Vinegar...It's Not Just for Salad Anymore!

In pursuit of this healthy new lifestyle, my husband and I have made a ton of changes in the products we choose to use -from household cleaning products to toiletry items...nothing has been sacred and everything has been scrutinized.
The goal has been detox...eliminating as many toxins as possible from within our four  walls.

Deodorant was one such product...

We've all heard the saying made popular by a deodorant marketing campaign years ago, "Never Let Them See You Sweat"...the truth is our bodies were created to sweat. Sweating naturally eliminates toxins from our bodies so, if this process is blocked by an antiperspirant then all those toxins continue to build up and store in our bodies -essentially hindering health and promoting disease...
Being a girl born and bred in the South, we take this sweating thing very seriously...we glisten - we never sweat and oh my goodness if we were to stink!
So needless to say, this was a very important topic...not wanting to be odiferous and all!
I tried many organic deodorant products and none of them ever did what they promised...I would come away -let's just say NOT FRESH - after all I am a southern girl (insert quirky smiley face here)...
One afternoon about 3 months ago, in a desperate search for something to cure my new found natural odor, I stumbled upon a home remedies website and decided I had nothing to lose so, I typed the words "natural deodorant" into the search box and waited...to my surprise the first word that surfaced from the search was VINEGAR!

VINEGAR!

as in balsamic, rice, sherry, champagne...SALAD DRESSING!

My first thought was "you've got to be kidding me" and my next thought was "Where are the cotton balls?!?!"

Well... who knew is all I have to say now!
White vinegar is the best deodorant I have ever used and the CHEAPEST, too...and you don't walk around smelling like salad either!
Basically, the vinegar kills the odor causing bacteria that collect on the skin thus eliminating any offensive unpleasant stench and your body maintains its ability to detox -WINNER!
At pennies on the dollar it is a solution worth trying and a tip worth cashing in on!

So save the balsamic, rice, sherry and champagne for salad dressing but use the white to stay fresh!

Home Spun Almond Butter Spread From Kristi's Kitchen

I was watching something the other day and they were talking about almond butter...

We have bought almond butter for years -my middle son is allergic to peanuts so it was "manna from heaven" the day I discovered almond butter on a supermarket shelf...I did the happy dance for about 5 aisles. My then 2 years old son had never had peanut butter before or any type of nut butter spread and I was over-the-top excited to introduce him to it!

Flash forward now 5 years and it has not once dawned on me to make it myself...

until this week...

With a little recipe study, I discovered that this was going to be a relatively simple process and boy was it -with delicious results!
Better than anything I have tasted off the shelf and so much better for you!
I can already taste the organic raisin ants dotting my almond butter filled organic celery canoe...

This will definitely keep you and the kids coming back for more... Give it a go!

Home Spun Almond Butter

From Kristi's Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 c. raw blanched whole almonds

3 tbsp. + 1 tsp. honey

3/4 c. grapeseed oil

1 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Toss almonds with 3 tbsp. of honey, sesame oil, salt and 3 tbsp. of the grapeseed oil

- Place on baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes; until light golden brown

- Place almonds and remaining honey in food processor and begin processing

- Scrap down the sides and continue processing

- Slowly drizzle remaining oil into processing mixture

- Scrap the sides once again and continue processing until completely smooth

- Pour into pint sized jar and store in the refrigerator

I am 99.9% certain that any nut will work in this recipe -so experiment and let me know what you come up with I would absolutely love the feedback!

Roasted Stuffed Chile Rellenos From Kristi's Kitchen

Featured on Beyond Organic's Facebook page this week

http://www.facebook.com/LiveBeyondOrganic

Ingredients:

10 large chile rellenos, cut in half and cleaned of seeds

1 recipe Taco Meat (below)

1 8oz. block of organic cream cheese; softened

2 cups organic mexican cheese + more to sprinkle on top of stuffed rellenos

 Taco Meat:

1lb. ground organic turkey or green fed beef

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. sea salt 

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 medium tomato, diced with juices

1 tbsp. grapeseed oil

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees

-Combine all turkey taco meat ingredients in hot skillet and brown

-Stir in softened cream cheese and 2 cups of mexican cheese

-Place relleno halves on a parchment lined baking sheet

-Fill each relleno half with a small amount of meat mixture -don't over stuff

-Top each half with a bit of extra cheese

-Place into preheated oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until rellenos are tender

-Serve with Three Bean Dip, Fusion Slaw, guacamole & sour cream

My New Found Way of Life...16 Months in the Making & BEYOND!

My name is Kristi Bush, I am the proprietress of The Owl Tree and my journey into complete health and total wellness began just over 16 months ago. My husband was involved in an auto accident and went to a chiropractic clinic for pain. It was with great scepticism and little enthusiasm, I attended the first patient/spouse orientation night -we almost left! But by the end of that meeting, the Spirit said for such a time as this, pay attention -this is what you need to do! 
For months previous to this point and time, I had been diagnosed with colitis and was experiencing constant upper and lower back pain, as well as several abdominal pain episodes that the doctors had no explanation for. The pain in my lower back was so excruciating that I could not sit for longer than 30-40 minute intervals without having to stand up. Along with that, I was 5’2” and weighed almost 180 lbs. - I was not a healthy person! 
My family had come through the worst year of sickness ever...countless doctor visits and rounds of antibiotics -the standard way that most folks pursue relief from symptoms and what we would call “health care”- not realizing then that our veiled eyes were soon to be opened to the truth. That very night, my husband and I signed the remaining 4 of us up for initial evaluations for spinal health and our adventure into this new world of true health and healing began.

Very quickly, we knew we had made the right choice! We were all in and I began pursuing a new road...NUTRITION

I am a cajun girl -born and bred and if you know anything about the cajun culture -you know that it’s food is the center piece of it’s way of life and my family was no exception! Needless to say the thought of organic foods and alternative flours weren’t even on my radar and to be honest the thought terrified me!

Determined to be successful, I began diligently and persistently learning what healthy nutrition looked like and how amazing it could taste, too! I replaced all of the old tools in my proverbial toolbox with all the new healthful ones and begin to create - I love to cook as much as I love to eat so, I knew my families success depended on being able to turn out fabulous food that was yummy and good for us! With a strong dose of encouragement from my husband, children and new friends, I took the plunge and began creating amazing food - so much so, that I was constantly wowed and floored as to why this wasn’t the mainstream way of doing things...if folks just knew how delicious healthy food really is and that in reality we weren’t giving up anything we loved just making it in a healthful way and that in doing so we were reprogramming our bodies to function how God intended for them to function- fighting disease, sickness and producing health and wellness without sacrificing taste, flavor and satisfaction...

This thought consumed me and sparked a revolution! It has become my mission - to educate and train others in how to feed their families healthfully! If this cajun girl can do it -anyone can!

Today we are the healthiest we have ever been and it is only going to get better from here! Our bodies are being retrained to function how God intended them to function. Through chiropractic corrective and wellness care, healthy nutrition, exercise and eliminating toxins as well as the continual process of renewing our minds we have revolutionized our life and impacted our family tree for generations to come! Through this journey and as a result of these things working in concert with each other...I have personally lost over 50 lbs and no longer have any pain or colitis. I feel great! I have also seen an amazing difference in how our bodies respond to potential sickness - because we are freeing it to function how God intended it to-we are rarely sick and when we do experience symptoms our bodies fight, restore and recover much more quickly than ever before. This has truly changed our life dynamic forever and we are so thankful for it! We plan to be cruising at 89 and 100...

Look for recipes, tips and meal planning options to come in the near future...You can revolutionize your families way of life and health too!