Green Smoothies: Why

A few weeks ago, I replaced my blender. My old blender was given to me by my sister, Jamie. It was 400 watts and drove me nuts whenever I used it for smoothies. Which was just about the only time I ever used it. That is a rate of 98% annoyance. I’m allowing for the slight off chance that I actually used the blender for something else.

I bought a pretty little ninja. Out of the options in my price range with the minimum wattage I needed wanted, this one looked and felt the best. Vitamix was a little bit out of my price range. The ninja boasts of six blades and 1000 watts. And it works like a dream. Assuming that you have nice dreams that go smoothly.

My old blender went back to Jamie whose blender had just died.

Pretty, right? All parts (except the base) is dishwasher safe but I prefer to hand wash it still.The handle is hollow and water and other food bits can get into it from the bottom so I’d rather just keep it out of the dishwasher.

I got this blender because I was going to start having smoothies for breakfast. Every day. Green smoothies, actually. I didn’t want to fight every day with a blender for a task that should take 30 seconds but was instead taking 5 minutes.

There are a few reasons I decided to start drinking green smoothies. 1) I needed to increase my veggies & fruit intake. I was close but close isn’t there. 2) Because of my increase in exercise, I was always hungry and struggling to feel satiated. My trainer thought it might help me. 3) The increase in exercise but not an increase of sleep (as in sleeping through the night instead of being woken several times) was an energy drain. My trainer thought it might help me. 4) A friend had started a few months ago and couldn’t stop raving about it. 5) It was an excuse for a new blender.

I’ve heard many benefits of moving towards a raw foods diet. I’m not sure that we’ll ever be there but it certainly never hurts to take a step in that direction. I’m a fan of foods as close to their original state as possible. That doesn’t still mean that I don’t like eating anything else. Because you’ll still see me with Little Caesars pizza and Olive Garden breadsticks and thoroughly enjoying them to. However, what I eat on a more regular basis is what I’ve been focusing on. Breakfasts and lunches are the two meals that I will make something different for me than for anyone else. Mostly because Kaelyn rarely eats breakfast when I do anyway and Jared takes care of himself. Dinners are a family affair and we’ll all eat the same thing. Having a smoothie for a first meal made the most sense. It’s harder for me to forget about it and if it’s supposed to help with energy than that’s when I need to drink it.

It’s been two weeks since I started and I’ve developed an opinion about them which I will graciously share with you over the next few days. Tune in tomorrow to find out what my very first green smoothie experience was like!

Homemade Cloth Diaper Detergent

The Why

I used the last of my cloth diaper detergent this week. Instead of purchasing more, I decided to make more. I did some research on the web and it was really quite basic research. I very quickly became aware that everyone had different opinions. I figured that if I continued to research, I would just find more of the same differing opinions.

Most recipes contained three ingredients: Fels Naptha (laundry bar soap), washing soda, and borax. Some people found the borax too abrasive for their kids bum. Also, the Fels Naptha can cause build up on your diapers which means you need to strip them more frequently. No, thank you. Too much work!

I decided to use baking soda, washing soda, and OxiClean. I had all the ingredients (except it took me a while to locate the baking soda). And they are all good. OxiClean Free has no dyes, perfumes, or phosphates. Washing soda is deemed nontoxic and baking soda… well, we cook with it, don’t we? It was easy peasy. I even took pictures.

The Tutorial

1. Gather your ingredients. Washing soda and OxiClean can be found in the laundry section of your grocery store. Baking soda is in the baking aisle.

2. Pour all your ingredients in a container. I used one cup of each.

3. Mix together. I left this scoop in there. I got it from Rockin Green. It has a tablespoon on one side and a teaspoon on the other.

4. Put lid on and label. For ease of remember, I also wrote how to make it. Super easy.

The Cost comparison

Rockin Green: $15.95 for 45 oz. I used 1 1/2 Tbsp per load so that is about 60 loads. $0.27 per load.

Homemade Detergent

Baking soda: $4.18 for 64 oz. I used 8 oz so that is $0.52.

Washing soda: $2.50 for 55 oz. I used 8 oz so that is $0.36.

OxiClean Free: $6.50 for 65 oz. I used 8 oz so that is $0.80.

Total cost: $1.68 for 24 oz. If I continue to use 1 1/2 Tbsp per load that is 32 loads. $0.05 per load.

Whoa. Okay. I wasn’t expecting that big of a savings. $0.22 per load savings!!

Right now I wash diapers three times a week. In one month I’m saving $2.64 (3*4 washes). That’s a savings of $34.32 per year (3*52 washes)!!!

The Conclusion

I can’t really say that I’d do it for the environmentally friendly aspect of it all. Rockin Green was really quite good. No phosphates, no dyes, you didn’t have to have fragrances but if you did, it all washes out so it’s really just for you to stick your nose in your laundry detergent and smell something pretty. Homemade detergent is great.

One cost I didn’t factor in is that I can buy all the ingredients for the homemade detergent at my regular grocery store. It doesn’t take an extra trip. Rockin Green I had to drive somewhere special or order it online and pay shipping. That just makes Rockin Green more expensive and therefore the savings is higher to switch to homemade detergent.

One test left to go. Do the diapers like it? I won’t know for at least a few weeks or even a month from now to get a really good idea. But I’ll be sure to let you know.

Exercising: "Go!"

Kimmi and I have been exercising in the mornings. We got three weights of dumbbells (1, 2, and 3 pounders because we're weaklings). Kaelyn loves to exercise with us by using the 1-lbers. Today she popped a wall squat too. And just now, Kimmi asked if she was going to do some push ups and after a few attempts, she got in the right sort of pose.

Kimmi was doing push ups. And I've been harrassing her about her form on previous exercises and push ups were no different. This time, however, Kaelyn goes up to Kimmi and instead of trying to climb on her, she says "Go! Go! One more! One! Two! Three! One more! Go!"

Yes, can you tell what I say?

Blackberry Jam

I had this idea to write about fitness. Close upon the heels of that thought came the thought that really, what do I know about it? Maybe I can write about what I'm doing or reviews of DVDs that I've tried. Actually, I like that idea.

But not today.

Today I have two other things to say.

1. This is post #100. Tear.
2. I noticed today that I have blogged more this year than I did last year.

And I just decided I'm going to blog about Wellness on Mondays. See? A step in the right direction. On Mondays, you get Wellness. On Fridays, you get Garden. On Saturdays, you get Rambles. Or perhaps Bad Habits, Evil Doings, and Other Unnecessary Confessions is a better title.

Wellness is a way of life. Wellness is being fit. Wellness is exercising. Wellness is movement. Wellness is healthy foods. Wellness is unprocessed foods. Wellness is cleanliness. Wellness is being financially fit. Wellness is being spiritually fit. These are just a few of my thoughts about what wellness includes for me. I certainly have not achieved my goal, but every little change gets me closer.

When I run out of a food, I often look for a healthier alternative or brand. In one of those past 99 posts, I mentioned that Heinz makes ketchup that has no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). It is not that much more expensive and it is called Simply Heinz.

Recently, I was running low on jam and I always dread buying jam because it seems like the healthier versions are way more expensive so I have to hang my head in shame while I buy a product loaded with HFCS, CS, and other additives. When I got to the store, I looked down the row and picked up one that said it was all natural with no preservatives. The pricing wasn't that bad and it was a decent sized jar. My jaw dropped. Four ingredients! Now THAT is what I'm talking about.

I wish I had the price, but this was one of the weeks that I did not enter anything into my price book. :(

Blackberry Jam by Wind Stone Farms. Made in Kentucky. I bought seedless because I thought that's what Jared liked. Jared told me otherwise when I got home. Does my dad like seedless then? I swear someone in my life somewhere does not like seeds and apparently it is not Jared. It is an 18 oz jar and it is yummy.

Ingredients: Blackberries, sugar, fruit pectin, citric acid.

Nutrition Facts--I confess that I haven't really ventured too much into this world. I figure if I'm eating foods that are low in ingredients and not very processed, I'm doing pretty good. But maybe someone who reads this will want to know this information. So here you go.
Serving size: 1 Tbsp
Calories 50
Total Carbs 13g
Sugars 12g

One year I will take it a step further and make my own. I'm not there yet.