there for years - probably are bad and have no flavor left. For leafy herbs, like the ones in this blog, the shelf life is about a year to three years, depending on the herb. I know I never finished off one of those containers in a year. 
• The longer you have them, the more flavor they lose. As soon as that seal is broken, the herbs you just bought start to lose their potency and flavor. Bummer.

Natural Remedies for the Common Cold

With the weather being as crazy as it has been in the past, oh I don't know, three months (going from hot to cold and back again) it is hard to keep that little bug, known as the common cold, at bay. This past week, I've been struggling with the sniffles and that yucky post-nasal drip. So, I thought to myself, "what are some things I could do naturally to keep this off?" I am a big fan of Thera-flu, and act like it is the elixir that saves lives when I have a cold, but now that I have my little girl, I can't just take what I want and clock out for a while (I must be the responsible adult). In my searching, I found a lot of great and interesting things.

(Your friendly knitted bacteria. Don't let their smiles fool you...they can't be trusted!)

First off, let's take a look at why you get those annoying, dreadful symptoms of the common cold. Having a moderate fever is actually your body fighting off bacteria and infection, making the living environment for that pesky bug inhospitable. Coughing actually helps clear breathing passages of all that yucky mucus. The stuffy nose is an increased blood flow to your nose, warming the area and helping secretions carry germs out of  your body (blow that nose!). So, even though that all makes you feel crappy, and makes you want to just curl up in a ball and lay in bed all day, it will actually help shorten the amount of time you have the cold. When you take antihistamines to get rid of the symptoms, you are actually prolonging the whole thing. Antihistamines' dehydrating effect keeps the germs harder to expel and makes them more likely to collect in the sinuses, causing infection. I guess no more Thera-flu for me. :(

So here are some natural things you can do to help rid yourself of your illness:

1. Take a steamy shower. Not only will a nice hot shower relax you, it will make it easier for you to breathe. The steam from the shower will moisturize your nasal passages, thinning the mucus and making it easier to expel. Plus, if you want, you can just blow your nose in the shower and just wash it away...right? (people do that, right? or is that just me?)

2. Apply a salve under your nose. Making a menthol or eucalyptus based salve and applying it under your nose can help with irritated skin from blowing your nose all the time. Their numbing properties will soothe the nose, and the strong smell will also help clear those passageways, making it easier to breathe.

3. Garlic. Garlic has something called Allicin in it, which makes it naturally anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. When it is cooked, though, it loses much of its potency, so you would need to eat it raw (You won't be kissing anyone anyway because you're sick)

4. Honey. Honey coats your throat and relieves irritation, while also having anti-microbial (Kills or inhibits growth of microorganisms..it's okay, I didn't know what it was either) and antioxidant properties to fight infection from viruses, bacteria, and fungi!

5.Cayenne pepper/Horseradish/Chili peppers. These strong and intense flavored foods can help open up your sinuses and break up mucus. Definitely a quick cure for a stuffy nose!

6.Vitamin C-containing foods. Most of us know that vitamin C boosts the immune system, but besides oranges, I wouldn't know what foods to look for. So, here are some good ones to think about when you are looking for that extra boost for your health: bell peppers, kale, guavas, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, and peas.

7.Beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is the stuff that makes your food orange, like in carrots and sweet potatoes. It is also something your body uses to produce white blood cells, which fight off infection.

8.Cinnamon. Cinnamon contains something called Cinnamaldehyde which fights off bacteria. To learn more about cinnamon and all its natural attributes, you can read more here.

9.Stay away from refined sugar. Refined sugars like margarine or white flour can actually repress your immune system and reduce the action of your white blood cells. Not to mention, it also feeds bacteria and viruses, and has absolutely no nutritional value. I know it is hard not to grab for the ice cream when you're feeling under the weather, but resist, and you will feel so much better!

(You don't want to end up looking like this guy...do you?)

So, the next time you start to feel the sniffles coming on, try out a couple of these things before you run for the Thera-flu. Hope these are helpful and keep the bug at bay!

Some Things You Might Not Know About Cinnamon

So I was feeding my little girl the other day, some sweet potato and cinnamon stage two food, and I started thinking 'I wonder what the point of cinnamon is and whether it has any actual health benefits. I mean why put it in baby food?' Maybe I was over-thinking it, but I found some really cool things in my research that I thought I would share. 

There are two types of cinnamon most commonly used today. The first being Ceylon (the one most commonly used, especially in the western world) and the second being Cassia, a sweeter version exported mainly from China. Cinnamon has been widely used throughout the ages for many different purposes, going all the way back to biblical times and the ancient world. Many believed cinnamon to be a gift fit for kings and gods. (who knew my baby was eating the stuff fit for gods?) They also believed it would heal ailments such as snake bites, the common cold, kidney troubles, and last but not least, freckles! Apparently, in the olden days, having freckles was something in need of curing. Well, who knows about all that, but modern science has shown some pretty cool effects cinnamon can have. Here is what I found...

(And it's so pretty too!)

1. Cinnamon can have an effect on blood sugar and, in some cases, help people with type I and II Diabetes.

Some studies have found that people who took Cassia, who also had type I or II Diabetes were able to lower their blood sugar and helped people with an insulin resistance. Although, with that said, Cassia contains something called Coumarin, and if you take too much it could harm your liver.  

2. Cinnamon has also been known to reduce the pain from arthritis.

Some testimonies of people with arthritis have reported pain relief from the the use of cinnamon. Not a lot of studies have been done in this area, but cinnamon has a lot of Manganese (something that helps build our bones) which could very well help with bone health. Some people will drink cinnamon tea or use the oil to rub onto their joints. Hey, if people say it helps, whats the harm? (unless you have a severe allergy to cinnamon, that is) Plus it will make you smell good.   

3. Cinnamon can fight off bacteria.

Now here is where those freckle hating ancient Egyptians got something right. Cinnamon actually can help fight off the common cold and the sore throats that come along with it. Cinnamon contains something called Cinnamaldehyde, which fights off bacteria and fungi in food and in the human body. A study found that when people chew Big Red chewing gum, (contains cinnamon in case you didn't know) oral bacteria was reduced by more than 50%, especially concerning the bacteria living at the back of the tongue. So the next time you get a cold, try some of that cinnamon tea, it might help you get better and help keep the germs from spreading to your peers. This also works on food. Cinnamon has been used as a food preservative and also sprayed on food to keep the insects away. Cinnamon especially works well as a killer of mosquito larvae (this is a good thing to know in the south). 

4. Cinnamon can be effective for menstrual pain and infertility.

Here's that Manganese again. Manganese also helps form blood-clotting factors as well as sex hormones. Women with less Manganese and things such as Calcium, Chromium, and Copper in their diet tend to have worse mood swings, more bloating, and heavier periods. But before you go out and load up on the Manganese, overtaking can cause harmful side effects (nervous system and learning disabilities! Yikes). An individual should not consume more than 11mg per day.

(I heart Cinnamon!)

5. Cinnamon can help reduce chronic inflammation linked with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, MS, brain tumor, and meningitis. 

So, there are many different studies stating that cinnamon can help delay the oncoming of these disorders. In the Alzheimer's case, there have been Israeli studies indicating that cinnamon has been effective in correcting some cognitive impairment. 

So these are my cinnamon findings and all of them sound great and are interesting to consider. Who would have known that delicious stuff I sprinkle on top of my hot chocolate could do so many different things. Now, most of my research concluded that more studies needed to be done on cinnamon to really know the extent of its power, but it is cool to know what has already been experienced. Hopefully you have a new found appreciation of cinnamon. I know I do!

The journey begins

So... How many people are out there that have absolutely no idea what they are doing when it comes to eating healthy and taking care of their body? Calories are bad, right? Eat vegetables, meat for protein and milk is good too, right? Food labels are like a foreign language to you? Well, that is me. I have always been completely ignorant to what it is to keep myself healthy. As a teenager and early twenties, I had always been slim and never thought too much about my health. The only reason to want to eat right and exercise is to be skinny, right? Or at least that was my mentality at the time. 

Then, in a whirlwind of wonderful events, I became pregnant. Yay! Now, some women have these wonderful glowing pregnancies that run smoothly, they barely gain any weight and are back to their normal weight two weeks after having the baby... I was not one of these women. I gained a total of fifty pounds during my pregnancy and eight months later, can only fit into my maternity bottoms still. 

(Me, about a couple of months before I got pregnant. Don't worry, I kicked the bad habits when I found out I was preggers. But I had it going on!)

Not eating healthy and never exercising had finally caught up to me. I felt horrible. I had no energy and just overall felt sluggish, in mind and body. Now, I realize that I just had a baby, and that contributed to some of that fatigue. Then I started thinking, and the truth is, I couldn't remember the last time I had an abundance of energy. I was always getting sick through high school, and as an adult. I just attributed it to bad genes, but the truth is, I never ate right and I never exercised. So, after much musing, it occurred to me: the reason I feel like crap all the time, and have been for years, is because of my poor diet and lack of exercise.

(Don't let the ridiculously adorable baby distract you from the mess laying next to her. This is me now and it pretty much symbolizes how I feel most of the time. Don't worry, more unflattering pictures will be shown in the future)

Maybe this is obvious to most people, but again I tell you: I am completely ignorant in this area. For me, my ignorance always made me not want to learn about it. It was always too overwhelming and too time-consuming, and nothing really pressing was going on to give me the motivation to want to learn about it. Plus, who wants to give up their ice cream and Big Macs? If I learned about it then, I would be responsible with that information; no more feigning ignorance to get away with eating whatever I felt like. I didn't know that Big Mac and side of fries and soda was that bad for me (Cue big innocent doe eyes).

Well, now, here I am with a body I'm not proud of, and the energy level of an eighty-year old man. Most importantly, a little girl who I need to take care of, who needs my knowledge to teach her and show her the best way. So, here starts my journey to wellness for myself and for my family. In this blog, I will start my search for healthy living and also chart my own progress to become a happier, healthier me! Wish me luck!