The B.R.A.T. Diet

This morning my dear mother had a horrible stomach ache, and immediately my inner nurse-maid spirit kicked in. When she first came downstairs, she was nauseated, so heavy food wasn't an option. I got her some salt crackers and a glass of water, and kept a can of ginger beer on hand just in case it got extreme. 

By mid-morning, the nausea was a bit settled, so I brewed a cup of ginger peach tea for her, and provided more crackers. 

~Ginger is wonderful for an upset stomach! If feeling queasy just take some ginger ale, ginger tea, gingersnaps, or the like.

At lunch, she was feeling much better, so I could move to a bit more substantial food. I decided the B.R.A.T. diet would be the safest thing

B. bananas

R. rice

A. applesauce 

T. toast

Keeping to this diet as much as possible, I made toast with homemade peanut butter and a banana/apple smoothy. 

Here is what I did:

Banana and Apple Smoothy

1 Banana

1 Apple

1/2 c. Frozen Strawberries

1 c. Fruit Juice

1 TBS Honey

Mix all in a blender (stirring as needed) till smooth and creamy.

The toast was just my dad's homemade honey whole wheat bread that I stuck in the toaster till it was golden brown. 

We didn't have any peanut butter, so i grabbed the food processor and mixed 1/2 c. salted peanuts (I used Planter's) and about 1 Tbs+ of coconut oil. Any oil can be used, but I really like the flavor of the coconut. Pulse, scraping sides often, till creamy and 

'buttery'. Spread that on the toast and voilá!  

On the Trading of Tim Tebow

When I'm sad, I write poetry about the situation... So here is the fruit of a day of sadness... 

For Mr. Tebow

On the Trading of Tim Tebow

By A.F. Lowry           

March 19, 2012

I looked upon the frozen dawn,

I drank the city air.

Now the crowded masses thronged

Along the thoroughfare

A fresh metropolitan state

With fresh plans, great and small;

Fresh life, ground, society, and change

And fresh talent above all

But something was different now

A stale, warm, harsh wind blew,

And I knew that there upon the ground

My dreams would soon be strewn.

‘A fantastic opportunity’…

That is what they said.

But what is a championship to me?

Something more I dread.

How could we keep both of the stars

(The old and new talent)

With this new, small budget of ours?

For he is young, even if gallant.

But, I won’t fear his leaving us

For I know within my heart

That wherever he goes, he’ll trust

The will our Lord imparts

Now, I'm not saying that he will be traded, and I hope that he isn't, but I'm praying God's will for him right now... I want him wherever he can thrive and grow and be the greatest witness... I'm only partial to him staying here in Denver. 

For more of my poetry, check out my new book on Amazon... HERE

Drink Water... It's Vital!!!

It’s a common fact that our bodies are made of nearly 70% water, but why is it so important to take in 8 to 12 glasses a day? Perhaps, it is because over 75% of American’s are chronically dehydrated.  Every organ in the human body needs water to function properly, especially the brain, which is composed of 85% water. Consider that dehydration is the number one cause of daytime tiredness and that a loss of just 2% water in our bodies can cause fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and trouble focusing on a computer screen or a printed page. 

A loss of 4 to 5% water can diminish work performance by 20 to 30%. Dehydration can occur in any season and athletes and children are particularly susceptible to it because of how quickly they tend to lose water. So even though the average person consumes nearly three cups of water through food, it is very important to take in the extra 8 to 12 glasses in order to perform at the highest level. 

You have nothing better to do with your life than to spend every moment trying to improve. -Joyce Meyer 

Café au Lait

I've always wanted to be a barista, but after applying to Starbucks and other coffee shops multiple times (and never even being asked to an interview) I'd almost given up hope. 

But, who says I can't be a barista right here in my own kitchen? I found this yummy book called 'Coffee; scrumptious drinks and treats' by Betty Rosbottom and now I'm experimenting with my own lattes and such on my own. It inspired me to say the least, and I've been running rampant with the coffee maker (and tea) latelyWho needs Starbucks with all their sugar and syrups? 

So this is my version of Café au Lait (French for 'coffee with milk'). It's ingredients - as you may have guessed - is simply coffee and milk! Strong hot coffee and scalded milk to be exact. This is a simple latte that is very popular in France and has become part of American coffee shops as well. 

Since I've started making this, I have fallen in love with scalded milk. It is so smooth and creamy and has an all around better texture than anything else I've ever had! I'm never heating my milk in the microwave again!

The ratio of coffee to milk varies by taste. I've tried two parts milk, one part coffee as well as vice versa, but personally, I prefer just half and half.

So here it is... My version of 

Café au Lait

1 cup milk

1 cup strongly brewed coffee*

Sweetener to taste

To scald the milk, pour into a saucepan and heat till steaming. Stir slowly and consistently on low heat till the milk reduces and small bubbles form around the edges (about 5-8 minutes). The trick to scalding is to get it almost to the point of scorching (burning on the bottom) and keep it there. Because of this, you'll want to keep the bottom scraped well. Add coffee and keep on heat for a few minutes more. Add sweetener. Pour into a mug and sprinkle top with your choice of spices or the like (I used raw cocoa powder). 

*For a Tea Latte, just brew 1 tea bag in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes (black teas work best!)

Starting Seeds in Eggshells

As you can probably tell, I'm loooonging for spring/summer!!! I promised myself I would wait until at least march to start my herb garden, but as you can see, that didn't exactly happen. Ha! So here is my way to start seeds indoors with little to no cost (besides the seeds)... plant them in eggshells!

For years, farmers have started seeds in eggshells and had great success. My mom gave me the idea when I started buying seeds for my medicinal herb garden and so far it has worked wonderfully! I wanted to grow a little of several varieties and move all the matured plants to one large pot. Because of this, it didn’t quite make sense to buy several small pots just for the couple of months that I would be growing the seeds. That made eggshells the perfect solution for me.

Not only are eggshells inexpensive and easy to acquire, they also provide natural nutrients for the seeds as they grow. Also, later when transferring to a different pot, all you have to do is break the shell into the dirt you are transplanting it into!

My little baby basil starting to sprout

I used white eggs, because it isn’t always the easiest to get brown ones here in Denver, but I would definitely use the brown if they are available. Start by saving an empty egg container (I cut a one and one-half dozen carton in half and cut off the lid). Lay that by your sink or put it back in your fridge if you have space. Now anytime that you use eggs, try to crack it at the top and peel away the shell so that about three-fourths remains. Once you've removed the egg, rinse the eggshell out and lay it in the carton.

Chamomile is the in the front,
basil in the back

After you’ve collected as many as you need, take a tack or egg piercer if you have one and poke the bottom about four or five times to make holes for drainage. (It takes some practice to accomplish this without destroying the egg, so you might keep a few extra eggshells on hand just in case)

Fill the eggshells with dirt and sprinkle four to six seeds on top. The amount of dirt to be used to cover the seeds will vary on the size of the seed. Such tiny seeds as lavender take only a dusting of dirt, whereas cilantro with it’s almost pea sized seeds needs about a quarter inch of dirt.

The rule of thumb usually stands that you cover the seed with a layer of dirt no taller than the seed is tall.

Water the seeds with a spritz bottle only till the dirt is soaked, and then cover with plastic rap or a shower cap. Keep the dirt moist watering every morning or so. Put them in a sunny window where it’s warm, and voila! Expect seeds in about two weeks. 

Homemade Ocean Spray

~So, I know it's February, but I've been having major beach withdrawals lately. That might explain why a few of my subsequent posts will be about my years living near the ocean.. like this one~

I used to love going to the beach on the weekends and that feeling when my hair would get gritty with salt and sand and falls in the most gorgeous waves around my shoulders. 

Then I moved to Denver...

I'd heard about this Ocean Spray serum that you can buy that gives your hair that ocean shine and feel, but it was nearly as expensive as just flying myself back to the beach (well not quite, but you get the idea). 

I ran across this recipe, however, and had to try it! It worked amazingly well! I could hardly believe it. It's cheap, fast, and oh-so worth it <3 

Ingredients: 

1 Cup Warm Water

3 Tbs Salt

1 Tbs Gel or Spray Gel

1/2 Tbs Conditioner (or leave-in)

A couple of spritzes of your fav perfume

Directions

Mix water and salt till thoroughly combined then add the other ingredients (I halved the recipe the first time, and I suggest you try it first as well). Pour the liquid into a small squirt bottle (I got mine for 95 cents at Wal-Mart) and generously spray on clean dry hair till hair is damp. Scrunch your hair till dry. 

My hair was already kind of curly when I started, but this just helped bring out the wave. Also, if you have dry hands, you might want to use plastic gloves or make sure to lather with lotion first.... the salt sting horribly on dry skin!

It just took a spray and a scrunch and I felt like I was back in Leguna Beach sinking my toes in the sand, listening to the seagulls overhead, watching the waves crash on the shore....