Feeling Sick?

I don't have a picture because thankfully no one is sick! Having asthma, when we get sick, we have to limit what we can take as far as medication. I'm not a doctor, I just know what works for us, and hopefully you can find some help here.

Now I am not a tea drinker, hot or cold, but when we're sick, its a must. For us grown ups, some hot green tea with a bit of lemon and honey clears out your lungs. (I add a packet of my favorite sweetener because like I said, I'm not a fan of tea).  The good news is most teas are caffeine free, so it's great for kids (double check just in case!). My daughters favorite is Raspberry Zinger. Celestial Seasonings makes great variety packs to try and see which ones your kids might favor most.
Honey has great healing properties as seen here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/039963_cinnamon_honey_healing.html
This site talks about cinnamon too, because that is included in my next home remedy.

Sore throats (and Coughing.)
We all get them, and why waste money on a store remedy (although Ludens are oh so yummy). Again, I don't measure so the best way to make sure you have it right, is to taste it. We make a small dose that will last 3x a day for 3 days.
3tbs honey
4 tbs white vinegar
a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon
stir together (taste to make sure its good, the consistency should be mildly runny)
As seen in the link above, the honey and cinnamon are great for healing and the combo soothes your throat and helps ease your coughing.

Stuffed Sinuses
There is always the tried and true netty pots. But when my nose gets crazy stuffed, I self drown. So I boil Apple Cider Vinegar and breathe it in. Another tried and true remedy handed down from our grandmothers is boiling water, putting it in a plugged sink and hovering over it with a towel. It clears up your sinuses and lungs.

Coughing keeping you up?
I throw a hefty pillow under my daughters mattress. It elevates the mattress (not just her head), so it makes it easier for her to sleep comfier and being propped up helps her with her night time coughing.

Stay Hydrated!!
Water, tea, ginger ale, anything! Just make sure you are drinking. I lost a friend to dehydration while sick, and maybe that's why this part of staying healthy is so important to me. The more hydrated you are, the more prepared your body is to fight off infection.

We always make sure to have air purifiers going, cleaning them once a week, and replacing the filters as needed. We run humidifiers (especially with it being winter). I don't add anything to the water I put in it, but I imagine a few drops of lavender oil would help aid in sleeping, as lavender is a tried and true sleep aid.

Got any ideas we should try? Send them along

Food Dehydrating

So last month I bought a food dehydrator from Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-37A-American-Dehydrator-400-watt/dp/B00CS5ZI6G
Since then I have been dehydrating up a storm. I didn't buy the extenders because we are a house of 2, and didn't think I needed the extra space...yet.  I haven't done meat, I am not a huge meat fan, and I have yet to dip into the fruit roll up aspects of the dehydrator, but I've been doing fruits. Banana's (as seen above), strawberries and apples (so far). To me, my electric bill hasn't shot up from the use, it's much cheaper then buying it in the store, I know exactly what is going into my food and the fruits go great in our home made granola (see previous post) or just for healthy snacking. The dehydrator comes with instructions, drying times etc. There are some recipes and tips out there on the web too.
So how do I prepare my fruit?
I take a gallon zip lock bag and put it in my 4 cup measuring cup, this holds the bag easier, clearly you can come up with your own way.
I melt 1 packet of my favorite sweetner (splenda) in a tbsp of warm water and then add that with
1/4 cup of cool water, 1/4 cup honey to the bag and stir! I drop the fruits into my bag as I am chopping and then shake them all up when I'm done and place them on my racks. When I did apples, I added a squirt of lemon juice (to stop browning) and approx. 1tsp of cinnamon to give it the apple pie flavor in my marinade. (SOO YUMMY!) I usually coat my racks with vegetable oil to avoid over stickiness but if I am feeling lazy I just use a butter spray. Both works fine. Dehydrate according to the times in your book or online.
Some tips I enjoy:
-You don't have to marinate the bananas like the ones above. I was going for a "caramelized" aspect and think I got it. The first time we did bananas there was no marinade, they came out good, but needed a little something extra. I think I got it this time ;)
-I shut the machine off every 2 hours for about 10 minutes just to let the process kickstart again.
-You don't have to rotate the trays, but I do, especially because of the marinade.
-If its looking done, try one! Your mouth knows best.

Enjoy :)

Homemade Granola

Granola is a great treat! It's healthy, its a great source of energy, and its much cheaper when you make it yourself.
If you know me, you know I don't measure. So I'm going to give some rough estimations, and you can always google similar recipes and add or subtract ingredients according to your tastes.
300 degree oven
3-4 cups of oats
1/4 cups of almonds, pecans and walnuts each
1/4-1/2 cup raisins
tsp of cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4-1/2 cup of any dried fruits. Strawberries, bananas, apples (I dry my own fruits, I have a simple recipe I'm adding after this post).
1/4 honey1/4 vegetable oil
tsp of vanilla
Mix together, spread out evenly on a cookie sheet. Throw it in the oven and check and stir it approx. every 10 minutes. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown, don't over cook it because you are going to let it cool in the sheet and it will continue to crisp there.  When it is cool, put it in a air tight container. I stir in some chocolate chips at this process for a little treat. You can also choose to add your dried fruits at this stage if you want. It comes out great adding it before or after.
Enjoy!