Monthly Archives: April 2012

Sweet Relief for Allergies

Posted on by

2

I love this time of year; everything is turning green, leaves are budding, flowers are blooming, new life is in the air.  However, these are the same reasons that many (including myself) hate this time of year.  If you are one of the 50 million + people who suffer from seasonal allergies, then you know exactly what I’m talking about!

Seasonal allergies affect a large portion of the population, and the pharmaceutical companies take advantage of that little fact by marketing all kinds of medications that should  combat the allergens.  In reality, these chemicals relieve the symptoms of the allergy for a short time period.  Not only are we left with an unfavorable chemical in our bodies, but we have usually forked over a good amount of money for these products that only work for a short period of time.

When I was diagnosed with seasonal allergies (many years ago – in high school), I was given a prescription for one of these products, which I used religiously.  I DID NOT like the way it made me feel, I was constantly “cloudy” and felt like I was moving through a dream-world, I even made it to the top of a cheer leading stunt only to look down and wonder how I had gotten there before I became dizzy. Side-effects aside, I didn’t have itchy, watery eyes or a stuffy nose so it must not be a horrible product, right? WRONG!   This is just a partial list of many of the side-effects associated with OTC and prescription allergy medications: drowsiness, raised blood pressure, insomnia, light-headedness, or nervousness, and the list goes on.
Well, after the incident at cheer leading practice, I pretty much took myself off of the allergy medication and just dealt with the sneezing, itchy/watery eyes etc. for the time span of my allergy season (about 8-10 weeks).  I eventually outgrew whatever it was that caused my allergic reaction (or built up an immunity to it – this is the more likely answer) and forgot all about allergy season…until we moved to Virginia and lived there for one year.

One year after changing my address I began, once again, to experience allergic reactions to my environment. Apparently the Virginian flora and fauna had NOT been integrated into my system and was different enough from what was in my
Hoosier home state that I was doomed to the life of being a constant kleenex carrier again.  I remembered all to well how I felt when I had taken allergy meds before (even OTC ones), and I DID NOT want to deal with those side-effects again.  Not only did I not want those side-effects, but I was now nursing my second son and I absolutely did not want those meds crossing the breast milk barrier.  I started doing some research on natural allergy relief and was very surprised to learn that I could very easily combat my allergies (not the symptoms) with honey (maybe Mary Poppins was on to something with the whole “spoonful of sugar” idea)!  Now, this doesn’t mean that you can run to the grocery store and grab the squeezy bear of honey to use.  In order to help combat allergies, you need to use LOCAL RAW HONEY.  Here is the reasoning behind that: local honey is honey that is produced by bees in your area. This means that the pollen the bees are collecting are from vegetation in your area (the same vegetation that causes your runny/stuffy nose, and itchy/watery eyes). A teaspoon of local honey, taken several times a day, can build up your resistance to local allergens therefore relieving you of allergy symptoms over time.

Now, it doesn’t work immediately, but it DOES work (and at fractions of the $$$ that is spent on OTC and prescription meds!). I have been using this method of allergy relief  for a few years (with myself and my children) and I will never cease to be amazed at the way it works!

There are other great benefits of having local honey around your home, as well as the bee pollen that you can purchase from those local bee keepers, but I’ve got to “buzz”  (I know, horrible pun!), so that’s a post for another time.

To Peep, or Not to Peep???

Posted on by

0

As Easter approaches at an accelerated pace, my boys (and no doubt, my Dad) start craving those ooey gooey fluorescent covered confections that are a trademark of the holiday.  Any parent can start to read the ingredient list and just cringe knowing that their children will be ingesting boatloads of sugar and be bouncing off the walls in a short amount of time.  This behavior will be followed by a sugar crash that results in a meltdown of epic proportions (if your children are anything like mine).

Knowing that my kids love these, I started searching for ways that I could replicate the recipe.  I found a few, but all of them still included using a lot of sugar.  I had to adapt my recipe so that it included natural sweeteners (ones that do not cause a rapid spike in blood sugar), and this is what I came up with:

  • 1 cup  filtered water (split into half cups)
  • 3 Tbls gelatin ( I use grass-fed beef gelatin)
  • 1 cup organic honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Take the gelatin and put it into the bowl of a stand mixer, cover with 1/2 cup of the water.  Pour the other 1/2 cup of water into a pan, and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat (stirring the whole time so the honey doesn’t burn).  Once it has reached a rolling boil, use a candy thermometer to bring to 240 F (it takes about 7 minutes), stirring occasionally.  After it reaches 240 F, slowly add this mixture to the gelatin in the mixing bowl.  You need to start whisking this on high (be careful, it may splatter at first and is very hot, I worked my way up to high-speed).  After approximately 5 minutes, it will begin to look like this:

 

This is about 10 minutes into the whisking on high speed…ummm marshmallowy….

While this continues to whisk into ooey gooey perfection, grease a jelly roll pan (I use coconut         oil, but butter will work as well) so that you  will have it ready to pour the mixture into.

 

 

 

 

After 15 minutes of high-speed whisking, you should be able to lift up the attachment and have a nice “stiff peak”.

This looks perfect!  now it is time to grab that greased jelly roll pan and scrape the whole she-bang into it.  It should spread out, but you may need to coax it a little bit by spreading with a greased spatula.  Cover the pan with an inverted pan for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

After the mixture has settled for the amount of time you were able to leave it alone, turn it over onto a surface that has been lightly oiled.  You can then take any shape cookie cutter (we used a bunny head), dip it in a cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture, and start cutting away!  Once you have all of your shapes, the fun of decorating begins!  There are so many options to choose from!  You can use dusting sugars (made specifically for baking confections), coconut, nuts/seeds.  The sky is the limit!

These were dusted with palm sugar that had been tinted with a few drops of beet juice.

 

I can’t say that my boys will always stay away from the commercial brand, but at least we have an alternative now…. and I can’t wait to use the marshmallow recipe for s’mores this summer!

Running on Faith

Posted on by

1

I woke up this morning, earlier than usual,   to overcast skies and 50 degree weather. Perfect for getting in a nice, long run in to start my day. That way, I could be showered and have a good breakfast made for the kids by mid-morning, and my exercise for the day would be complete which would leave the rest of the day to get chores done and hang out with the family.  I fired up my music on my iPhone and took off, feeling a bit apprehensive about the overcast skies, but knowing that it was perfect weather for an 8 mile run.

I had done so well all week following my scheduled runs calendar and I knew I’d be able to check this one off with no problem.  A few sprinkles started to fall 2 miles into it, and I was still on my way, no worries.  Well, due to my music, I must have missed the chuckle from above before the heavens opened up on me.  It wasn’t torrential, but it was enough for me to cut my 8 mile run to a 4 mile run and make it back to the van soaking wet, shivering, and bummed that I wasn’t able to do what I had planned for myself for this morning.

As I sit typing this, it is now dry outside, with the sun peeking through intermittently and about 65 degrees outside.  Not bad running weather for those that haven’t had their workout yet…

While I should be upset that I didn’t wait for THIS time of day, I’m not.  You see, while it was raining, I was completely alone with my thoughts/prayers, my music, and my God.  Even at Mass last night I didn’t feel this close to Him, He knew that I needed this time and He knew that I needed it to be cut short today.  I currently have more energy and am in a much better mood than I have been in all week, even after sloshy shoes and soaked clothes.

Next time I head out for my “long run” I need to check first to see if I hear laughter from above.