Have A Safe Memorial Day!!

Just a quick note to wish you all a safe Memorial Day!!  Don't forget to give a hug &/or a thank you to any current, former, & future military members!! 

Thank you to all of the men, women, & your families for the tremendous sacrifice you make for us!!

<3 Mama Lee <3

Natural Trash Can (And Diaper Pail) Freshener

I used to gag when I would empty or trash cans, even though I would sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of the cans before putting a bag in (if I used a bag) to help absorb the funky odors & moisture.  The baking soda helped to cut down on the odor & it also helped things not get stuck to the bottom of the trash can, if they somehow mysteriously made their way out of the bag (how DOES that happen, anyway?!) or in the case of our bathroom trash cans where I don't use any bags at all, but it seemed the baking soda would absorb all of the odor.  Which was great not to have it absorb into the plastic trash can, but then it still smelled... ahem, oh, SO gross!!  The worst was when a kitchen garbage bag would leak into the can... all kinds of nastiness would occur & talk about grossing me out... & the stink?@!*  Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!

Anyway, one day I decided to sprinkle some cinnamon in the kitchen trash can (the nastiest can that gets the most use, so a great test subject) along w/the usual baking soda & what did my nose smell, or rather NOT smell??  It smelled nothing gross!!  I was amazed & VERY pleasantly surprised... so guess who ran giddily through the house adding cinnamon to the baking soda in EVERY trash can & diaper pail (great for cloth diaper pails or hanging pails too!!)??  Yes, me... I am very easy to please, no?! LOL 

Just yesterday, for the first time since I started adding the cinnamon to the baking soda, when I went to empty the kitchen trash can I realized the brand new bag that had no holes in it when I put it into the can had leaked all into the can (Oh, yuck!!!!!!!  HOW does that happen when we recycle and/or reuse almost all of the packaging things come in, so they don't go into the trash can, & we really don't have a lot of packaged things anyway simply because I have to make most everything from scratch due to sensitivities) & I cringed.  I then followed my usual routine when that happens & took the can, bag still in it, to the garage to remove the bag.  Much to my dismay & delight there was not the what-on-earth-could-possibly-smell-this-horrible thought that usually races through my mind when we have a leaky bag... no gagging either...  Hmmmm, so I got brave (or stupid?!) & took a whiff of the empty can w/the liquid still in the bottom of the can.  Hey for the sake of my experiment I HAD to, no??  Well, I still didn't gag (& was so relieved too!)... the can actually had a neutral to cinnamon scent instead of the what-on-earth-crawled-into-this-can-&-died scent?!  SCORE!! 

So there you go... for YOU I risked losing my breakfast & there is another plus for the benefits of baking soda... & of course, cinnamon, because just the baking soda doesn't cut it alone. 

In case you're wondering I just sprinkle a thin layer of the baking soda on the bottom of the garbage can or diaper pail & then I sprinkle cinnamon on top of that... and VOILA!! 

Do YOU add anything to your garbage cans to help cut down on odors??  If so, what do you use??  Will you try baking soda and cinnamon?? 

Healthy Orange Slushy

We love our cold desserts around here... slushies, ice cream, & sorbet, which we can make because we have a Vitamix.  I am confident you can make this slushy in a standard blender though, so no worries if you don't have a Vitamix or other blender of that type.  I typically try to use honey to make the recipe w/out refined sugar, but you can just as easily use white sugar, succanat, stevia, agave, etc.

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 1/2 peeled oranges (you can also use lemons, strawberries, etc. but this time of year we tend to have oranges in the fridge.. if using something other than oranges use an amount that would be closest to 1 1/2 average size oranges; also I do NOT remove any seeds because the VM pulverizes them, so you may want to remove them if your blender won't break them down unless you don't mind spitting them out like watermelon seeds... summer fun, no?!)

2. 2-4 cups of ice cubes (I start w/less & add more if needed until I reach the desired taste & consistency depending upon how many servings I am trying to make)

3. 1/3-1/2 cup of honey (I try to use as little of a sweetener as possible when making anything, even when using honey or another "healthy" type of sweetener simply because it is still a sugar & while it is a healthier one it still affects our blood sugar, etc. so I tend to use as little as possible... if you use white sugar, you will need closer to the 1/2 cup of sugar)

4. 2-4 cups of water (or as needed)... I usually start w/approximately 2 cups & then add more as needed to get the desired taste & consistency depending upon how many servings I am trying to make.

DIRECTIONS:

Add ice, water, & orange (or other fruit) to the blender container in any order.  Then add the honey last so it doesn't get stuck in the bottom of the blender container... (just trust me on this one, okay?!). 

Blend everything together until the ice is pulverized & it reaches your desired consistency. 

Pour into glasses, mugs, bowls, etc. & serve!

NOTES:

I like to serve it in coffee mugs because it makes it easier to hold onto a cold drink without our hands getting cold in a mug with a handle... and call me lazy but I also like to be able to put the mugs in the dishwasher so I don't have to hand wash any extra dishes beyond what I already have to, which I can't do with a plastic cup.

Makes about 6-8 mugs of yummy, icy fun!! 

Do YOU have a favorite slushy recipe??  Do you make any frozen drinks to cool down in the warm weather??  Will you try this one??