Fighting the booger man

That's right folks. We have not had a boogey man invasion, we have had a booger man invasion. I have one of the many flu viruses, Jellybean gave it to me but her body turned it into croup, and now The Nerd is starting to sniffle, sneeze, and snot. So how do you fight the booger man?

1.) Hot tea - The Nerd and I love Traditional Medicinal's Breathe Easy tea, Jellybean likes peppermint tea with honey or  Traditional Medicinal's Kid's Nighty-Night tea. People think it's weird that my toddler loves herbal tea, but it helps! (She has let it come out her nose before, can you say sinus rinse? The best part, she acts like it's normal and just asks for a tissue, no tears! I died laughing the first time it happened.)

2.) Eucalyptus oil - This is the stuff that makes vapor rub smell so vapory (aside from the menthol). You can buy the essential oil at most health stores and some grocery stores. Our favorite way to use it is in a steamy shower. We turn the water on as hot as it will go, plug the drain, and put a few drops of oil in the tub. Then we just let the steam fill the bathroom and breathe in the goodness. We don't actually get in the bath as it is too hot, but sometimes the steam is highly necessary. You can also "refill" your vapor pads for your humidifier with the oil, or mix 2-3 drops with some coconut oil and you have home made petroleum free vapor rub. (Rosemary, Peppermint, Lemon, and Lavender essential oils are also great add ins)

3.) Nose Frida - It looks strange, okay it is strange, but it works better than traditional nasal aspirators. You just have to get over the fact that you are the one sucking your child's snot out.


4.) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate - Keep all that mucous liquid by keeping your body pumped up with water, tea, and any other liquids you are craving. Avoid overly sugary or caffeinated drinks as they can dehydrate you. I like drinking iced green tea to give me a break from water sometimes. Sweeten it with honey or agave for an extra boost away from sugar.

5.) Chicken and Dumplings - Nothing hits the spot like some good ol' chicken soup. In our house that equals chicken and dumplings. Find the recipe here but use these dumplings!

I probably have a few more ideas, but they aren't able to make it through the crummy haze. What are your go to natural remedies? Any favorite natural cold fighting products you love?

Happy eating healing!
Tori

Some New Soap for the New Year

Happy new year everyone and welcome back from the holidays! Okay, so my return is a bit belated. Sometimes mommy life takes over and the vacation leaves you a bit more behind on housework than you counted on. To help out with all that work I did have a great cleaner. Home made liquid Dr. Bronner soap! That's right. The "magic" soap that so many people swear by.

I tried Dr. Bronner's Magic soap for the first time about 2 months ago. There is a reason that "Magic" is in the name. I really love this stuff. I use the bar in the shower and I had bought liquid for cleaning around the house and for dishes. Then I remembered that I have read about 3,000,000 accounts of people turning bar soap into liquid soap. Could I make myself a gallon of my favorite liquid soap?? Do I really need to grate the silly thing first?

Turns yes I can make my own soap and no I don't have to grate it! All you need is a crock pot, 1 gallon of distilled water, and a bar of your favorite Dr. Bronner soap.

Put your water and your bar (yes the whole bar) into the crock pot and then turn it on low. Come back every couple hours and stir it. Once it's all dissolved, turn off the crockpot, let the soap cool, and put it back in your gallon jug from the water. SO EASY!

I have 2 gallons of soap sitting in my laundry room as we speak. You can add some more essential oils if you want the scent to be stronger but when I did that it made the consistency change. Suddenly I had booger soap, not liquid soap. It still works well, but it behaves in strange and mysterious ways.

Now it's time to go back to my housework and hope that my sleep deprived Jellybean decides today is a good nap day.

Happy eating cleaning!
Tori

Sweet Potato Pudding

This is easily one of my favorite side dishes of all time. What is so fantastic about this one dish? It's dessert hiding out next to the main course. But it doesn't stop there, the sweet crispy brûlée combined with the spicy cinnamon and ginger wakes up your tastebuds to the airy splendor that is baked pudding. Have I convinced you yet? This dish takes sweet potatoes to an entirely new level.

I have always been a pretty big fan of sweet potatoes. Give me a garnet yam, some butter, and a sprinkling of cinnamon. That combo makes for a happy tummy. (My only request, no marshmallows! Ugh!) My sister does not like them. Don't put anything remotely orange in front of her. Something about sweet vegetables makes her metaphorical boat hit rock bottom. I wanted to change that. I wanted her to ask for more of an orange vegetable just to prove I could do it.

You see, a few years ago my sister made an off hand comment. It was probably completely out of the blue, and she may not remember saying it, but it stuck with me. She told me, "you know, Mom's food is okay, but you are a really good cook." I was, pretty much, floored. I was 17 or 18, my culinary experience involved watching far too much of the Food Network and saving up my paychecks to buy extra groceries. I may have fiddled around in the kitchen some. I was going to be a choir teacher, not a cook.  Little did I know you can sometimes end up with two passions.

I still love teaching music, and writing music, I really love anything involving music. I am still saving up to go back to school and become a music teacher. But I love cooking too. This is now one of my sister's favorite side dishes at holiday meals. I proved her orange.

You'll Need:
2 eggs, separated, room temperature
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
a dash ground ginger (fresh is best)
1 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes

In a small bowl beat your egg yolks

In a mixing bowl cream together your butter and sugar. Add in your egg yolks, milk, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and sweet potatoes. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl beat your egg whites until stiff peaks form. Then gently fold your egg whites in to your sweet potato mixture.

Pour your mixture into a well greased 2 quart glass dish and bake at 350 for 40 min. Or separate into brulee ramekins and bake for 30 min.

After fully baked sprinkle lightly with sugar and melt sugar with a brulee torch until a crispy crust forms.

Happy eating!
Tori