Yeo Valley, baby.
puttering about with babes in tow creating, growing things, learning life.
May 31, 2011
very healthy and easy ICE CREAM!!
You MUST try this if you like ice cream.
it is SO dang good and is made almost entirely from bananas!
A friend introduced me to this and I was taken aback.
look:
then throw em in the freezer...
and on that hot summer afternoon when you want a cold ice cream treat,
pull that bag of bananas out of the freezer,
and throw em into the blender.
if you have a big serious blender you don't even need to add anything!
mine is a small bullet blender so I had to add a couple tbsp's of yogurt
then you just blend it up and BOOM!
ice cream that is not full of thick dairy and sugar!
best of all, its fit for the little ones.
kay, you're free to go and cut up your bananas now.
May 30, 2011
baby wipes solution recipe
A tried and true solution for cloth baby wipes
for an 12 oz container:
2 tsp Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap
(baby mild but NOT peppermint!)
1 tsp olive oil
1tsp baking soda
10 drops lavender oil
15 drops tea tree oil
fill the rest with water
this solution has the "slide" effect that disposables have because of the oil,
is antibacterial and smells great...
it makes the diaper pail and baby room smell considerably better!
I've been using it at home since little A was born and I loves it.
Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap is a necessity in our home. We use it for so many things. Bath soap, diaper wipes, hand wash soap,... It is fair trade, has mostly all organic ingredients, and very few ingredients! I give it a 2 thumbs up.
It can be purchased at any natural food store.
If you don't have dr. bronner's soap, use the purest soap, with the least additives and scents that you have.
store the wipes with solution in your old disposable wipes container.
or just spray the wipes one at a time.
for an 12 oz container:
2 tsp Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap
(baby mild but NOT peppermint!)
1 tsp olive oil
1tsp baking soda
10 drops lavender oil
15 drops tea tree oil
fill the rest with water
this solution has the "slide" effect that disposables have because of the oil,
is antibacterial and smells great...
it makes the diaper pail and baby room smell considerably better!
I've been using it at home since little A was born and I loves it.
Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap is a necessity in our home. We use it for so many things. Bath soap, diaper wipes, hand wash soap,... It is fair trade, has mostly all organic ingredients, and very few ingredients! I give it a 2 thumbs up.
It can be purchased at any natural food store.
If you don't have dr. bronner's soap, use the purest soap, with the least additives and scents that you have.
store the wipes with solution in your old disposable wipes container.
or just spray the wipes one at a time.
May 26, 2011
fresh roots or where I have been..
Gardening is therapy for me.
I have been thinking on why it means so much to me these days.
After high school, I went traveling around Canada.
Although I spent the last 10 summers in the Yukon,
almost each winter was spent somewhere different...
so this resulted in moving EVERY spring and fall.
for about 13 years.
Nomad.
(This being my second spring without moving)
Of course the man I found was just as much of a nomad as I was!
It was a wonderful and wild time in my life. I learned so much about all types of things and met such amazing people. I obtained very little of material value and regret nothing.
but now I am very ready to rest my mossy feet. baby's do that to people!
So, when seeds are planted and get their roots into the soil,
my roots are also planted, consciously.
I am here for the season. at least.
(although, one summer I moved after planting and took my garden with me in containers...)
Tiny sprouts popping out of the soil are a reassurance and a comfort.
Everything will be okay here. the earth will provide us with what we need.
turned and sinking compost pile:
Nothing needs to be wasted, all things find their use.
the 3 sisters (corn, spaghetti squash and beans),
mulched and ready to grow:
our sisters /community help us grow and strengthen us.
still more to be transplanted: blossom where you are planted!
(but you could be moved and everything will still be okay.)
We have found a settled place.
roots are growing.
I have been thinking on why it means so much to me these days.
After high school, I went traveling around Canada.
Although I spent the last 10 summers in the Yukon,
almost each winter was spent somewhere different...
so this resulted in moving EVERY spring and fall.
for about 13 years.
Nomad.
(This being my second spring without moving)
Of course the man I found was just as much of a nomad as I was!
It was a wonderful and wild time in my life. I learned so much about all types of things and met such amazing people. I obtained very little of material value and regret nothing.
but now I am very ready to rest my mossy feet. baby's do that to people!
So, when seeds are planted and get their roots into the soil,
my roots are also planted, consciously.
I am here for the season. at least.
(although, one summer I moved after planting and took my garden with me in containers...)
Tiny sprouts popping out of the soil are a reassurance and a comfort.
Everything will be okay here. the earth will provide us with what we need.
turned and sinking compost pile:
Nothing needs to be wasted, all things find their use.
the 3 sisters (corn, spaghetti squash and beans),
mulched and ready to grow:
our sisters /community help us grow and strengthen us.
still more to be transplanted: blossom where you are planted!
(but you could be moved and everything will still be okay.)
We have found a settled place.
roots are growing.
May 20, 2011
new quilt for attie
the saddest thing:
we left Attie's quilt in Jamaica!!
The one that i made for her while she was swimming in my belly.
It Breaks my heart to think about it. I hope it has found a sweet little Jamaican baby to comfort!
Here she is, 1 day old meeting her new quiltie.
and then at about 10 months:
so. with that, we say good bye tree quiltie.
and now its time to create a new one.
I found all the same fabric bits that I used for the first quilt... there was sweet little left.but I will be using every scrap.
I had saved this muskox print made by the same womyn who made the tree print for the last one. She is no longer in business so these are special bits of fabric!
I'm not sure she meant the muskox to be in a baby quilt!
Although I am sure she would approve!
That floral pattern will be for the backing. This is the same fabric as my duvet cover which she has gotten to know as her own quilt.
The new quilt will have the same patchwork binding as the first one...
just the beginnings.
it will have to wait for a rainey day now tho. There is too much GARdening to do right now!
May 18, 2011
Herb walk: Stinging NETTLE
It does seem strange to me how a plant who will sting you in the wild if you touch it can be SO good for you! And Stinging Nettle is.
The California School of Herbal Studies says that Nettle is one of the highest sources of plant digestable Iron. It is also very high in Folic acid. For these reasons alone, pregnant, lactating and menstruating womyn should drink the tea.
It also contains chlorophyll, amino acids, vitamins A, B(complex), C, K, E, Calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and a lot of others!
The huge amount of vitamin K in a nettle infusion makes it very important for pregnant womyn when approaching birth to help avoid hemorrhage which can be caused by insufficient vitamin K in the blood.
It can be taken as tea, or cooked and eaten like spinach - in any recipe that you would use spinach in! It is really quite tasty and very good for you. Pinch off the tender tops -this pruning encourages production of more young growth.
After harvesting, either cook, infuse or dry the herb for later use. Once the herb is dried or cooked, its "stinging" effect is gone.
ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES WHEN HARVESTING NETTLE!
I guess that kind of goes without saying!
Nettles, oddly enough, can cure the rash they cause! "Just rub fresh nettles between gloved hands and then rub the crushed nettles on the irritated area."
I was very pleased to find a nettle patch in the wild prairie! I was looking for nettle and the first place I stopped - there it was. I was so greatful.
Nettle growth is an indication of healthy soil.
It grows near water sometimes (that is where I found it this time) but not always. good luck finding your patch!
a lot of the content of this post is found in "Discovering Wild Plants" by Janice Schofield
I can not say enough about this book. It is my Bible!! It is meant for Alaska, Western Canada and the Northwest but here in Saskatchewan I find it very useful still. She is a hugely knowledgeable herbalist and has all sorts of interesting ideas for eating plants.
The California School of Herbal Studies says that Nettle is one of the highest sources of plant digestable Iron. It is also very high in Folic acid. For these reasons alone, pregnant, lactating and menstruating womyn should drink the tea.
It also contains chlorophyll, amino acids, vitamins A, B(complex), C, K, E, Calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and a lot of others!
The huge amount of vitamin K in a nettle infusion makes it very important for pregnant womyn when approaching birth to help avoid hemorrhage which can be caused by insufficient vitamin K in the blood.
It can be taken as tea, or cooked and eaten like spinach - in any recipe that you would use spinach in! It is really quite tasty and very good for you. Pinch off the tender tops -this pruning encourages production of more young growth.
After harvesting, either cook, infuse or dry the herb for later use. Once the herb is dried or cooked, its "stinging" effect is gone.
ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES WHEN HARVESTING NETTLE!
I guess that kind of goes without saying!
Nettles, oddly enough, can cure the rash they cause! "Just rub fresh nettles between gloved hands and then rub the crushed nettles on the irritated area."
I was very pleased to find a nettle patch in the wild prairie! I was looking for nettle and the first place I stopped - there it was. I was so greatful.
Nettle growth is an indication of healthy soil.
It grows near water sometimes (that is where I found it this time) but not always. good luck finding your patch!
a lot of the content of this post is found in "Discovering Wild Plants" by Janice Schofield
I can not say enough about this book. It is my Bible!! It is meant for Alaska, Western Canada and the Northwest but here in Saskatchewan I find it very useful still. She is a hugely knowledgeable herbalist and has all sorts of interesting ideas for eating plants.
May 16, 2011
sweet sweet potato fries
healthy too!
a standby around here. sweet potates are full of fibre, protien, vitamin A (huge amounts), vitamin C and iron. check it out
so start by peeling the thing down. I have found that veggie peelers can be dangerous with such a thick skinned creature! so the knife it is.
chop up into universally sized "fries or wedges
flip in a bowl with olive oil
then mix 3 parts Spelt (or which ever flour you prefer) flour, 1 part nutritional yeast (optional), a little bit of sweetener (sugar/maple or agave syrup, succunat...) and spice it up with things like curry powder, salt, garlic powder, ginger...
pour into the bowl with the olive oiled fries and flip flip mix up.
bake in a 400 oven for about 20 mins or until soft flipping half way through.
i like them with sour cream the best!
Here is another couple recipes for the fries and some dipping sauce!
yum. and good for our bodies.
May 15, 2011
Herb Walk: Is Raspberry tea safe during pregnancy???
yes.
Red Raspberry leaf tea contains fragrine - an " alkaloid" which tones muscles of the pelvic floor, including the uterus . It contains vitamins A and B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E and calcium and iron ( two minerals pregnant ladies can not get enough of) . Raspberry leaves also contain and phosphorous and potassium.
Although most midwives will insist on Red Raspberry leaf tea as a pregnancy/Uterine tonic, there has been some differing opinions.
The limited research there is done on RRL tea shows that there are no harmful side effects.
The concern is that it could cause a womyn to go into premature labour or miscarrage.
however, raspberry leaf does not start labor or promote contractions. It is NOT an emmenagogue or oxytocic herb.
What it does is help strengthen the pelvic and uterine muscles so that once labor does start the muscles will be more efficient.
"Medical studies have shown that red raspberry leaf can be consumed safely during pregnancy and can decrease the length of labor and decrease the number of interventions used such as artificial rupture of membranes (AROM), assisted delivery, and cesarean delivery.1
Red raspberry leaf also seems to help prevent pregnancies from pre-or post-term gestation (delivering too early or too late)."
Jane Palmer has a very good article on Raspberry leaf tea including the research done!
The recommended dose is 1 cup/day during the first trimester, 2 cups per day during the second and 3-5 cups during the last trimester.
besides the vitamins and minerals, benefits include:
-increased fertility in both men and womyn
- relief from morning sickness (I can vouch for this)
- reduces the pain during labour and speeds along the healing of the uterus after birth.
- enriching the breast milk
When harvesting Raspberry leaves, only take the youngest freshest leaves,
avoid the shriveled up or brown edged leaves.
so DRINK the tea, worry free.
Wise womyn have been brewing it for those "with child" for centuries.
The medical profession can get a tad intimidated my the herbal world and do not hesitate to nay say their remedies....
1 Raspberry leaf in pregnancy: its safety and efficacy in labor.
J Midwifery Womens Health. 2001 Mar-Apr;46(2):51-9.
PMID: 11370690 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Red Raspberry leaf tea contains fragrine - an " alkaloid" which tones muscles of the pelvic floor, including the uterus . It contains vitamins A and B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E and calcium and iron ( two minerals pregnant ladies can not get enough of) . Raspberry leaves also contain and phosphorous and potassium.
Although most midwives will insist on Red Raspberry leaf tea as a pregnancy/Uterine tonic, there has been some differing opinions.
The limited research there is done on RRL tea shows that there are no harmful side effects.
The concern is that it could cause a womyn to go into premature labour or miscarrage.
however, raspberry leaf does not start labor or promote contractions. It is NOT an emmenagogue or oxytocic herb.
What it does is help strengthen the pelvic and uterine muscles so that once labor does start the muscles will be more efficient.
"Medical studies have shown that red raspberry leaf can be consumed safely during pregnancy and can decrease the length of labor and decrease the number of interventions used such as artificial rupture of membranes (AROM), assisted delivery, and cesarean delivery.1
Red raspberry leaf also seems to help prevent pregnancies from pre-or post-term gestation (delivering too early or too late)."
Jane Palmer has a very good article on Raspberry leaf tea including the research done!
The recommended dose is 1 cup/day during the first trimester, 2 cups per day during the second and 3-5 cups during the last trimester.
besides the vitamins and minerals, benefits include:
-increased fertility in both men and womyn
- relief from morning sickness (I can vouch for this)
- reduces the pain during labour and speeds along the healing of the uterus after birth.
- enriching the breast milk
When harvesting Raspberry leaves, only take the youngest freshest leaves,
avoid the shriveled up or brown edged leaves.
so DRINK the tea, worry free.
Wise womyn have been brewing it for those "with child" for centuries.
The medical profession can get a tad intimidated my the herbal world and do not hesitate to nay say their remedies....
1 Raspberry leaf in pregnancy: its safety and efficacy in labor.
J Midwifery Womens Health. 2001 Mar-Apr;46(2):51-9.
PMID: 11370690 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
sunday in the (future) garden or how to weed!
so.
our garden space is nice here in our new house.
The woman who lived here last summer said there is good soil!
this is the week in the year where we get rid of the weeds
then add manure/compost and rototill that in.
but look what I found from last year's vounteer seeds!
some spinach plants! yay. I love spinach and now we can eat it that much sooner!
The strawberry plants that I brought from our last house
and planted here last fall are doing well
Attie was having a blast in this huge dirt sandbox!Its going to be considerably harder to work with her around when there are plants growing...
a word on Weeding:
Everyone has their own method I have realized, but here is mine:
1. Loosen the soil under/around the weeds with a pitchfork or shovel
2. pick the whole weed including the whole root! otherwise it will just grow again...
3. I put the weeds on a blanket/tarp/whatever is around to dry out the root and KILL the thing!
I did the whole empty garden this morn! Awesome.
now to shovel the composted manure in and rototill... find a rototiller.
Then goes the mulch - Straw, grass, leaves... whatever I can find.
So the weeds don't have a chance!
I was thinking about the weeds and how that is the native plants here.
They did smell good.
There was a lot of dandelion, the root of which I am drying to make tea. - it is high in iron (so can help with anemia) and a liver tonic!
that makes so much sense in nature, as the dandelion is one of the first things to come up in spring when we all need a good detoxing.
now to shovel the composted manure in and rototill... find a rototiller.
Then goes the mulch - Straw, grass, leaves... whatever I can find.
So the weeds don't have a chance!
I was thinking about the weeds and how that is the native plants here.
They did smell good.
There was a lot of dandelion, the root of which I am drying to make tea. - it is high in iron (so can help with anemia) and a liver tonic!
that makes so much sense in nature, as the dandelion is one of the first things to come up in spring when we all need a good detoxing.
after the novelty of endless dirt wore off,
this little one was so very interested in all the shoes growing in the garden...
this little one was so very interested in all the shoes growing in the garden...
SO glad for warmth and dirt!
May 14, 2011
petal minty goodness tea
This is a tea blend I always have on hand:
including (clockwise) :
starting at the bottom
3 parts mint,
1 part oatstraw,
2 parts nettle,
1 part calendula,
and 1 part raspberry leaf.
they all have their purposes. It is a very healthful tea.
Chamomile is also nice for flavor as well as health.
this jar is on the stove for easy access.
then throw a couple tsp.'s of tea into the brewt
- one of the best tea making systems in the whole world.
The tea and hot water go in the top compartment.
then the brewed tea strains through a nylon filter
and pours out the bottom right into your mug!
attie reads the bug book to me while I fiddle about the kitchen making tea.
There's usually some left over-or more made for iced tea...
In a jar in the fridge with a bit of agave nectar (my new sweet love)
including (clockwise) :
starting at the bottom
3 parts mint,
1 part oatstraw,
2 parts nettle,
1 part calendula,
and 1 part raspberry leaf.
they all have their purposes. It is a very healthful tea.
Chamomile is also nice for flavor as well as health.
this jar is on the stove for easy access.
then throw a couple tsp.'s of tea into the brewt
- one of the best tea making systems in the whole world.
The tea and hot water go in the top compartment.
then the brewed tea strains through a nylon filter
and pours out the bottom right into your mug!
attie reads the bug book to me while I fiddle about the kitchen making tea.
There's usually some left over-or more made for iced tea...
In a jar in the fridge with a bit of agave nectar (my new sweet love)
bubba geed loves to drink it, makes me smile cuz she's not hooked on juice!
tis refreshing
ps-
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