Do These Five Things On The Weekend And Eat All Week!

After raising five children I learned a few things (some a little late:)). And one of the most important was how much easier a little weekend prep can make the following five days of meal planning. Here are my top five tips making it easier to J.E.R.F. (just eat real food) instead of succumbing to the drive-thru line (again).


1. Roast a chicken.

That's mine, done on Sunday, for the week's use.

Find the best chicken you can. I drive an hour to get local, pasture-raised birds, but if the local grocer is your only choice, at least shop smart.  Don't forget to check out the "specialty" sections of your grocer. When I can't get my favorite free-range fowl, I head to the seafood section of my big-box grocery store. For some reason, there amongst the shrimp are bison, buffalo, and the chickens I consider "second-best." For whatever reason they are not with all the other chicken brands . . . Do some detective work around your favorite grocery.

Add whatever will fit in your roasting pan (I LUV my old-faithful covered cast iron skillet:)) Potatoes. Carrots. Onions. Celery. Peppers. Mushrooms. Herbs. White-wine. Get fancy if you can, but don't let plain and simple discourage you. Onion, salt, and pepper will do just fine.

After the chicken is done, debone and set the meat aside. (Don't disturb the meat juices in the pan.) Put the bones back in a stock pot with celery, onion, peppers, carrots, plenty of salt and pepper, etc. etc. and simmer for some hours. While the stock simmers let's get back to that roasting pan. Watch this short video to see how I utilize every bit of that bird---the intermediate stage doesn't look too appetizing but the finished product/ YUM:))

2. Saute a pound or two of ground beef with onions and peppers. This will become the base of pasta sauce for spaghetti, filling for tacos, or a protein-upping, toss in after pan stewing onions, potatoes and cabbage for a hearty Hungarian Goulash. In the summertime I will often toss a 1/2 cup of this cooked ground beef on top of a green salad, add some thousand island dressing and croutons (both homemade, of course:)) Here's a fancy version just to make you feel good about this shortcut, but simple is equally YUMMY!!

3. Cook some brown rice and/or quinoa. Enough for your family two or three times over. Cook it in that awesome chicken broth"by-product" from #2 above. I don't have to tell you all the ways you can combine these yummy sides with the meat bases above to create some spectacular meals . . . do I?

4. Make sure you have three good fresh vegetable choices on hand that are not-so-perishable. In most parts of the country carrots, broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower are always available and keep well for close to a week.

5. Always keep onions, peppers, garlic and celery. ALWAYS!!! Even if you (gasp!) have to occasionally throw a wilted casualty out, it's worth it to have these staples handy when you need them. 

Never Wash Your Face Again!!!

This is pretty much my facial cleansing and moisturizing trio. I never clean with soap of any kind.  When we use soap on our skin, it raises the pH and disrupts the skin's natural environment. An acidic environment is necessary to ward off harmful bacteria (which thrive under alkaline conditions). Our skin then has to work overtime to re-establish an acidic pH. It does this by pumping out extra oil/sebum...which is exactly what we DON'T WANT!

Coconut oil is a wonderful antibacterial that dissolves make-up and grime away and gently cleanses the skin. How can oil cleanse? It's really simple chemistry. Oil dissolves oil. By using the right oils, you can cleanse your pores of dirt and bacteria naturally.

Castor oil and frankincense are an incredible age-defying combo.

Castor oil, when applied to the skin, penetrates deep and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, which in turn helps soften and hydrate the skin. It delays the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, making the skin smoother, softer and younger.

Because frankincense is an astringent, it strengthens, tones, and lifts the skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and combating the loss of firmness in aging skin (that would be mine!). Also, frankincense is a cytophylactic, which means it has the ability to stimulate cellular regeneration, thereby promoting regeneration of healthy cells and keeping existing cells and tissues healthy.
 
Here's my simple routine:

Cleanse---massage a liberal amount of coconut oil onto the face and neck. Use tissue or a soft cloth to wipe off the oil--always in an "up" and "out' direction.

Moisturize--- Into a four ounce bottle of castor oil I mix 8-10 drops of frankincense oil. The entire face has been softened from the coconut cleanse, so usually I only apply this "overnight cream" to the eye and mouth area, although once a week or so I'll smear it all over and let it sit for an hour or so before bed for a deep-moisture treatment.

Exfoliate---Twice a week I exfoliate using one of two homemade products. If I'm in a hurry (usually:)) I just combine castor oil with organic sugar. Otherwise I froth an egg white with raw honey and add to brown rice (ground to a coarse sand-like texture in my coffee mill---don't clean out the coffee grounds first--they're great for the skin as well!!)

Exfoliation is SOOOOO important for older skin!! When we're babies, our skin turns over about every 14 days. By our teens that rate has slowed to once every 21 to 28 days. And by the time we turn 50, we're lucky to have a turn-over rate of 1 1/2 to 3 months!!!

Experiment with frequency and intensity to see what your skin needs for best results. Like I said, twice a week works for me. And I scrub pretty hard, especially around the lips, chin, jawline, and forehead. Of course I'm a little more gentle around the eyes and careful to move "up and out." 

Once a week I extend the exfoliation to all over, head-to-toe. Just be careful with how much goes down the drain---all that oil is pretty rough on the plumbing!!


Another Plus: This routine is a whole lot cheaper than regular visits to the drug store or department store for chemical-laden, processed beauty products!!  

If you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin!! 

Ditch the soap and discover a healthier-kind of clean!!

The Most Important Video You Will Watch This Year

Breast Cancer Cell

Reliable scientific research continues to support and strengthen the evidence that cancer's "on switch" gets flipped in the mitochondria (the "engine" inside every cell in our bodies) and, more importantly, these wayward, mutated cells need much more glucose to survive and multiply than do healthy, non-cancerous cells.

At any given time thousands of our cells are incurring irreversible damage or "mistakes." But a healthy body with a strong immune system is almost always able to detect the damaged cell and destroy it (usually this occurs inside the cell itself resulting in the cell committing  cellular  suicide---aka  apoptosis).

This video provides invaluable information about the primary fuel source of cancer and how we can control with food the metabolic pathways within in order to prevent or, for individuals who have already been diagnosed, manage the disease with no (or less damaging intensities of) currently popular treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation.

This video is not THE video. You'll be tempted to write-off THE video as "too long." This video is the trailer, the teaser. I hope it will pique your curiosity---no, I hope it will SPARK YOUR PASSION!!! Please watch it with the intent to move to the second. OR simply skip it and move to the second one immediately, which explains the "what" and "why" more thoroughly.  Or put another way: If you've never had cancer or had anyone close to you have cancer, the first one will probably be enough . . .  for now . . . If you have had, have, or love someone with cancer, you'll want the details of the second video!

THE video is 76 minutes long and contains tons of important facts. Here are some suggestions I found helpful you may want to consider before beginning the video:

• Turn the video up loud and just listen. Don't watch. Dr. Seyfried and Dr. Mercola are speaking via Skype or something similar and there is an annoying second or two time delay between Dr. Seyfried's audio and video.
• Multi-task while you listen, but make it something physcial such as ironing, cooking, etc. (I cleaned out a cabinet:)) Don't do any task requiring mental attention. The material is too important and technical to be able to comprehend if your brain is not completely focused. 
• Record the audio in an MP3 format, download to your phone and listen in the car on your next long-ish drive. Click HERE for instructions on how to record the audio from You Tube videos. 
• Bookmark the video so that you can listen in segments, refer back to later, or share with friends and loved ones (as you listen you're going to think of many who need to hear this information!!)
• Listen ASAP!!! It's fascinating and really important information.