Problem Viewing My Blog Posts in Reader

I am putting this post out there with hopes that anyone following my blog is able to read this.

There is currently an issue where my blog updates are not showing in either the Reading List off of the Dashboard page or in the Google Reader.

I have brought this issue to the attention of a very helpful person through the help forums & I have been advised that the issue has been escalated. In the mean time I was advised that if I stop following my blog & then re-follow again, it should clear the situation up. I tried it & sure enough it worked.

I hope you are all able to read this & I hope this issue resolves itself soon. I have delayed any recent posts because of this. I am going to continue posting in hopes that this issue has been cleared up.
Thank you for your time & understanding.

The Benefits of Cinnamon

Mmmm.. Cinnamon. When I think of cinnamon I think of apple pies, ooey gooey sticky buns, and buttered toast sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar. Yum!
This spice is one of my favorites. It's so versatile. Cinnamon is most often used in dessert recipes however it can be found in many side dishes or main courses as well. It adds a great taste and aroma without adding a lot of calories. It picks up boring dishes & helps to calm down spicy dishes.
The nutritional content of this spice can be found here. You'll find it listed there that cinnamon has 4 grams of fiber and supplies you with 8% of calcium and 4% of iron per serving of the daily requirements. Not bad for a spice!

Dating way back, cinnamon has held it's own throughout history. It's mentioned in biblical writings, it was considered a source of wealth and has been used for centuries not only as a food product but for medicinal purposes as well.
I've read that it has been used in the treatment of and for prevention of colds.
It's also known to help aid digestion. I personally add cinnamon to dishes that tend to cause gas. I've noticed that the cinnamon helped to decrease the amount of gas or indigestion caused by certain dishes.
I've also read that certain studies show this fragrant spice can help lower blood sugars. Today, cinnamon is also often used as an ingredient in aromatherapy treatments. Here's a how to from Ehow.com cinnamon aromatherapy .

In addition to these lovely facts, researchers are currently working on creating a bug spray or repellent to ward off mosquitoes. Apparently, they don't like cinnamon. (Fine with me!!) Hopefully the manufacturers of these sprays will keep it natural for those of us that don't like to pour synthetic chemicals all over the largest organ of our body.

I not only like to add cinnamon to my dessert dishes but I also add them to any chili's I make. If I make a standard red Texas chili I'll add some as well as when I make my favorite White Turkey Chili. The cinnamon adds a nice spicy, fragrant flavor and it also aids in digestion.

Also, a really delicious snack recipe I have is to take a bunch of small store bought pretzels & put them in a bowl. To that bowl add canola oil, cinnamon & sugar & toss to coat. Place the pretzels on a cookie sheet & bake until just warm. The pretzels absorb the oil & the cinnamon and sugar stick. It's the perfect sweet & salty snack. (Please realize this is not a diet food. ;o)

Kourtney Kardashian on Natural Parenting

I knew I liked this chick for some reason.
Check out this article from Parenting Magazine.

http://bit.ly/parentingKK


It discusses Kourtney's parenting choices with her son. I ♥ all aspects of what she's doing.

I'm looking forward to posting on Breast Feeding as it's a huge topic that I love to talk about. There isn't enough positive press on it anymore and too many women opt for formula because of this.
This article makes me smile. Kudos to Kourtney for bucking popular opinion & giving her son the best gift she could: a strong nutritional foundation.

I've decided to start a product list of items I use that are all natural or earth & people friendly. The first item on my list will be Feline Pine Cat Litter.
My cat has decreased kidney function which means she uses the cat box quite often. So much in fact that I have to clean the box every other day or else it's like a cement block.
Due to the fact that my cat has long hair she tends to get a lot of litter clumped in between her toes & it can't be comfortable for her. Plus it's a pain to try & wash a cat's feet in the sink. I pretty much look like I had a visit from Freddy Kruger the night before. I'm also really not comfortable knowing that she's tracking all of this stuff through my home where my daughter crawls & plays.
A few weeks ago when I was changing the cats litter box and I was adding more litter to the pan I accidentally inhaled some of the dust from the clay litter and it was awful. It took my breath away & I was left with a flowery, cotton fresh taste for the rest of the day. Yuck!
At my next grocery store visit I checked out other litters & stumbled upon this Feline Pine Cat Litter. It uses all natural ingredients and it's made of shredded pine. There's no obnoxious perfumes and I don't have to worry if my cat ingests it when she goes about her daily cleaning routine. And since it's not made of clay it doesn't get all clumped up in her paws.
I was afraid to look at the price tag because unfortunately a lot of all natural products tend to be on the pricey side & I couldn't afford to spend an arm and a leg on cat litter. But to my surprise, it wasn't a lot at all. In fact it was pretty much the same price I pay for the litter I was currently using.
So, I figured I'd give it a go. I picked up the box & was amazed at how light the box was. Bonus! No strained back from carrying 20 lbs of litter all over the grocery store. I took it home & mixed it in with some of the clay litter already in the pan so it wasn't such a shock to her. I was immediately impressed with the litter. The litter clumped as it stated. It also controlled the odor from the cat box.
Then came the true test. I kept checking the cats paws for clumps of pine & none could be found. Hooray! Finally! No sticky litter stuck in the cats paws, no clumpy litter balls all over my house. I am not going to say though that this stuff doesn't track. It does. But now I am not as freaked out by it. If my daughter touches it, I know there's no chemicals that would harm her in it. And my vacuum picks this litter up a lot easier since it's so much lighter.
All in all, I would say I am now a Feline Pine Cat Litter fan. This will be our new litter go forward.

Toxic Beauty?

Are you slathering toxic chemicals on to your skin? You may be. And you probably don't know it.

Have you ever flipped over your shampoo or lotion bottle & read the ingredients? If not, try it sometime. Try pronouncing some of those words. I'll bet you can't. I know I couldn't. So, again I decided to further investigate the situation. Here's what I found:
Most personal care products have Pthalates, Parabens, Sulfates & other controversial ingredients.
I say controversial because there are arguments to support both sides. There are claims that these ingredients are endocrine disruptors, causing an increase in certain hormones including estrogen. Certain groups claim that an increase in these hormones can lead to hormone specific cancers such as breast cancer. These groups also claim that these ingredients also contribute to the obesity problem that faces our nation along with other problems as well.
On the other hand, the manufacturers and other research groups show conflicting data that states these products are safe to use and the foundings previously noted are incorrect.

I see it this way: when in doubt, leave it out. I've decided to opt for products that are all natural, organic, or those that I have researched.

I've posted a link for a cosmetic safety database I like to frequent. You can enter the name of a product and it will give you a list of ingredients and the safety of these ingredients based on their research.

 http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Scent-sational! Or Not....

Let me start this post by saying I have a very sensitive sniffer. Maybe I was a bloodhound in a previous life. All I know is that I am always the first to smell something others don't. I also know that I am very sensitive to a lot of perfumes & sprays. Growing up I had the worst allergies. I didn't really know what I was allergic to, I just knew that I was ALWAYS sneezing & blowing my nose. It wasn't a seasonal thing as it is with most people. I was always allergic to something. In fact my allergies were so bad I was referred to an allergist. There I was poked with a lot of little needles containing a common allergen to see if I would react to these different items. This way, if I could identify the problem then I could just do everything in my power to avoid that particular item. It turned out I was allergic to maple trees (really??), dust mites, & mold. Hmm.. Aren't most people allergic to dust & mold? I mean if you're watching a cartoon & someone blows dust off a table doesn't the character on screen always sneeze? I don't see everyone else running around with wads of tissues in their pockets like me.

So armed with my knowledge of my respiratory offenders I decided to try & take matters in to my own hands. I did everything I could to make my house dust free. I stopped swinging & hanging from all maple trees and I made sure I threw out any old food I had in the fridge so as to avoid the mold problem... Seriously though, I did everything possible to make sure I was living in an allergen free environment. Lo and behold, I was still sneezing. I'd also like to mention that I'm one of those chain sneezers. I don't sneeze once or twice in a row. I usually don't go less than 3-4 at a time. I've gone up to 18 times in a row that I can remember counting. People avoid me like the plague in the store because they think I'm flu ridden & they don't want to catch my cooties.
Unable to control the problem on my own I turned to prescription & OTC allergy medications alternately. They did help to stop the sneezing but I still had the post nasal drip (that's such an attractive description isn't it? I mean really, they couldn't come up with a better name for it?) and I also still had the itchy running nose. My contacts were always scratchy & my eyes were dry and itchy as well.

For years I just thought this was the hand I was dealt & that I had to deal with it. I have family members that have the same issues. Some even worse than I do. So I became a slave to the meds & nasal sprays and kept hoping one day the allergy issues would just stop.

Once I became pregnant & decided to pay more attention to my health I started reading labels on the beauty products I used. Have you ever done this? If you can pronounce more than 3 of the ingredients listed in most name brand lotions, perfumes, or hair products then I would be quite surprised. I started to research some of these ingredients & I have to admit I cannot believe I've been putting this stuff on my skin for so long!
Since I was preggo & read that some of these ingredients were known to cause metabolic or hormonal changes I decided to ditch the chemical lotions & opt for more natural products. In doing so I also noticed most were either fragrance free or scented with essential oils. I also noticed something else. MY SNEEZING STOPPED!

Whoa... back up.. I used to take a shower using the prettiest smelling soap I could find. Then I'd wash my hair & condition it with even smellier products. Then I'd get out of the shower, slather on a delectable scented lotion & dry my hair.  Next, I would spray the nicest smelling hair spray or shine spray I could find. Then I'd use some clean scented deodorant & get dressed. Just before I ran out the door, you guessed it! I'd run through a mist of fancy perfume that I would spray over my entire body. So now, I was layer after layer of fresh.. But was I really?

Once I realized that the "fragranced" items were bothering my allergies I started to cut them out. First the perfumes, then the lotions & now I use free & clear everything I can get my hands on. My laundry detergent, my deodorant, my soap, etc. What's funny (actually it's not funny at all) fragrance is a word that isn't regulated. When fragrance is listed as an ingredient it can be so many different things. As long as it's contributing to the scent of the product it falls under the fragrance category.

I wanted to write this entry since over the holidays I saw a family member who is also an allergy sufferer & I told him to try cutting out all of the scented things. I'm hoping he gives it a shot. I cant say it will work for everyone but I know it worked for me.

Until next time my friends... Be Well, Be Loved, Be You!!!! ♥

You Are What You Eat

So then I must be a cookie. Or at least I was...

Thinking back as far as I can remember, I recall my mother making a full well rounded meal for every night of the week with the occasional exception of a pizza or Chinese order here and there. I didn't realize it at the time but my mother never served me anything that came out of a box. A typical meal in our house was  a meat, a starch (potato or rice), and a vegetable. As long as my dinner was finished, I was entitled to dessert which was never passed up in my family. I remember going to friends houses & they were having boxed mac & cheese, or fast food take out. At that age chicken nuggets & fries sounded so much better than homemade pot roast with all the veggies & gravy you could eat. It didn't occur to me until I was older that my mother was actually setting a strong foundation for me and I can't thank her enough.
Once I was eighteen and moved out on my own, I went on my first real grocery shopping trip. I went to the store without a plan or list & just bought whatever I thought looked enticing. A car load of junk and $200 later I realized I didn't have anything I could make a substantial meal from. So, back out I went to hit the take out counter at my local fast food joint. 
That started my journey down the wrong food path. I would spend hoards of money on canned, boxed & bagged items. I really don't recall wheeling my cart down the produce isle much at all.
When I was working full time and going to college part time in the evenings I noticed my food habits got even worse. The people at the local take out joint knew my voice when I called in my order. Now you're thinking I would have realized this was not a good thing. Not me! I thought, "Hey great, now they know who I am and they won't forget to add the extra dressing I always ask for."

Eventually, I gained an interest in cooking. I was addicted to the food channel as was my fiance. Slowly, we both started to try new dishes we never even heard of. I made sure when I went grocery shopping that I made a list so that we had every ingredient we needed. Both of us would fight our way around each other in our teeny tiny kitchen trying to assemble different portions of our meal. Then came the sweetest reward. The final dish. We started sitting down together for dinner and discussing the varied ingredients we used and what we'd like to try differently next time. That passion between us grew & soon enough we were the biggest "foodies" on the block. I no longer viewed creating a meal as a chore that needed to be checked off a list. I enjoyed choosing the ingredients, I enjoyed taste testing throughout the cooking process but most of all I reveled in the sight on my fiance's face when he tasted what I had created.
As time passed and we continued to explore different dishes I stood back and noticed something. I was looking and feeling a lot healthier than I did during my "take out" days. That's when I really started to take a turn towards healthy eating.
When I was expecting my daughter I remember going in to the grocery store with a new view of things. I was intent on eating only nutritious foods for the little one growing inside of me. I wanted to buy organic foods but when I got to the local grocery store it was not an easy feat to find the foods I wanted in an organic version.
Why is that you ask? Because unfortunately peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and nacho cheese tortillas are not part of the healthy organic diet. "Great" I muttered to myself, "I'm destined to eat rice cakes & raw carrots. Woo hoo!" Just what a pregnant lady wants to hear.
So, I did what I could to satisfy my cravings. If I wanted something sweet, I opted for fruit or all natural ice cream. I remember Breyers All Natural Vanilla Bean Ice Cream was a staple on every week's grocery list. (Hey, I was pregnant.. I had to cut myself some slack...)
I remember craving nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips but I knew they were loaded with MSG so I stayed away from them with a ten foot pole.
After giving birth I decided to breastfeed (which I really plan to post a lot about in future posts). While breastfeeding I started to do a lot of research to learn about the things I should be eating so that my daughter would receive optimal nutrition. Along my quest for information I stumbled upon a movie about our food culture today. This was a documentary about organic farming (or lack thereof), GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and the meat and poultry industry. I must say, I was terrified to put another bite of ANYTHING in to my mouth after that. With each bite I took of something I had so many questions running through my head; "What if this has pesticides on it or in it? What if this meat came from an animal treated with antibiotics or growth hormones? What if the food I'm about to eat spontaneously combusts?!!?
It was too much for an already neurotic mother to handle. So, I sat down & decided again to research the food industry as much as I could.
Now, when I go to the grocery store I try to buy local, organic produce and free range meats and dairy products. I try to make every meal I can from scratch. I've decided, I'm going back to basics! If you take a look at my dinner table, most nights you'll find a meat, a starch (potato or rice) and a vegetable. I try to limit the amount of processed foods we have. Most importantly I try to arm myself with knowledge. A smart cookie is a healthy cookie.
Mmmmm.. Cookies are my favorite.