..Aromatherapy Necklaces & Bracelets..

If you head over to my Facebook page, you’ll find a new album with pricing and options for my clay aromatherapy necklaces and bracelets :). These are a great option for using essential oils daily without topical application or bothering others with the scent! They’re also very kid friendly since all of the necklaces and bracelets come on adjustable cords.

Here are a few teaser pictures from the album :). Don’t see anything you like? Just message me! We can find an option for you, and I’m always adding new things each month. Over on the facebook page you’ll find pricing, hemp cord color options, clay color options, stamp options, pattern options, and shape options.

The black glitter is so much prettier in person :). It just loses something in the photos, but still looks amazing!

Make sure you check out all of the options and pricing over at the Happiness Grows Facebook Page :).

..Turnip Cakes..

We had a bunch of organic baby white turnips in our produce box last week, and I have been struggling to come up with a way to cook them outside of the normal recipes or just eating them raw. I found a recipe for a Chinese turnip cake. I didn’t have all the ingredients, and there were a few healthier substitutions I wanted to make, so I deviated heavily from the recipe. I still kept the basic cooking instructions, although I did alter those to fit a few things in my own kitchen :).

..Turnip Greens..

– several organic baby turnips, grated

– 1 cup of water

– organic green onion, chopped

– organic red pepper chicken sausage, finely chopped

– 1 cup of organic rice flour

– 1 tbsp organic arrowroot powder

– 1 tbsp organic olive oil

– 1/2 tsp of sea salt

– 1/2 tsp of rock sugar (beet sugar)

– organic ground white pepper (or IC alternative)

Add the grated turnip and cup of water to a skillet and bring to a simmer. Simmer about 10 minutes, occasionally sitrring so the turnip does brown. It will produce liquid, although some will evaporate as it cooks. Continue to cook until you have about 3/4 a cup of liquid in the skillet. If you mess this up, you can simply add 3/4 a cup of liquid later on :). So no worries! Pour all of it, liquid included, into a large mixing bowl to cool.

Next, heat the oil in the same skillet on medium heat. Add the chicken sausage. Cook about 5-7 minutes. Then toss in the green onion, and cook just a few more minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Add the rice four (I ground my own using an organic soaked and sprouted brown rice), arrowroot powder, sea salt, rock sugar, and white powder to the turnip and liquid. If you cooked all of your liquid out of the turnip, this is where you would add more. You can add 3/4 a cup of water or chicken or veggie stock (I had to add a little homemade veggie stock) or you can add something else like coconut aminos (which tend to be very IC friendly). Just be aware that if you’re using sausage, you will up the salt content by adding something like the aminos or store bought stock. Mix very well until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Add in the sausage and onion mixture. Mix well and then let it sit for 15 minutes. And then add the mixture to a well coated bread pan.

This is the step that got a little tricky for me, because it requires you to steam the mixture for 50 minutes!!! And you can’t skip this step either. The cakes will fall apart if you do. Learned that the hard way :). Steam on medium high heat for 50 minutes. I had nothing I could use to steam a loaf pan. Nothing. Until I spied my crockpot! I simply added two cups of water to the crockpot and placed the bread pan so that it was resting on the edges of the top without touching the water. It took a few minutes to adjust the pan to keep it up and still get the lid on and completely shut, but I managed it. Turned it on high and left it to steam for 50 minutes. Or so I thought. Because I left the house with my mom for a bit to run an errand and told my husband “turn this off in 30 minutes EXACTLY”. Guess who didn’t turn the crockpot off lol ;). So ours steamed for about an hour and a half total. It was a little over-steamed.

Once it has steamed though (for the correct amount of time!), it needs to sit in the pan and cool for 30 minutes. You then loosen the sides with a spatula and turn it out onto a cutting board. You then use a sharp knife dipped in water (to prevent sticking) to slice 1/2 inch thick pieces. Since ours was over-steamed, it did not come out easy. It stuck together very well, but broke into large pieces when trying to remove it from the bread pan. I ended up shaping mine into patties, which worked just as well. At this point, it IS cooked completely, so you can eat it as it :). Joel and I split one to see how it would taste as is, and it was really good. Kind of like stuffing, but that was probably due to the sausage we used.

Next, add 1-2 tbsp of oil to a skillet over medium low heat. Pan fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy, being careful not to burn them.

Plate and serve with hot sauce or other condiment. And of course an IC option for those who need it. We used Sriracha sauce, but they would be delicious with sauerkraut, horseradish, sour cream.. just about anything. Asian dipping sauces would work great if you used shrimp in place of the sausage :). But no matter what you use, this recipe is incredibly tasty. After being pan friend, the turnip cakes have the consistency and flavor of crab cakes sans the actual crab taste. Like a cross between the rest of a crab cake and a stuffing without the traditional stuffing seasonings. I’m not sure that makes sense lol. But they were delicious.They make wonderful leftovers too :). Reheat under the broiler, by steamer, or by adding a few tablespoons of water to a skillet.

This recipe is a little time consuming, but it would make a great lunchtime prep. That way you’ll have almost everything done by the time you’re ready to begin supper with a huge break in between :). Once you get to the final cooking part, it goes pretty quickly. Even though it takes a while, the recipe is still relatively easy to make. Per serving this recipe contains 218 calories, 6.3 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 40 grams of cholesterol, 26.2 grams of potassium, 30.2 grams of carbs, 3.1 grams of fiber, .2 grams of sugar, 17.7 grams of protein, 10.8% of your daily vitamin A, 41.7% of your daily vitamin C, 2.9% of your daily calcium, and 6% of your daily iron. It makes a great dish for my cataplexy diet :). This particular combination put the sodium at 364 mg per serving, with the whole recipe serving six. While using sausage makes the sodium a little high, that is easily remedied by using a different organic brand or by making your own (which is more bladder friendly anyway). You can also sub in a different meat like minced sea food or chicken.

Next time I might try it using a little minced wild-caught shrimp with minced bell peppers and a touch of garlic or ginger. There are plenty of ways you can substitute certain ingredients to make it IC friendly! Just get creative :). They’d pair really well with the Terrain Cultured Veggies too! Oh the choices!

..Organic Micro Greens Salad with Green Mandarin Salad Dressing..

I adapted this recipe from the Green Mandarin Salad Dressing from the Youngevity Aroma Share Club recipes for the month of April. I made a few changes to the recipe to suit my own tastes and what I had on hand in the kitchen. While the version I made isn’t IC friendly, it’s very easy to swap the offending ingredient out :).

The salad dressing was paired with an organic micro greens salad that was amazingly delicious. The combination of the dressing with the salad ingredients was amazing. It was light yet incredibly filling. This dish left me feeling great all day, and I ate the leftovers the next day for lunch. Joel and I actually squabbled over who was finishing the last of it off lol.

..Organic Micro Greens Salad..

–  few handfuls of organic micro greens (or other salad greens)

– organic orange tomatoes (omit for IC)

– organic raw white corn

– organic radishes, thinly sliced

– organic beets, cut into thing strips

– organic green onion, chopped

– Green Mandarin Salad Dressing (recipe below)

Really easy to toss together. Simply combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of the salad dressing, plate, and go to town :).

I had orange tomatoes in mine. There are a lot of ICers out there who can actually eat tomatoes. I have a much easier time eating organic heirloom green and orange tomatoes than I do eating any kind of red tomatoes. As long as I do so in moderation and not when my pain and other symptoms are spiking, I tend to do pretty well eating those two varieties. But feel free to omit where you need to.

..Green Mandarin Salad Dressing..

– 1/2 cup of organic raw unhulled, soaked & sprouted sesame seeds

– 1 tbsp of Terrain Sacred Herbs

– 8 organic frozen cherries, cut in half (mostly to check for pits!)

– 1/2 a chunk of fresh organic ginger

– about 2 cups of fresh organic orange juice OR pear/apple juice to make IC friendly

– 1 drop of Green Mandarin Essential Oil

Really easy to make. If you soak your sesame seeds yourself, soak them six hours to overnight. Drain very well. Blend all of the dressing ingredients together until smooth, except for the essential oil. The original recipe called for using nuts in place of the sunflower seeds and only 1 cup of juice. I have developed several nut allergies, so I made a safer swap. The sunflower seeds cause the mixture to set up like concrete, hence the extra liquid :). Once the ingredients are blended smoothly, add the Green Mandarin Essential Oil and blend for one more minute.

ICers- You can sub in pear or apple juice for the orange juice, but the essential oil should be IC friendly. You can also try using blueberry juice, but I’m not entirely sure how that would turn out. If you try it with that sub, let me know how it tastes :).

Store in a glass jar and chill for two hours before using. Pour over any salad. It will last for about two weeks in the fridge. Be sure to give it a good shake before each use to remix all the ingredients after storing in the fridge :).

The salad dressing was light and slightly sweet with a nice tartness that was balanced out nicely with the bit of ginger, the flavors of orange, and the unique taste of sunflower seeds. And it’s IC friendly :). My husband was a little skeptical at first.. and rightly so. My attempts at recreating essential oil food recipes have been diastorous in the past, but this one was a winner :). We’ve used it several times in the two weeks since I made it. He gobbles down anything that’s under it, and my nearly three year old, Eowyn, loves to eat it as is or over fruit.

..Spicy Skillet Greens..

Tomorrow is our organic produce pick-up date, and we still had a fridge full of greens! So what is a Southern woman supposed to do? Why, make a big skillet full of greens, of course :). I wanted something a little lighter than traditional greens made with meat and animal fats, and this recipe hit the nail on the head. This recipe is light but very feeling. The greens had lovely fresh, crisp taste that was just perfect. Definitely a recipe we’ll make again and again.

This recipe serves six people with142 calories, 5.3 grams of fat, 21.7 grams carbs and 4.7 grams of protein per serving. It also has 48.5% of your daily vitamin A, 86.8% of your daily vitamin C, 27.5% of your calcium and 10.2% of your daily Iron per serving. It’s a plant based powerhouse fully of delicious goodness :). Who says veggies won’t give you what you need?

The red pepper in this recipe can be an IC irritant. You can omit them if it’s a problem for you. The flavor will still be amazing, it just won’t have that little kick to it :). It’s a delicious dish with or without the red pepper flakes. Don’t let them scare you away!

– 5 cups of chopped organic turnip greens

– 8 cups of chopped organic collard greens

– 6 cups of organic beet root greens

– 1 tbsp organic olive oil

– 1 organic medium onion cut into small chunks

– 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or a pinch)

– 1/4 cup of water

– 1/8 tsp of rock sugar (organic beet sugar)

– fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)

This is really easy to toss together.  You may leave the ribs in the greens or take them out. I personally love the nice crunch they give to the dish, and they are full of nutrients :). It seems like a massive quantity of greens (and you can use just one kind by the way!), but the amount cooks down quite a bit.

Drizzle the olive oil into the skillet on medium heart. Add the onion and cook until just tender. It takes about 3 minutes or so. Then add half of the greens and cook them down.

After the greens have cooked down, add the rest of the greens to the skillet. Allow to cook down. Then add the water, rock sugar, and red pepper flakes. You can technically cook it until the water is absorbed if you wanted more mushy greens. I like the steams to be a little more crisp. So I only cooked it an additional 3-5 minutes. Plate and serve to taste with a little bit of fresh lemon juice if wanted.

It was absolutely delicious! Crisp and fresh with this nice subtle little bit of heat that complimented the flavors perfectly. My husband devoured his bowl in about two minutes, and we have plenty of leftovers to eat on for the rest of the week :). It’s easy to tailor to be IC friendly.. omit the red pepper if needed, you could use parsnips instead of onion for the different texture, and omit the optional lemon juice. Whether you doctor the recipe or leave it as is, it’s sure to be a crowd please-er :).

 

..Terrain Cultured Veggies..

This is a wonderful recipe that comes from Jordan Rubin, using one of his Beyond Organic products, Terrain Sacred Herbs. One of the reasons why I love the Terrain Living Herbals, especially the Sacred Herbs variety, is because they make a beautifully IC friendly vinegar substitute since they are very similar to apple cider vinegar.  And there are so many flavor options to chose from.

 

Terrain is the “power of sour”. They are living herbal supplements that boost metabolism, balance body pH levels, and support digestive healthy while providing a full complement of organic, herbal nutrition. Terrain products are raw/living and certified organic. They contain antioxidants, enzymes, probiotics, and organic acids. Plus, they contain zero calories. Terrain is made using a slow, long-term fermentation process that combines beneficial microorganisms and traditional organic botanicals to create liquid supplements made to “Transform Your Terrain”. This transformation happens in three foundational ways:

• Helps to restore proper pH balance in the body
• Helps to promote healthy metabolism
• Supports healthy gut flora and overall digestive function

Culturing veggies with Terrain in place of vinegar makes this dish a powerhouse of wellness. Cultured foods are some of the most nutritious foods you can eat, and some of the easiest to make once you get the hang of it :). Terrain also makes this a bladder and gut friendly option over other culturing methods. Culturing veggies with the probiotics found in Terrain turns this food into a superfood that everyone I’ve offered it to immediately falls in love with :). Even our toddlers much on it! Elodie’s favorite is cultured broccoli, while Eowyn eats it no matter which veggie it is. Once you start eating cultured veggies, you’ll never stop! They taste amazing, and you will be able to feel their amazing health benefits almost immediately.

– sterilized glass jars with lids

– shredded organic cabbage

– chopped organic green onion

– a clove or two of minced organic garlic

– chopped organic green leafy veggie (we used bok choy)

– chopped organic cucumber (optional)

– shredded organic carrots (optional)

– 1 tbsp grated organic ginger or 1 drop of ginger essential oil (because I was out of fresh ginger)

– 2 to 6 ounces of Terrain Sacred Herbs (depending on amount you’re making)

– filtered water

There’s a reason why I didn’t put amounts for the veggies.. make however much you want :). We had a huge bunch of bok choy, a head each of purple and green cabbage, and two cucumbers that all needed to be used or tossed. Normally I would use carrots, but I had given the girls the last of them for lunch that day. And I was out of ginger.. which I used to juice a bunch of green veggies that day too, so I used a single drop of ginger essential oil instead. A single drop is all you need if using the essential oil. Do NOT use more than one drop or the ginger will completely overpower and dominate the dish. You can use pretty much any green leafy veggie along with the cabbage and carrots. A lot of people use kale, but I thought bok choy would pair nicely with the ginger :).

So you start by combining all of the food ingredients with the Sacred Herbs using a clean wooden spoon. This is also where you will add your ginger essential oil. Because we made massive batches of this, we used 6 oz of the Sacred Herbs per batch.. I made two different ones. A plain one using just cabbage, cucumber and green onions while the second one contained the same along with bok choy and ginger.

Pack the veggie mixture into sterilized glass jars and add just enough water to cover. Place the lids on.

Allow the veggie filled jars to sit at room temperature for 48-72 hours before opening. Refrigerate after opening. If your jars are freshly sterilized and still hot, they will seal nicely once you pack them and place the lid on. We’ve left ours sitting at room temp anywhere from 3 days to 9 months without having any spoiling. The longer they sit, the more delicious they are. But do remember to stick them in the fridge once you open the jars.

It’s very rare to get a bad batch. In fact, we’ve never had one, and I have been making this recipe for over a year now. But it can go bad if unfriendly bacterias are introduced. This can turn the veggies slimy and brown. You can have a rotting odor from a bad batch too. If this happens, simply toss them out and start over. Using sterilized jars and keeping your work space clean and sterilized will help to keep the risk of a bad batch down.

This recipe has endless combination possibilities between the veggies and the Terrain Living Herbal options. So go crazy :). Experiment and find the flavor combination that you like best! It makes a great side dish to nearly anything, works wonderfully in homemade tortillas or over beans, or as a snack. And remember.. organic veggies and glass jars!

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***The information contained on this website is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. None of the information or statements found on this website have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products on this side are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, please consult your physician AND pharmacist before using these products. Please be sure to always declare any herbal, nutrition, and aromatherapy products to your doctor. Information on this site is meant for educational and informational purposes only, to help motivate you to make your own healthcare and dietary decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with your health care provider(s). It should not be relied upon to determine dietary changes, a medical diagnosis or courses of treatment. 

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..New Facebook Page..

Hello everyone :). After having several people request I make a facebook page (at the even I just did and the other people in my life), I finally broke down and created one. I hope everyone likes it :). I’m working hard to make it something special and informative. Tell me what you think of it, and don’t forget to like it!

 

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