Reusable bags and dehydrator, I'm a winner!

My new dehydrator in it's home in the laundry room!

Recently I won a giveaway from the Green Bag Lady. A $60 giftcard to the CSN stores, with which I bought a dehydrator. I was so excited! I've already dehydrated a bunch of onions and made onion powder, dehydrated my first batch of home grown tomatoes, made jerky, dried a bunch of herbs and made chili pepper flakes. I love it!

Finished jerky. It was really good!!

They also sent me an awesome reusable bag, because it's what she does. Thanks so much!

My Green Bag Lady bag!

Artisan Bread Giveaway

Visit the Kitchen Stewardship blog today to enter win your own copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day or Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Separate winners will be drawn for each book. I'm really hoping for the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

I have toyed with the Artisan Bread recipe myself. I like it, but I hate the room it takes up in my fridge! And especially since I'm not really eating bread at the moment. But, I've thought about it a little more and realized that I should still be using it. I can make the dough and freeze it in small portions to use for my pizza dough or to make just a few buns for Hubby. That way I can just pull them out to thaw in the morning and bake fresh for dinner.

The Artisan dough also lends itself to soaking overnight very easily. Katie at Kitchen Stewardship also addressed this issue in her post that says:

Can You Soak Artisan Bread?

You knew I’d ask that question, right? I think that was my initial hang-up with the method; I was just getting into soaking and sourdough, and I didn’t want to take a potential step backward in nutrition, even if it was easier. (If you haven’t been around KS lately, catch up on the soaking grains research.)

Jen at the Leftover Queen mentioned that she successfully soaked the olive oil bread recipe, so I jumped in to try to soak the master whole wheat recipe. The results were a bit sticky and an expected *fail*, but the reviews at the table last night included, “Mmmm, this is really good bread!” from the in-laws, so I guess it worked out alright!

Go sign up now for your own copy of the book!

Great Simple Giveaway

No, not me, I'm not doing a giveaway. But, a group of blogs I just found are doing a bunch of super ones to celebrate the launch of their new format!

Simple Bites Simple Organic Simple Moms

Go check them all out.

I am a Winner :)

Last week, I entered a contest over at orgjunkie.com and I actually won! Thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I won the ebook Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time A 52 week journey of baby steps to help you move towards more natural, nutritious and sustainable living by Stephanie at Keeper of the Home.

I was going to buy it, I was thinking about it anyway. But I didn't, I waited, and now I'm glad I did! When I get it and get a chance to read it, I will definitely share my thoughts. And, I'm sure you will hear all about the journey along the way!

Thanks again to orjunkie.com and Keeper of the Home!

I am not my hair

I have long hair. I have had long hair for most of my life. I don't use much product in it at all, and only use a hair dryer when it's below 20F and I need to keep it from freezing in the morning. Then I only use it to dry a little, as it takes a full 20-30 minutes to get my hair even remotely close to "dry". My thick, healthy, long hair has always been part of my identity.

Starting in college, however, I started chopping it off about once every sixteen months to donate it. When I say chop it off, I mean 10-12 inches, leaving my hair about shoulder length. The first time I cried. The last time I convinced a friend to do it with me!


This picture is after the last time, June '07. After this cut I also discovered that my hair can be curly if it isn't weighed down by many inches of hair.

Doing the math, it's now been 19 months since my last cut, and I'm feeling the itch. It's long, it's full of static and since it hasn't been over 30 degrees since like before Christmas, it's getting a little damaged. It NEEDS to be cut!

I usually donate to Wigs for Kids or Locks of Love, but this year my friend and I will be donating to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. I stopped using Pantene regularly a couple of years ago, but I think they'll still take my hair. So if you want to join in, let us know! It takes 6 ponytails to make a wig, and you only have to donate 8" of hair to this one (others are 12" or 10").

Short hair is definitely greener and more frugal. It takes less water and shampoo/conditioner to take care of your hair when it's short. It also takes less time to dry. And, we'll be helping women who need it. This comes from Pantene's Beautiful Lengths website:

Hair loss can strike an especially crippling blow to women fighting cancer. In fact, a recent study revealed that nearly 60 percent of women consider hair loss the most dreaded side effect they face when undergoing chemotherapy. Eight percent of these women are at risk of avoiding potentially life-saving treatment. Real-hair wigs can cost as much as $1200 and are often only partially covered by health insurance.

Donating your hair is a heartfelt and life-changing act of women's cancer and breast cancer support.

Our plan is to get our hair cut mid-April this year. Almost 2 full years from the last time, but I will survive :) Probably by the time I get it cut, I will have to be running with my hair down like a horse because it's too heavy for a ponytail, but it won't be the first time. Who's with me?

Natural Beauty Contest

A couple of years ago, I started to make the switch to more natural beauty products. Partly out of necessity (I have very weird skin) and partly out of a desire to lessen my footprint and my exposure to chemicals. The drawback is this can be a little more expensive than conventional products in most cases.

To help ease the economic burden of natural beauty products, Fig + Sage is having a contest to win some excellent prize packages:

Grand Prize #1:

One Valentines Day basket full of Fig+Sage approved pampering organic body careworth over $150. You'll receive the following full-size (except for the Suki Cleansing Bars) products: treats

(2) Suki Sensitive Cleansing Bars - Travel size ($5 retail/each)

(1) Dr. Hauschka Lemon Body Lotion ($26.95 retail)

(1) Dr. Hauschka Lavender Bath Oil ($29.95 retail)

(1) Dr. Hauschka Aromatherapy Bath Kit ($15.98 retail)

(1) Saaf Foot Balm ($44.95 retail)

(1) Pangea Organics Sage & Geranium Massage/Body oil ($24 retail)

A total value of $151.83!!!

********************************************

Grand Prize #2:

One Valentines Day basket full of Fig+Sage approved, pampering organic skin care products worth over $150. You'll receive the following full-size (except the Suki Sensitive Cleansing bar) products:

(1) Suki Sensitive Cleansing Bar - Travel size ($5 retail)

(1) Pangea Organics Green Mandarin With Sweet Lime Toner ($22 retail)

(1) Pangea Organics Ylang Ylang Facial Cream ($30 retail)

(1) Pangea Organics Fennel, Grapefruit & Orange Lip Balm ($12 retail)

(1) Dr. Hauschka Aromatherapy Bath Kit ($15.98 retail)

(1) Martina Gebhardt Rose Facial Lotion ($42 retail)

(1) Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream ($23.95 retail)

A total value of $150.93!!!

Go check it out and register!

My personal favorite line is Burt's Bees. I know they've been bought by Clorox, and I'm trying to deal with that. I love their grapefruit shampoo and conditioner, the soap bark facial cleanser, their body wash, the apricot face scrub, the carrot daily moisturizer and lavender facial toner. Unfortunately, the toner has been discontinued due to Clorox changing everything, and I'm pretty sure the cleanser changed it formulation. I'm going to attempt to make my own soon.

I also love their face mask, lip balm, cuticle cream, res-q ointment, hand salve, sunscreen, and pretty much everything else. I've been hesitant to buy their makeup due to the cost and the fact that I haven't been able to find a place to try it before I buy it. I really like their products because they're natural, have recycled and recycleable packaging (for the most part) and very reasonably priced for natural beauty products.

They've also pioneered the Natural Standard and state exactly what percentage of their products are all natural. In most cases, it's over 95%.

For makeup, I have a confession to make: I use MaryKay. My sister sells it, so I get it at a really great price. Now, I don't wear a lot of makeup, but I have this thing where my nose gets flaky and red ALL the time. I look like Rudolph. Therefore, I like their concealer. It's an addiction I'm working on. I haven't bought any new in a while and I'm looking for a more natural alternative. I'd really like to try Bare Minerals too, but again, it's a little cost-prohibitive.

I have to say though, my favorite moisturizer is straight up almond oil (I use the Burts Bees combo of creme and toner after I get out of the shower, and the almond oil when I get ready in the morning and before bed). It's the only thing that keeps my dry, flaky nose in check. It's still red, but at least it's getting better. Sometimes I mix in some clary sage and rosemary oils, sometimes not.

Anyone else have natural remedies that work better than the expensive or conventional products?