16 Uses for Lavender

April 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

lavender
Photo by Clownfish

Not only do I love using lavender essential oil, but I also love using dried lavender, whether it’s in homemade health and beauty products or in the kitchen.

I buy my lavender from Mountain Rose Herbs,  but you can also find it at your local health food store. Or if you have your own lavender plant, you can dry it and use that (even better!)

Lavender is easy to grow and does well in most conditions. It’s a great addition to any garden! If you live in an area with cold Winters, plant your lavender in a pot so you can bring it indoors and place near a sunny window during the colder months.

Lavender is most known for its soothing, calming quality and it’s ability to promote sleep and reduce stress. It is also gentle and healing for skin.

In the kitchen lavender pairs well with cream, honey, vanilla, chicken, lemon, peaches, plums, rosemary, thyme, and walnuts.

lavender vanilla ice cream

Here are 16 ways to use lavender:

  • Honey Lavender Syrup: I use this to make honey lavender lattes or I add it to sparkling water for a refreshing treat.
  • Lavender Vinegar (great for cleaning, using as a hair rinse, using for a facial toner, and more!)

Read more about the many uses for lavender, and tell me how you like to use lavender in your home!

Shared at Your Green Resource,  Jill’s Home Remedies, and Frugally Sustainable.

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Filed Under: Health and Home, In the Kitchen Tagged With:

Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes

April 8, 2013 by 2 Comments

bread&wine_cover_art

Reading one of Shauna’s books always feels to me like having a good conversation with a best friend (which might explain why I think I can call her by her first name when I’m writing a review!) and Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes is no different.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reading copy of the book and finished it a couple weeks ago. Ever since, I’ve been searching for the words to explain how much I loved. this. book. I’ve been stalling on writing about it, because I knew I just wouldn’t be able to find the words.

I always can relate to so much of what Shauna has to say. Within the first few pages of the book I was texting my best friend quotes from the book and turning down the corners of every other page. In Bread & Wine not only does Shauna share her stories (which will make you laugh, cry, and call your best friend), but she also shares her recipes. And they are some a-ma-zing recipes!

Every couple months I get to escape for a night and spend time with my good friend and old college roommate, Nicole. We always do the same thing: I get there, we spend some time catching up, and then we break out the recipe books. Once we’ve decided what we’re making for dinner that night, we walk next door to the grocery store and pick up what we need. Then we spend time in the kitchen together: cutting, prepping, laughing, sometimes crying, cooking, talking, and sharing our lives. And then…we sit down and enjoy what we’ve made together. It’s one of my favorite things to do and I look forward to it for weeks in advance.

green well salad

As soon as I started reading Bread & Wine I knew that the next time Nicole and I got together, we needed to try out some of the recipes. When we got our chance, we made Shauna’s Basic Risotto, because it’s the perfect thing to make when you have a friend to chat and stir with, and the Green Well Salad (pictured above), well, because it sounded delicious…and it was! I’ve made it more than a few times since.

Also on the menu for the night was Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee, which we never got to after stuffing ourselves with the risotto and salad, but I made sure to make it later that week, much to the delight of the whole family.

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes is available on Amazon April 9th (tomorrow!), but you should just go ahead and pre-order your copy today. It’s a book for on your night stand, and in the kitchen getting it’s pages covered with splashes of vanilla. It’s a book to pick up and read snippets of while you watch your kids play at the park, or one to get together with your best friends and talk about. It’s a book you’ll come back to again and again.

shauna1-001Shauna Niequist is the author of Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet, and Bread & Wine. Shauna grew up in Barrington, Illinois, and then studied English and French Literature at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. She is married to Aaron, who is a pianist and songwriter. Aaron is a worship leader at Willow Creek and is recording a project called A New Liturgy. Aaron & Shauna live outside Chicago with their sons, Henry and Mac. Shauna writes about the beautiful and broken moments of everyday life–friendship, family, faith, food, marriage, love, babies, books, celebration, heartache, and all the other things that shape us, delight us, and reveal to us the heart of God.

**This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through one of my links, I’ll receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting More Than Mundane!

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Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Time to Read Tagged With:

Around Here {Update and Weekend Links}

April 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

gardening

Last weekend we planted our little garden, so I’ve done one of my two “green” goals for the year. We had lots of help from Isaac, who spent most of the time shoveling the soil out of the box and trying to put it in the trash. I’m so excited to see how it turns out. We planted: 4 different types of tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon, strawberries, peas, carrots, jalapeno, mint, lavender, oregano, basil, thyme, calendula, marigolds, and chamomile.

On Monday, I started Whole30 and I’m so thankful for the Facebook group that’s doing it with me. It’s so nice to have encouragement, support, and accountability. If you’re interested, I’m keeping a Whole30 Food Log.

I’ve been loving Jessica’s Outside in 30 series at Life as Mom where she’s sharing for 30 days different ideas to get outside with the kids and have some fun. And I have a post over there sharing some ideas for having fun with water.

If you’re looking for some fun Springtime reads to enjoy with your kids, check out my three favorite children’s books for Spring.

Enjoyed this article on making Pinterest work for you, and it’s very similar to how I use Pinterest. I rarely browse others pins, but use it more as a place to keep inspiration I find online.

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

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Filed Under: Time to Read Tagged With:

Detoxing Your Cleaning Supplies

April 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Positively Real Media Network

Written by Hilary Kimes Bernstein of Accidentally Green

Welcome back to the Raising Healthy Families series. Today we’ll take another look at how to keep our families healthy in a not-so-healthy world.

Unfortunately, many commercial cleaning products are toxic. But the great news is that you can make your own effective, safe cleaners. Before you start your spring cleaning routine this year, choose your supplies carefully.

Detoxing Your Cleaning Supplies

Please check out Accidentally Green’s Detoxing Your Cleaning Supplies to learn more about toxic cleaning supplies and non-toxic, homemade options.

Also, be sure to check out Hilary’s newly released ebook, Accidentally Green: How and why one family began making healthy changes that honor God and happen to help the environment.

Note: This series is designed as a fun and informative compilation to help you and your family thrive. Each post is the opinion of that particular blogger, not necessarily mine or Positively Real Media’s.

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Filed Under: Health and Home

Simple But Effective Hygiene for the Whole Family

March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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Welcome back to the Raising Healthy Families series! Join us each week as we take a look at different ways to keep your family healthy and vibrant in a not-so-healthy world.

Today’s post is brought to you by Anne of Authentic Simplicity.

Once I got serious about removing chemicals from my diet, I began to realize that I was ingesting and consuming even more chemicals (and potentially more dangerous ones) via the personal care products I used on a regular basis. After experimenting with a variety of toiletry options in a trial-and-error fashion over the past few years, I’ve settled on a simple but healthy hygiene routine for myself and The Boys.

Simple & Healthy Hygiene

One thing you need to understand about me: I like to keep things simple! I decided after a while that fussing around with concocting my own products made with special-order ingredients was definitely not for me. While I certainly love for all my hygiene items to be healthy and inexpensive, I don’t want to waste a lot of time and effort in mixing them up on a regular basis. So I pretty much only make toiletries if they use one or two ingredients; otherwise I’ve found some affordable brands to purchase that I trust and can recommend. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for anyone who makes their own toiletries for their family, but I’ve decided for myself that I prefer to spend my time on other things.

If you, too, want to provide healthy hygiene products for your family but don’t have a lot of time or desire to mess around with making your own, click here for Anne’s recommendations!

Note: This series is designed as a fun and informative compilation to help you and your family thrive. Each post is the opinion of that particular blogger, not necessarily mine or Positively Real Media’s.

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Filed Under: Health and Home

All about Lavender Essential Oil

March 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

lavender

Lavender is one of my most frequently used essential oils. This week I’m over at Your Thriving Family sharing all about lavender and some of the many uses for it. Stop by and share your favorite use for lavender.

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Crock On Cookbook Review and {Giveaway}

March 25, 2013 by 17 Comments

beef and broccoli

My slow cooker is one of my most used kitchen appliances. There’s nothing better than dinner time rolling around and it already being ready to go! I’d rather throw things in the slow cooker in the morning or even right when I put the kids down for nap, then have to deal with getting dinner together during the witching hour or after coming home from a long day at work.

So I was thrilled when Stacy of Stacy Makes Cents gave me a copy of Crock On to review. I love trying new recipes, and I especially love trying new slow cooker recipes! And even better…they’re primarily whole foods slow cooker recipes.

crockon-300x300

Several recipes immediately caught my eye, and we have already tried: Beef and Broccoli (pictured above), Enchilada Lasagna, and Maple Sesame Chicken, all of which have received 5-star ratings from my husband (who doesn’t hand out 5-stars easily!) As I’m writing this I have Mexican Chicken Chowder in the slow cooker and it smells amazing!

Crock On includes 40 different recipes including soups, sandwiches and wraps, main dishes, sides, and desserts! You can see the list of recipes here.

And…Stacy has generously offered to give one of you a digital copy of Crock On!  Just enter to win using the Rafflecopter form below. Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can purchase a copy of Crock On today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through one of my links, I’ll receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting More Than Mundane!

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Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With:

Join Me For Whole30 in April

March 22, 2013 by 7 Comments

A couple months ago I started hearing a lot of talk about Whole30. Several of my favorite bloggers were filling my Reader, Facebook feed and Instagram with posts about Whole30, including Stacy, Anne, Tsh, and Jessica.

I was curious and after reading up on it a bit more, decided I was going to do it.

The

So…what is Whole30?

Whole30 is a 30 day nutritional reset, during which you eat real food and eliminate sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, and dairy. According to the founders of Whole30, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, it is “designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food.”

Are You With Me?

I had been talking with a few friends about doing the Whole30 challenge together, so I set up a Whole30 Facebook Group as a place for us to share resources, ideas, and encouragement as we go. We’re starting April 1st and would love to have you join us!

I’m In. What do I do next?

  1. Request to join our Whole30 Facebook Group where I’ll be posting valuable resources I come across, recipe ideas, and sharing my progress. We can check in with each other, and provide encouragement and support for each other as we go.
  2. Read up on the Whole30 program either on the Whole30 Website, or in the book: It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways.
  3. Start to plan for your Whole30 challenge. For me to succeed, I have to plan, so I’ll be spending the next week or so coming up with Whole30 meal options and meal planning using Plan to Eat.

Resources:

Want a challenge, but not into Whole30? Check out Beth’s 30 for 30 Challenge where you can choose your own goal and commit to it for 30 minutes a day for 3o days, also starting in April.

**This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through one of my links, I’ll receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting More Than Mundane!

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5 Simple Ways to Detoxify Your Home and Body

March 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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Welcome back to the Raising Healthy Families series! Join us each week as we take a look at different ways to keep your family healthy and vibrant in a not-so-healthy world.

Written by Stacy of A Delightful Home:

The fact that we live in a world full of chemicals, pesticides, and other harmful substances can’t be denied.

Sure, we strive to eat good food and use natural cleaners, but what do we do about the unclean air and the unhealthy things that have already made their way into our homes and bodies?

Stacy shares 5 simple ways to detoxify your home and body so you and your family can live the healthiest life possible (and they are not as crazy as you might think)!

Note: This series is designed as a fun and informative compilation to help you and your family thrive. Each post is the opinion of that particular blogger, not necessarily mine or Positively Real Media’s.

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Filed Under: Health and Home

Turning Your Power On {Chiropractic Care for Families}

March 15, 2013 by 1 Comment
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Welcome back to the Raising Healthy Families series! Join us each week as we take a look at different ways to keep your family healthy and vibrant in a not-so-healthy world.

This week’s post is brought to us by Rachel of day2day joys:

For you to be able to turn your car on, you must have gas in the tank, for you to turn on a light in your room, you must have a light bulb, for you to even use your iPhone or laptop to read this now, the power has to be turned on and your device must be charged.

And to turn things on correctly, you have to take care of them because if you don’t, eventually they will break or run out of power.


Well, your body, namely your spine isn’t any different. But the majority of people do not know this concept.

What does that mean to turn your power on anyway? Please hop on over to Rachel’s blog to read the rest! 

Note: This series is designed as a fun and informative compilation to help you and your family thrive. Each post is the opinion of that particular blogger, not necessarily mine or Positively Real Media’s.

BundleoftheWeek.com, 5 eBooks for $7.40!
Filed Under: Health and Home
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