Homemaker Gone Natural

…live life naturally!

Monthly Archives: February 2014


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Grilled Italian Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwiches (Whole Wheat)

 

 

Grilled Italian Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwiches (Whole Wheat)

per sandwich:

Generously butter one side of a slice of bread, place butter side down in skillet over med-low heat.  Layer mozzarella to cover slice, place tomatoes on top of mozzarella, sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of tomatoes. Top with generously buttered bread, butter side up.  Cook in skillet until side down is golden brown, flip and cook until other side just as golden 😉 viola!

Serve with my Seasoned Tomato Soup from Sauce for an excellent meal!


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Seasoned Tomato Soup from Sauce

Seasoned Tomato Soup from Sauce

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low and simmer for about 10-20 min.  I just simmer the whole time I am making Grilled Italian Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwiches and it works out great.


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Mashed Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower

 

Mashed Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1/4 shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 T real butter (you can use olive oil here but I don’t like the taste of it in this)
  • 1 t dried oregano
  • 3/4 t garlic powder
  • salt & pepper to taste

Wash cauliflower and cut into pieces and boil on stove for 7-10 minutes (until tender when pierced with fork).  Drain cauliflower and place in a bowl.  Mash the cauliflower then stir in the rest of the ingredients.


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Whole Wheat Banana Bread

 

    Whole Wheat Banana Bread

  • 3  bananas
  • 1 3/4 c  whole wheat flour (I milled hard white)
  • 3/4 c  raw cane sugar
  • 1/4 c  raw honey
  • 1  egg, beaten
  • 5 1/4 TBS  real butter
  • 1 tsp  organic vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp  baking soda
  • Pinch of salt

First, stir honey and sugar together in small bowl and sit aside.

In a bowl, mash the peeled bananas. Melt butter, then add to bananas and mix well. Add sugar and honey mixture, beaten egg and vanilla to mixture then stir well. Add the salt and baking soda, stir. Add flour, stir. Pour batter into a buttered bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.


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Natural Bleach Alternative

 

Natural Bleach Alternative

  • 1  1/2  cup Hydrogen Peroxide
  • 1/2  cup Lemon Juice (you can use vinegar just add 4 drops lemon eo)
  • water

Combine ingredients. Put in Gallon sized container and finish filling with water.  Add 1 cup per load using as a color safe bleach alternative 🙂


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Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies w/ Whole Wheat and Oatmeal

  • 2  1/4 c of flour (soft white, milled on pastry setting)
  • 1 c oats (old fashioned)
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 t sea salt
  • 1 c softened butter
  • 1  1/2 c sugar (raw cane, evaporated cane juice etc)
  • 1/4 c raw honey
  • 2 lg eggs (free-range)
  • 1 T vanilla
  • 12 oz chocolate chips (I used enjoy life)
  • 1 c coconut, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Mix sugar and honey in a bowl and sit aside. Put flour, oats, baking soda and salt into a food processor or blender and blend about 30 secs. In your mixing bowl beat butter until creamed or until lighter in color. Add your sugar and honey mixture, eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Mix in flour mixture and then finally add in the coconut and chocolate chips.

Shape cookie dough into 1″ balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10-11 min. Let cookies cool slightly before moving them from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack.


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Diatomaceous Earth

Some of my family members have been taking Diatomaceous Earth (DE) internally for years now.  I have used this several times throughout the years as a detox, or cleanse.  My father drinks it with acv and water almost daily.  My sister gives it to her family in smoothies fairly regularly.  I have an uncle who has been drinking it several times a week.  So, what is Diatomaceous Earth and why add it to my diet?

What it is:

Basically, it is fossilized diatoms, or algae. It has a talc like consistency and doesn’t dissolve in liquid, nor is it fully digested or absorbed into your body, however some of the trace minerals with it are. There are different grades of DE, in this post I will generally be referring to food grade. DE was discovered in the 1830s, by a peasant thinking he had found a lime deposit.

Uses:

There are many uses for DE.  It has been used as an health aid, a mild abrasive, a filter medium, an insecticide, an absorption medium, a thermal insulator, DNA purification, an anti-caking agent, a hydroponic growing medium and more. DE should not be inhaled.

There are many claims to what DE can do for you when taken internally. From what I’ve read about it, DE works physically (not chemically) by actually moving through your system attracting bacteria, viruses, etc and exiting your body with them.  There are lots of sites with information about DE if you care to look into it to see if it is right for you as an added supplement to your diet. Here are some of the health benefits people have claimed came from adding DE to their diet:

Lower blood pressure

Lower cholesterol

Removal of intestinal parasites

Laxative

Detox

Weight loss accelerator

Anti-Aging

Joint pain relief

Slows tissue degeneration

Cough suppressant

Menopausal symptom relief

Disclaimer for FDA:

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Discussion of Diatomaceous Earth health benefits is based solely on personal experience and testimony shared by individual DE users and this company cannot market or label DE as a human health supplement with specific medical claims.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

References:

^http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

^http://www.earthworkshealth.com/human-use.php

^http://diatomaceous.org/

^http://howtousediatomaceousearth.com/


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Homemade Mouthwash

   

      Homemade Mouthwash

  • 1 c distilled water
  • 1 c vodka
  • 10 drops mint essential oil of your choice (peppermint, spearmint etc)
  • 10 drops Lemon Essential Oil

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar or glass jar of your choice.  Shake before each use, gargle and swish like normal mouthwash.  


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Tyler’s Mexican Pizzas

My oldest son, Tyler has decided to start making some of the meals and has graciously offered to allow me to blog his meals as well.  Tonight he begins his journey with Mexican Pizzas and boy, they are DELICIOUS!!!!

     Tyler’s Mexican Pizzas

Fry onion & beef together in a skillet, drain.  Add refried beans and taco seasoning and simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.  In a skillet, fry your tortilla shells in oil on med-hi heat, flipping to cook evenly on both sides until golden in color (about 30 seconds each side). Tyler used Avocado oil for frying pouring enough in to put about 1/4 inch in skillet.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lay 6 fried tortillas out on a cookie sheet (we were working with a small cookie sheet, so only two fit at a time) then spread 1/6 of meat mixture onto them.  Top meat mixture with another fried tortilla and top that with about a spoonful of the taco sauce and a handful of cheddar cheese.

Bake in oven until cheese is melted, approximately 3-5 min.  We topped ours with lettuce, tomato, black olives and Greek yogurt.


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Homemade All-Natural Taco Sauce

Taco Sauce

  • 1 3/4 cup   Tomato Sauce
  • 1 1/2 TBS   Vinegar
  • 1 TBS   Honey
  • 1 TBS   Cumin
  • 1/2 TBS   Cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp   Chili powder
  • 1 tsp   Cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp   Garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp   Oregano
  • 1/4 tsp   Turmeric powder
  • salt & pepper to taste (dash)

Combine ingredients together in a pot and heat on low until it begins to bubble and is thoroughly incorporated.  Serve on tacos, nachos, Mexican pizzas or whatever you wish 🙂