Eating Unprocessed in a Processed World.

Follow me on my whole foods journey!
Visit me in the kitchen to see what I'm eating, baking, and cooking here.

Oprah isn’t the only one loving Steel Cut Oats for breakfast!

ABOUT OATS: Unlike quick rolled oats, steel cut oats haven't been steamed, rolled, or toasted. Nor have they been pre-cooked, dried, or sweetened, like instant oatmeal. Steel cut oats are whole grain goodness->the innermost part of the oat kernel. The most natural, least processed, making them the healthiest oat choice.

Can I just say that when this is baking, your whole house will smell devine.

How I made it:

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F. Put *2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats in a large baking dish. Added 7-8 cups of water. Sprinkled some sea salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stirred. Covered with foil and baked for 35 minutes. I then checked and stirred it and put it back in the oven for additional 10 minutes, or until done.

*SERVINGS:

I like to make enough oats to have a muffin size portion every day for a week. This works with 2 cups of oats. If you prefer fewer servings, use 1 cup of oats and 4 cups of water.

WHAT TO ADD TO STEEL CUT OATS once it's cooked? When you are ready to prepare your individual serving, anything goes! Fruit, spices, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, natural sweeteners. Experiment and find your fave mix.

WHAT DO I LIKE IN MY OATS? When I pop the muffin size serving out of the freezer (see HOW TO FREEZE below), I throw on a dollop of organic peanut butter and heat it in the microwave. Once it's ready to eat, I'm heavy on the spices (I stir in some pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg), add some nuts (walnuts, pecans or almond slices) and seeds (hemp or ground flax) and sliced banana.

HOW TO FREEZE: Put the cooked oats in a muffin tin to freeze. Once frozen, pop them out and transfer to small freezer bags. That way you can take one out at a time to enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

COUNTING CALORIES: If you are counting calories, a 1/4 cup of dried Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats is one serving and is 140 calories.

Go Green With Chocolate: Chocolate Banana Pops

Ever had a chocolate banana on a stick?
This is an easy & quick activity fun for kids of all ages!
Recipe here

Be Gone! Natural Cold & Sore Throat Remedies

With school back in session and the Fall season on it's way, we are getting into the cold, sore throat, and flu season. Boost your immune system now! Learn about natural solutions to ward off symptoms.

Try the following homemade remedies on this list. All of them are super simple to make! The recipes can be found here.

• Chicken Soup My Comforting Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe here
  
• Ginger Tea
• Green Smoothie
• Natural Cough Syrup

DIY Natural Coconut Lip Balm

DIY Natural Coconut Lip Balm
This is a fun easy project that you can do with your children, friends, or family.
Creating your own healthy lip balm has never been so easy.

According to naturally savvy.com, it's estimated a woman will ingest about four pounds of lipstick and lip balm in her lifetime just from wearing it! Did you know that some well known brands of lipsticks contain lead in them? Yes!

To check the health rating of your lip balm or lipstick, click here.

This recipe makes 5 lip balm tubes.
What you need:

• 3 tsp white beeswax beads
  
• 5 tsp non-hydrogenated coconut oil
  
• 6-7 drops of essential oil of your choice (I like orange)
• 5 lip balm tubes
• small funnel
• spoon
• 2 small bowls that you can put aside and use just for your balms
  

What you do:

• Melt beeswax in microwave.
  
• Melt coconut oil in microwave.
  
• Once the coconut oil and beeswax are liquified (they will look like a clear liquid), stir them together. Mix well.
• Add essential oil.
• Stand up lip balm tubes on your counter.
  
• Put the funnel in your first tube and using a spoon, spoon the balm mixture into the funnel. Go slowly--it doesn't take much to fill a lip balm tube!Gently take out the funnel and spoon in the last few drops into your lip balm tube until the balm mixture is at the top of the tube. Leave caps off until they fully cool.
  
• Once they cool, put the caps on and store balms in refrigerator for a few hours to set. Because these DIY balms can melt or soften in hot or very warm setting (sitting in a hot car), I sometimes store them in the refrigerator when they aren't in my purse.
  

Natural Soy Candles- The clear natural candle choice

Author: Funmi Ogboye

Soy Candle- New kid on the candle/gift block

Have you discovered soy candles?

Natural candles handmade from a renewable resource sound good – just wait until you hear the benefits of soy wax and you’ll be truly converted by this new kid on the block in the candle market.

Q. Where are soy candles sourced from?

A. Soy candles are made from soy wax which is made from hydrogenated soy bean oil.

Q. Why are soy candles said to be environmentally friendly

A. Soy candles can be said to be environmentally friendly because it is made from soy wax which is derived from soya bean a natural, renewable and biodegradable resource it also does not produce toxins when lit.

Q. What does soy wax burning cooler and longer mean?

A. Soy wax burning cooler lessens the risk of serious burns from melted wax, this is particularly important for users with children and pets where accidental spillages may happen.

Soy wax burns 50% longer than paraffin wax candles which makes them more economical.

Q. I have a love: hate relationship with my candles, I love my candles, but I hate the stains they leave, is there any solution?

A. Switch over to soy candles, they are clean-burning, that is they do not produce soot that stain your walls and interiors.

Q. I like re-using my candle glass holder but it takes so long to clean is there a solution for that?

A. Yes, one of the advantages of using soy wax candles is that they are easier to clean. Soy wax is water soluble which makes cleaning almost effortless.

Q. Aren’t all natural wax candles, such as beeswax, the same? What makes candles made from soy wax different?

A. Unlike beeswax, soy wax doesn’t have a powerful fragrance of its own, so it is a better “blank” base for all fragrances and essential oils. You can also buy soy wax candles in lots of colours and shapes.

Q. Soy wax is described as having a “wonderful scent throw”. What does this mean?

A. This means that scented soy wax candles fill the room with a strong, lasting fragrance. Candles made from soy are also natural and clean burning and have a purer fragrance than say paraffin wax candles, which contain added chemicals and have been known to give people headaches.

Q. Paraffin wax scented candles are so much cheaper than soy wax scented candles – why should I pay more for soy?

A. In a nutshell, the atmospheric and sensual benefit of scented soy candles is far greater than any other type of candle. To start with, they are made from a natural base that doesn’t conflict with the fragrance. By comparison, paraffin wax scented candles are derived from petrol, which blots out the fragrance just an hour after lighting the candle. Soy wax candles also last 50% longer than paraffin wax candles. So, if you’re looking for a quality, long lasting candle with a great fragrance, soy candles are the best choice.

Q. I have heard that inhaling the fumes from paraffin wax candles is just as bad for your health as breathing second hand cigarette smoke. Is this true?

A. Nothing has been proven on the health front, but it is true that the smoke from paraffin wax candles contains 11 toxins, two of which are carcinogenic. Soy wax candles, by comparison, don’t produce any toxins – so you can be assured you are not breathing toxins as you relax in your candlelit bath.

Q. But surely any candle that contains essential oils will have a positive effect on my health and wellbeing?

A. Not if it contains paraffin wax. Aside from the toxins, paraffin wax candles produce soot, which pollutes the air you breathe and leaves nasty black smears on walls and furnishings. It’s true that essential oils have therapeutic effects, but using a paraffin candle as the carrier is a contradiction. If you are going to pay a premium for aromatherapy candles and wish to enjoy the benefits, choose candles made from 100% natural products.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gifts-articles/natural-soy-candles-the-clear-natural-candle-choice-865374.html

About the Author:

After spending 10 years in the research and development departments of top companies in the cosmetic industry working with skincare, colour cosmetics and fragrances I founded Sentelle. Sentelle is a London based Lifestyle company that specializes in unique soy candles.
To see our range of scents and candle types please visit http://www.sentelle.co.uk/soy-candles.asp
To sign up for our newsletter which comes to you loaded with articles and special offers exclusive to newsletter subscribers please visit http://www.sentelle.co.uk/newslettersignup.asp

Real Purity Cosmetics. Real & Pure. Clean Natural Make-Up.

My cosmetic goodies from Real Purity just arrived so I immediately sampled everything. On a scale of 1-10, with 1o being the best, this line gets a 10+ rating from me. Real and pure, just like the name implies. This company is the real deal and when they say "natural", they mean it.

What sets Real Purity apart from all the rest of the cosmetic lines? They are: truly all NATURAL, environmentally friendly (for us & Mother Earth), cruelty-free (no animal testing), in addition to full size products->they sell sample sizes so you can find the colors/products that best suit you, reasonable prices (they put people before profit), fast shipping, no mega marketing hoopla or advertising hype, and Real Purity was founded by Virginia Easterling Jenkins.

FOUNDATION: I've been wearing mineral powder foundation but wanted to try a chemical-free liquid foundation (very hard to find) and alas, here it is, the Health Glow Foundation! I like a clean natural look and this rice bran foundation is perfect. It's lightweight, evens out skin tone with full coverage. To learn about the benefits of rice bran oil, click here.

LIPS: Did you know that some name brand lipsticks have unsafe levels of lead in them?
YES! Hard to believe, but true. We ingest our lipsticks and lip balms so make sure they are all natural and non-toxic! Normally, I'm a DIY lip balm wearer but after discovering Real Purity's natural lipsticks, I'll opt for color on occasion. They are moisturizing like a lip balm and come in fun colors that will brighten anyone's day. Order a few samples to check out the colors. Mix and match to create your own color.

BLUSH: Enough of bronzer, already! I chose Golden Pink, a big pot of beautiful powder blush.

EYE SHADOW: Lots of colors to choose from. Available in sample sizes as well as regular sizes here. Have fun!

To see all the products that Real Purity offers,
click here.

How do you say? Pronunciation Tool Has Arrived!

For those of you who don't know how to pronounce my name (Celeste), click here.