Agave Marshmallows

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This one's for you Christine :)

A while back, I had mentioned being too lazy to "go into town" and buy marshmallows, so instead of taking the trek across the street (that's where "into town" is)...like i said...lazy, I made some.  I know, who has the ingredients to make marshmallows on hand? ...let's just say a couponing obsession perk :)

Homemade marshmallows are really yummy, and the recipe I used way back was tasty, but pure out wrecked havoc on the human body and environment!  The main ingredient in those marshmallows was corn syrup.  Which is derived from GMO corn.  I won't get too deep into the GMO subject right now (a more detailed post to follow), but aside from being ridden with pesticides and all kinds of chemicals, as well as political horror, it's just plain old bad for you.

So, when the very occasional hankering (because too much of anything, especially sweet anythings, still isn't "good" for you) for a marshmallow treat arises, like S'mores over a warm camp fire, there is an alternative.  It makes a great gift too!  I just whipped it less and jarred it as a marshmallow fluff...yum!

PS...If you LOVE the taste of honey, you can sub it out for the agave...I've done both and both are delicious! 

AGAVE MARSHMALLOW RECIPE

1 cup agave syrup (I use organic. It is a low-glycemic sweetener you can use in place of corn syrup)

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin or (1 Tbsp if you have a box of gelatin)

1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla (to your taste)

1/4 tsp sea salt

6 Tbsp cold water

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine cold water and gelatin, mix until dissolved. Add agave syrup, salt and  vanilla. Mix well, then heat to almost a boil. 

 2. Pour into mixer, mix on high for 15 minutes. Should be very stiff.  Have your pan ready with a light dusting of organic corn starch (organic corn starch solves the GMO problem) while this is mixing.  If you want to make your own marshmallow fluff, just don't beat as long and pour into a jar instead of pan when done.

3. Pour into floured pan and level with a spoon.  Let cool completely and cut with wet knife. If you really want a stiff marshmallow, put in fridge.

The Famous Homemade Laundry Detergent

I can't even begin to count how many people I've passed this recipe on to.  I've got it from my friend Dana a few years ago originally as an alternative to expensive commercial laundry detergent.  As our household became more aware of the products we bought and how they effected the environment, it just added to my love for this recipe.


We make a conscious effort to steer clear of buying products with lots of packaging.  We do this in lots of ways...buying used, frequenting the bulk bins at the health food store, staying away from individually packaged anything, enforcing the use of water canteens and reusable coffee mugs, eating only fresh veggies,  hunting and fishing our meat instead of buying it, banning paper towels in our house...really just being aware of what we buy.  There are so many ways to reduce waste, and a little effort by all goes a long way!  Pick one idea or come up with your own, and try it for a week...you may never go back :)

Even though we recycle, it still takes a process that uses energy, transportation  and emissions are still produced.  Don't get me wrong, recycling is MUCH better than throwing it "away"...just where is "away" anyways?   So, in the case of laundry detergent containers, our preferred method of the three R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) is to Reduce.  I triple the recipe, store it in a 6 gallon bucket saved from my bulk wheat berry purchases, and refill an old Tide container as needed. 

Before I give you the recipe, just a  few more bits of info I want to share.  This soap will not suds like commercial laundry detergent.  You will see a small amount of suds while you are making the soap, because soap does make a small amount of suds naturally.  The lack of suds does not mean it's not working.  Suds were actually introduced to soaps for marketing purposes.  We've basically gotten trained to seeing suds and think cleaning.  Commercial laundry detergent manufacturers use sodium laurel sulfate or some derivative of it as a surfactant.  That's what makes the suds.  Unfortunately, it is a proven carcinogen.   Aside from the surfactants, more recently, another set of chemicals being introduced called optical brighteners, are used to "trick" the eye into by altering ultraviolet wavelengths to make clothes look brighter. Studies have shown these agents are extremely toxic to fish and can cause mutations in bacteria. They can also trigger strong allergic reactions in humans when exposed to sunlight.  Last, but not least, commercial detergents contain phenols.  Phenols have been deemed toxic by the National Health Institute.  They can cause damage to the lungs, heart, kidneys and liver. They are very easily absorbed into the skin, making them especially dangerous. Phenols have been linked to serious health conditions and even death.  None of these are something I'd like to have touching my family's bodies all day or entering our waterways.

On a happier note, I like a little smelly good in my detergents...especially on towels and sheets.  I don't add it to my big batch, because I use vinegar as a fabric softener on my dark loads of laundry, and it neutralizes whatever scent I added.  Since I line dry my clothes, a fabric softener helps to do a dryer's work and remove any lint that tends to be visible on dark loads.   If you're not using vinegar as a fabric softener, feel free to add a few drops of essential oils to your detergent.  I like to use lavender, but get creative...try jasmine, lemon, eucalyptus, orange, geranium, rose, vanilla.  You can mix them or try them on their own.  Have fun with it!    

Lastly, I find all these ingredients at Publix.  The Borax is a little less expensive at Target, so if I'm there already, I try to remember to grab a box.  Did I mention, this recipe costs practically nothing?  I make a 6 gallon bucket of laundry detergent for under $5, and it lasts me at least 4 months (if not longer).

I know there are so many versions of this recipe out there.  This one worked right off the bat for us, so I never tried any others.  If you have a recipe you use, please feel free to post it in the comment section!!

LAUNDRY DETERGENT RECIPE

1/3 bar soup (Fels Naptha or other types of soap like Zote )
1/2 a cup of washing soda
1/2 cup of borax powder
2 gallon size bucket to mix in


Grate the soap into a sauce pan. Then add 6 cups of water & heat til soap is completely melted. Add washing soda and borax and stir that til dissolved. Remove from heat; pour 4 cups of hot water (we just use out the faucet, as hot as it would get) into a bucket; now add your soap mixture; stir. Then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water; stir. Use 1/2 a cup per load.

Happy Cleaning!

The Pantry Raid-Part 1

A side effect to whole eating that I hadn't really put much thought into when we started making these changes was weight loss.  After three kids, I had spent two years getting back into a good exercise habit and was actually very happy with the condition my body had settled into.  I hadn't done too much with my eating habits aside from moderation, so it really caught me by surprise, because I wasn't setting out to lose weight.  I had people asking me almost on a daily basis, "what the heck are you doing??".   Honestly, it took me a few to really process what was happening.  I hadn't changed my exercise routine or the amount of food I was eating, yet, the pounds were dropping off like flies.  Even my husband who was already very fit compared to the average Joe also lost 10 pounds.

Basically, as we started becoming more conscientious about the foods we consumed from a green standpoint, eating more whole was just a natural progression.  The more whole we ate, the more our bodies adjusted to a healthier state.  The best side effect I've ever experienced! :) 

The first step was reading labels.  Sure, I had checked out fat and calorie content on labels.  I had even advanced to checking fiber and sugar information, but very rarely did I even glance at the ingredient list.  The more aware I became of strange ingredients like Butylated Hydroxyanisole (I can't even say that!), the more I couldn't imagine eating those foods anymore.  Go get a bottle of salad dressing from your pantry and read the ingredients...I dare you!  You will be amazed!  Just because I'm a little anal retentive, I started researching these ingredients only to find that I had been pumping our family full of chemicals and biologically modified foods (which is so ironic taking into consideration that I spent my early years out of college as a scientist in the industry responsible for these modifications...a whole other post coming on that subject :) ). 

The more educated I became, the better we ate.  Out with processed foods and in with organic, whole foods.  I think mostly because of the visible, physical improvements, I have so many people asking me about making healthy changes to their eating habits.  The big question--So, where do I start?

Every household is different.  Personally, I have a hard time diving right into anything, so we started gradually.  Our focus was really driven by our new-found knowledge of where our food comes from and what effects its production has on our environment.  

My goal with starting this blog back up is to be able to answer this question for as many people as I can reach.  Clean, whole eating can prevent and cure many diseases that have become common to our country, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share what I have learned!  I will be posting a weekly series called "The Pantry Raid" where I will be sharing all kinds of mind-blowing info on our food supply and baby steps on how to get your pantry in shape, so make sure you check in frequently for new posts!