Alexis & Sofia promoting our NEW GLASS WATER BOTTLES!

My 4 year old Alexis cannot resist being on video, so I said she could talk about our new glass water bottles that we are selling in our store, Natural Selections, so this is what happened today.... a couple the outtakes.... and of course her 3 year old sister Sofia doesn't want to be left behind...

RAW BROWNIES WE LOVE!

This has become an absolute STAPLE in our house. The kids love them! Rich and decadent, yet healthy and raw!  And actually they only take 10 minutes to make! (But you will want to leave them in the fridge for a couple of hours to get firm, as they slice better!)  I have made this for friends and parties and people always ask for seconds to take home with them! Special thanks to my dear friend Sara Bliss for finding this recipe and showing it to me! It is SUPER important to SOAK the dates that are going to be used in the "Icing". (And don't think of making this without the icing... as it is HALF the dessert, and the most amazing part!)

http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-brownie-recipe

Raw brownie recipe

1 cup pecans (you can use walnuts in a pinch, but pecans are much better!)
1 cup dates
5 tablespoons raw cacao (cocoa) powder
4 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Place pecans alone in your food processor and process until the pecans become small and crumbly.
2. Add dates to the raw brownie recipe and process again until the mixture sticks together and the dates are well processed.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to this raw brownie recipe and process again until the mixture turns a lovely dark chocolatey brown. Stop processing before it gets too buttery. (There should still be air between the small bits so that you will be able to press them down into your brownie pan.)
4. Dump the mixture into a brownie dish or small cake pan and press down firmly using your clean hands.
5. Refrigerate this raw brownie recipe for a couple of hours. You do not have to refrigerate it, but it is much easier to slice when chilled. By the way, this is actually a raw brownie recipe that keeps its shape! So it can be good for serving to non-raw fooders because the presentation of this raw brownie recipe is good when chilled.
6. Store this raw brownie recipe in the refrigerator if it lasts that long!

AND TO MAKE THIS COMPLETE - MAKE THIS RAW ICING AND SPREAD ON TOP!

http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-chocolate-icing/

Raw chocolate icing

1 cup dates
1/4 cup raw cacao (cocoa) powder
1/4 cup cold-pressed coconut oil (also known as coconut butter)
3/4 cup water (or a tiny bit more if needed - try to keep at 3/4 cup or so though)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender. If possible, let them sit in there for a few minutes to soften the dates a little bit.
2. Blend all ingredients in your high-speed blender. The ingredients can be a little finicky to blend, so start at a slow speed and increase speed slowly.
3. Keep blending for a very long time to get a velvety consistency. This is one of those recipes that really makes use of the power of a high-speed blender. If you feel that the blades are just spinning but aren't actually moving all of the icing around, turn the blender off and make an air pocket down the side of the blender with a spatula to expose the blades. Remove the spatula, replace the lid, and start blending slowly again.
4. You'll know it's ready if there are no bits of dates and all you can taste is velvety chocolate goodness.
5. This raw chocolate icing is ready to use as soon as you pour it out of the blender.
It's a great raw vegan icing for cakes, brownies and the like! Iced cakes or brownies should be kept in the refrigerator.

Below is a picture of another version of a RAW BROWNIE  I made, with a layer of Cashew Whipped "Cream" in between! Divine! I will include this recipe in another post!

Alexis the Signmaker!

I found my 4 year old daughter Alexis painting a copy of the sign that hangs on the door of our retail store, Natural Selections! 

My sister Ananda painted the original sign about 17 years ago! It is two sided and has a beautiful nighttime scene on the other side with the word CLOSED.

I am so lucky to have so many artists in my family! I used this picture in an ad to announce that our store has new expanded hours!

Sandwiches!

 Rustic Italian Grilled Veggie Sandwich on Olive Bread

Summer time is the time for sandwiches! My children and I have fun trying different kinds almost every day, because it is the single easiest food for hot days and little hands who want to "help". They like picking the colors and textures for their toppings.

 This Rustic looking sandwich with grilled peppers is one of our favorites! Eventually if the peppers in our garden will ever grow, we can make this a local sandwich, as the bread is from a close-by bakery!

4th of July!

 American Flag Cheesecake

My kids had fun putting all the berries on! (And eating it, of course!)  So, making all of the fun treats for 4th of July are inspiring me to do another juice fast! It starts tomorrow! Look for updates and pictures! In the meantime, Happy 4th!

Mother's Day (all 4 of my babies on their first day of life!)

Since it is Mother's Day, I wanted to put up a memory of all my 4 babies!

Baby # 1
Lilliana Tiger was born in the water at home in Fairfield, IA, after midnight on Thursday, May 18, 2000. She was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 22 inches long.
Lily was a determined baby, and so aware!


Baby #2
Skylar Anthony was born just barely out of the water at home in Fairfield, IA, just before noon or "just in time for lunch" (as I like to say) on Saturday, March 29, 2003. He was 10 lbs.
Skylar was very settled and he actually gained a pound a week and so by the time he was just 6 weeks old he was wearing the clothes of a one-year old!

Baby # 3
Alexis Arianna Ceylon was born in the water at home in Fairfield, IA, at 7:00 AM exactly on Monday, April 8, 2008. She was 9 lbs, 9 oz. and 23 inches long.
Alexis was a very happy, quiet baby!

Baby # 4
Sofia Sienna Lanai was born in the water at home in Rapid City, SD, at 9:24 AM on Monday, July 31, 2009. She was 8 lbs, 12 oz. and 21.5 inches long.
Sofia melted into our large family perfectly!

Chocolate Covered Marzipan! (Homemade!)

Tonight I made homemade Marzipan covered with Semisweet Chocolate!

 

All I did was put raw almonds in my Vitaprep (Vitamix) and blended until powdery.  Then I added some granulated sugar and powdered sugar,  and tiny a bit of almond extract and water to taste and proper consistency.  I melted some semisweet chocolate chips and rolled the chilled marzipan balls in it. Flash it in the freezer for a few minutes and it's done!

(When you don't blanch the almonds, this is what it looks like!  But blanching the almonds first will give you the traditional white colored marzipan.)

I can't wait to experiment with this more! I remember making this years ago, but now I have so many fun ideas to try with it- like adding natural colors, or shaping it into leaves or other little designs for topping cakes!

Organic Towels for Your Green Kitchen!

Organic Cotton Kitchen Towels!

Greening your kitchen?  Select a set of kitchen towels made from organic cotton.  Organic cotton is cotton grown without chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. Why use anything else?

Our 100% Organic Cotton kitchen towels come in the natural color, and are made exclusively for The Organic Company.  A classic herringbone design is absorbent, texturally rich, and works with any kitchen style!

Lincoln Logs!

My parents used to make these for me and my sister when we were little. Today I made them for the kids and it was so fun!  Toast (in this case, Cinnamon Raisin) with vegan butter, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Sliced into sticks and stacked like a Lincoln Log cabin! All 4 children (ages 11, 8, 3 and 2) loved them! It did make me realize that we have not played with the traditional Lincoln Log toys in forever! We need to put away the computers and play old school games!

Maple Nutmeg Iced Latte (Vegan)

 

My husband Brian brought home this AMAZING homemade maple syrup that he bought from a guy who taps the trees himself. It is a beautiful color and SO delicious!  He likes to eat a spoonful of it! But then he suggested that we make an iced coffee drink with it, so here it is!  I used organic espresso as and almond milk.  I had to add freshly ground nutmeg, which is my most favorite spice!

Our Breakfast Every Morning!

After I posted the Valentines Juice showing the gorgeous juice we make every morning for our breakfast, I realized I should show what actually goes INTO it.

So here it is!

Carrots, Beets, Kale, Apples, Oranges, Ginger, Lemon, Chia Seeds and Hemp Hearts (which have more protein than beef, by the way!)

Sundae Pie for Sunday!

 

Sundae Pie ~ A simple dessert that everyone loves!

I waned to come up with something quick and fun, so I started with a 

homemade pie crust, then added spirals of organic chocolate syrup, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries and sweetened whipped cream!

Valentines Kids!

Happy Valentines to my family and friends and most of all my wonderful husband Brian!

Healthy Valentine's Day!

I am a chocoholic, and I will be giving and eating chocolate and other treats today! But Valentines Day, like every day, it is time to start off the day off healthy, because you want to FEEL great! This is the juice I make every morning only today I called it Valentine's Juice!

Valentine's Juice in front of the gorgeous roses my husband Brian gave me!

Carrot, Apple, Kale, Beet, Orange, Ginger - you can do the proportions however you like, depending on what you have on hand. I usually put Pomegranate too but I was out of that today. Then if I have an extra minute, I pour it into the Vitamix and blend it with some Ice, Chia Seeds and Hemp Hearts (this gives it more of a smoothie texture, and lots of protein and omega. The "Recipe" is below.

My husband and I love having this juice every morning - it makes you feel fantastic! Even our 2 year old Sofia enjoys it!

Two year old Sofia enjoying her Valentine's Juice!

Valentine's Juice RECIPE
put the following into your juicer:

4-8 Carrots
3-5 Apples
4 leaves Kale
1 Orange
1 large Beet
2 inches of Ginger Root

Then if you like, pour your juice into your blender and add the following:
2 spoonfuls (or so) of Chia Seeds
2 spoonfuls (or so) Hemp Hearts

Note: This makes a LARGE amount, because my husband and I each drink a HUGE glass of it! The small glass pictured above is about how much our 11 year old daughter or our 2 year old daughter will each drink.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is our family's FAVORITE Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe - for the last 12 years!
We have used it so much that I have it memorized. I love playing around with each ingredient, adding or subtracting things.

Mix "wet" and "dry" separately, then combine afterwards.

Wet:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil (I use less, or make part of it either applesauce or vegan yogurt)
Egg replacer for 2 eggs (Ener-G brand works, or you can also use vegan yogurt)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry:
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal (that has been pulverized in the blender)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
(Optional: Add ANY spices you like! We like cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg)

Combine wet and dry ingredients and then mix in as many chocolate chips and nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc) as you like. Generally about 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (can be semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate).

Make small golf ball sized balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375* F for 8-10 min
Cookies should be golden around the edges, but appear very soft, as they will harden after cooling. Cool on sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or other cool surface.

This recipe makes a lot! (Plan to share, or better yet, roll some dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze. Simply removed from the freezer when you want cookies again and slice - you don't even have to thaw!)

What kind of kids do I have?

I have the kind of kids who (apparently) will leave their ice cream cone on my desk until it gets smooshed and dehydrated...


but, they will also "sneak" a bag of organic baby carrots to eat while hiding under the dining table...


I am hoping the overall nutritional value will equal out somehow.

Natural Home-made Pomegranate Soda!

We are loving our new natural-soda maker my husband made! With our family of 6 it gets a lot of use...

This is the delicious pomegranate soda he made in just a minute! (bad cell phone picture...)

Kids in the yard of our NEW HOUSE!

We moved back to Fairfield, IA and are running our retail store, Natural Selections, that we started in 1995! Now I can walk to work!

Eating Healthy can be Easy

My daughter Lily and my son Chef Skylar show off how they like to make smoothies! And everyone enjoys them!

Today I received an email from a family member who is concerned as their family is suffering from serious health problems. They wanted to know of any good books that had advice on eating. There are so many now but honestly I think the easiest and most entertaining way to take in information is videos/movies. So I recommend watching these interesting movies. Here is a link to a list of them.

Top Food Movies

You don't have to buy these movies - most are available from Netflix. They are all fascinating, but my favorites were:

Food Matters

Food Inc.

Vegan Gal


Or if you watch more TV than movies, check out Dr. Oz's show. He does a lot of features on eating a varied and healthy diet.

Eating healthy doesn't have to be intimidating. It should be fun, interesting, and exciting! Whether you are trying to cut back on meat consumption, or become completely vegetarian or vegan, there are plenty of healthy foods you will like. There are so many specialized products out there now, for people who are diabetic, sensitive to gluten, or dairy. In our family, no one seems to be sensitive, but I know that nationwide all of these are common issue. Now at regular grocery stores like Safeway, Walmart, and Target you can find lots of items labeled for your convenience. They are making it easier with storewide labeling systems, rather than relying on the items packaging. I think this is more common and will continue. Most grocery stores are expanding that aspect, along with their organic program. I think it is also important to look online for the products and then ask you grocer to carry them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak.

But with any sensitivity, the important thing to remember is that you are not only trying to SUBTRACT those things from your diet, but you need to ADD healthy, vitamin rich fresh, raw foods to your diet, in order to have the necessary enzymes for your body to be healthy. Juicing is great for this- any fruit or vegetable will work if you have a good juicer. I recommend Champion.

If you are a salad lover (and I am) then it is easy to make that for some of your meals. Some of my salads recently...

My husband likes salads too; here is one he made with vegetarian chicken substitute on top...

I think the easiest thing a person can do to change their diet to include more fresh things is to make a smoothie every day for breakfast, and maybe for a snack as well. There are TONS of recipes out there, but really you don't need them. I buy bananas, strawberries and any other fruit and if I can't use them fast enough, I freeze them. I keep frozen blueberries in my freezer all the time, and when I make smoothies I never use recipes. I just put in a couple of bananas, some liquid (can be juice or a milk substitute) and whatever other fruit I feel like. Sometimes I add some yogurt. Sometimes I add some ice cubes if I am not using any frozen fruit and I want a cold smoothie. And that is it. You have an instant nutritious meal or snack.

Lily and Sky with strawberry - banana smoothies...

I have been doing this for years for my kids and they love it. It is so simple that they can pick out the ingredients and it always tastes good. Just throw some fruits in there and blend! If it isn't sweet enough for you, simply add a squirt of RAW honey or maple syrup or agave, or a couple of dates, or some apple juice. Here are a few of our favorites:

Banana, Blueberry, Almond (or Soy) Milk

Banana, Strawberry, Almond (or Soy) Milk

Banana, Strawberry, Blueberry, Almond (or Soy) Milk

Banana, Dates, Almond (or Soy) Milk


In terms of all the vast array of almond milk out there, my husband (who used to be a huge milk drinker until he watched vegan gal) feels that UNSWEETENED RICE DREAM makes the closest milk substitute for cereal, etc, (as it is thinner and not sweet). Yet for drinking alone, or with cookies, etc, he likes the VANILLA ALMOND SILK (very thick and sweet). All of these are now available at every major grocery store as well as Walmart and Target.

If you have a really good blender, you can throw in a handful of raw (not roasted and salted!) walnuts or almonds and you will never notice a difference but you will get the health benefits. I had been reading so many articles and blogs about "green smoothies" and I finally got brave enough to try it, and the kids liked it! This basically means you are making a regular smoothie, but you throw in some RAW spinach or RAW Kale, or parsley or other greens. It really sounds disgusting, but I swear it works!


My family (with all 4 kids) was at Sam's Club recently and the Vitamix company was their doing a demo with their amazing blenders. I have owned a Vitamix (which is essentially a super powerful blender that can blend almost anything into a liquid - and can grind flour) for 10 years, but as we walked by and they handed all of us samples of "ice cream" they had made in the vitamix in a few seconds, I was shocked. It was a deep purple color and truly delicious! I asked what was in it and was very surprised to hear: "frozen bananas, spinach, kale, blueberries, strawberries..." but I went home and tried it and now I make it all the time without any recipes - it is always an experiment.

Even baby Sofia loves it!

Once in a while I have to add some raw honey or some dates because it isn't quite sweet enough, but this process has changed my idea of what healthy eating is. Keeping frozen bananas in the freezer is essential - I peel them and wrap them in plastic, then freeze them - as this is the easiest way and they never turn brown.

Healthy food is colorful. If you are eating mostly white foods (white bread, processed potato products, white pasta, white sugar, you likely at risk for diabetes or cancer at some point. I always start by telling my children to eat as many colors as possible!

I am someone who always thought I ate healthy (and I did- in terms of comparison to the average person). But when my husband and I watched the documentary Food Matters,
it really amazed me to hear that the human body needs to have at the very least 51% raw food in order to create health in the body. It said that if you eat even 51 % COOKED (not raw) food, then your body treats the cooked food like a toxin and begins sending out white blood cells, which runs down your body. However, if you eat at least 51% RAW food, the body starts healing itself. I immediately tried to implement this in our family, and fortunately with the smoothies it is possible.

We also started putting salads on our kids plates (next to the entree I had made) and just telling them that they had to eat that too, in addition to the vegetables that were already there. I think they grumbled the first day, but now they are used to it. But... I found that what worked even better was putting little bowls with raw veggies like baby carrots, snap peas in the pods, cucumber slices, radish slices, red pepper slices, or avocado slices on the table before I served everyone was the easiest way (besides the smoothies) to get everyone to eat more raw.

When you are hungry you grab what is in front of you, and surprisingly my family wasn't even asking for salad dressing or dip to use! They were just crunching away on naturally delicious veggies! You honestly cannot taste the true flavor when they are dipped in onion and garlic laden dressings anyway (so most kids don't even know that peppers are sweet until they try them!)

If you keep in mind eating in color it can be fun to try so many new things.... you may have thought you knew what they tasted like, but trying them without dressing is a new experience! And every new experience can lead to more good things!

Skylar and Alexis eating carrots from our garden!

Beware of GREEN-WASHING! Many multi-level home based business companies are NOT what they seem.

I always am completely honest with you. (Not like some businesses .. read on to see...)

As you may know, I started out in a small store in a small town, and in that environment EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE. And this is a good thing. Except when the local "telephone-game-style" gossip mill is running, but that is another story(s).

In business, as in life, Honesty is always the best policy and this is never more true than when you are in a small town!

This is my retail store in Fairfield, IA.  If you aren't in Iowa, then you can visit us on the web at The Organic Company.com

Everyone who came in was a friend, or a friend of my parents, a teacher I had in high school, or the person I bought my groceries from each week. As my business expanded over the years, through my website I had customers from all 50 states, and I was amazed to find how many of them actually knew me somehow, or at least had some connection to me. I guess it is the 6 degrees of separation - the Kevin Bacon thing. And when you know someone, you care about them. And pretty soon you find yourself caring about everyone, even the people you haven't met yet. So it is this spirit that I write this.

If you are a mother at home with young children and you are looking for a home based business, for the love of God, do some research. There are a some out there that you can make money with - but NOT all of them. And very few actually have products that are made out of quality ingredients.

Most of them suck you into spending between $40-$250 a month on auto-ship orders of their products every month for years, before you realize it isn't working. Trust me, I have tried out a few. (And a note to my past customers - those 3 companies I carried I did do thorough research on and I carried them until I felt that their ingredients had changed too much to be reputable, or their prices had risen so much as to render them unsellable, or both.) As you can imagine, because of my job, I still get invited to "join" many different multilevel companies, all of which, upon further investigation, I found to be not worth it for me as a person.

This is from my store during a promotional night for one company I carried. Mostly I remember the organic chocolate that everyone loved. Oh, and my sister's platinum blonde hair. UPDATE: She is a designer for an organic yogawear line which you can see by clicking on this picture!

Without naming names and dragging all multi-levels into this one post, let me say this:

1) If the company primarily sells nutritional supplements or shakes you can usually get better nutrition CHEAPER by using your blender and some fruits and veggies from the store.

This was when I made grape juice out of actual grapes in my blender (Vitaprep). Delicious!

2) If the company primarily sells cleaning products, you can do the same with white vinegar, baking soda, and lavender essential oil and water. (Seriously, a spray bottle is all you need to work magic!)

3) If the company primarily sells kitchenware, you can do better buy purchasing stainless steel or ceramic items at your local kitchen store, or even Target for a fraction of the cost. (And don't even think about storing your food in plastic, regardless of how famous it's name is.)

4) If the company primarily sells body-care or makeup, all you have to do is READ THE INGREDIENTS - if you cannot pronounce it- there is a problem - usually it is a chemical linked to cancer. (I am not going to suggest you make your own cosmetics as it is simply too frustrating for most people, including myself.) But don't be swayed by the slick claims on multi-level brands, you can do far better by purchasing products from 100% Pure (we carry many in our store), or products from other small companies - where there are no chemicals, no parabens, no sodium laurel or laureth sulfates, no alcohol, no fillers.

5) If the company has a broad spectrum of products, possibly covering many of the above categories, please be even more cautious, because specialization brings more validity to the products. Trying to be the best at everything - it is simply very unlikely that any one company will achieve this.

All this being said, I would ask:

How can a company so blatantly lie?

How can a company so obviously mislead its customers?

Ask Aloette, one of the worst green-washing companies to come around in a long time. Our conversation with them tonight:

Us: "Are Aloette products organic?"

Aloette Reps: "Oh yes, all organic."

Us: "It doesn't say that on the label. It should say that."

Aloette Reps: "Oh we have been organic for 23 years."

Us: "Why doesn't it say so on the label?"

Aloette Reps: "Oh this is old packaging."

That is my favorite part-- that they use the same packaging that they have had for 23 years!?!
I really wish I could see the IQ score on the person who answered these questions!

Look at the ingredients, most of which are listed as cancer causing by the Cosmetics Safety database. Not only are Aloette's products NOT organic, they are NOT EVEN NATURAL.

What BS.

If you don't believe me, go to the Cosmetics Safety Database and type in any of the ingredients you cannot pronounce, http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com and you will see.

At a time when many companies are striving to use MORE healthy natural ingredients INSTEAD of chemicals, this company is choosing the worst:
pick a "natural sounding" name, create some flashy marketing on a website, throw together some products using the cheapest chemicals around, then rely on the duping of the public to sell it for them.
See, they know that if they can convince YOU, then it is YOU that convince your friends and family, because your friends and family trust you. But Aloette can't sell easily directly to them, because they would not be trusted.

THIS is the reason the few legitimate multi-level home-based businesses have a bad rap- because of companies like Aloette. I feel sorry for those companies, but mostly I feel sorry for the already strapped women who get involved trying to peg their hopes and dreams on a company that is usually a big fat liar.

If you enjoy doing research, as I do, and you enjoy watching documentary films (thank you Netflix!) than you may find out some very, very shocking statistics. Like how easy it is for ANYONE to go to Utah and make an herbal supplement with little to no regulations. (Don't get me wrong, I am all for herbs and supplements - but PLEASE buy them from reputable sources - this is the only way you can hope to get what you pay for.)

As I finish writing this, I realize that probably those of you who were thinking about approaching me to try to have me sell the same multi-level line you are into, probably are changing your mind. If you are enjoying the products, then that is fine. But please, before you sell your trusting family and friends on something, take a good look at the ingredients or materials and also where and how the products are made. Is it America? Is it fair wage labor? And if you STILL feel good about it, come talk to me. (Just make sure they aren't using labels that are 23 years old.)