All posts by Amanda Christian

Essential Oils, Four Legged Family

Your cat knows what (s)he needs… let them tell you.


Your cat knows what (s)he needs… let them tell you.  Here is a great little clip from Janet Roark, DVM on how to ask you cat (or dog) which oil they need. Make sure to keep the lid on the oil otherwise the aroma is too overwhelming for them.

“This is Lyra, she is 16, has arthritis, asthma, and epilepsy. Sometimes she’s subtle with her answers, and sometimes she just leaves the room all together when she says “no” to an oil. In this video, she is saying “yes” to the first two oils (detoxification blend and Vetiver) and “no” (Joyful blend) to the third oil.”  Essential Oil Vet – Janet Roark, DVM

Reminder:  Don’t give oils to cats topically or internally every day (with some exceptions), dilute them, only use medical grade quality oils, and when in doubt, feel free to ask!

If you would like to know more, catch Janet at the FREE Essential Oil Summit Tuesday, May 12. Each day’s talks are on demand for a 24-hour period beginning at 10:00 A.M. U.S. eastern.  Click here to register.

Chemical Reform, Chemicals in, The Organic Effect

The Organic Effect: What happens if you eat organic foods in only 2 weeks.


Want to know what happens in your body when you switch from eating conventional food to organic? Watch this powerful 90 second video.

The study was conducted by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute IVL, and the full report is available here: https://www.coop.se/organiceffect

A family that doesn’t buy organic because of the cost eats only organic for two weeks. In this 90 second video, the impact will astound you.

We need to refinance and restructure our food system. Instead of using taxpayer resources to finance a food system that has been genetically engineered to withstand increasing doses of herbicides, insecticides and pesticides, let’s refinance and structure a food system that makes organic food affordable to all who want it.

Reposted from Robyn O’Brien:  Robyn is a former financial and food industry analyst.   Robyn O’Brien triggered an allergic reaction in the food industry when she asked: “Are we allergic to food or what’s been done to it?”

Crafts, EcoParenting, Recipes

Blueberry Easter Eggs


Just love the way my blueberry dyed Easter Eggs turned out.  Yes you heard me right, I dyed my Easter Eggs with blueberries.  They came out so cool and shiny!! blueberry died eggsHow did I do it?  Took some frozen blueberries out of the freezer (maybe a 1/4 cup if that) and placed them in a small bowl.  Rolled cooled hard boiled eggs around until I got the effect I wanted – didn’t take long (less than a minute!  I am not kidding.  Put the egg in the rack to dry.  Also did the same thing with beets, but since my beets were found, yes head hung low here, at the back of the refrigerator (and dare I say they were a little wrinkly) those did not dye as well.

But it was all in great fun!  Here is a closer look.

blueberry died eggs2


 

 

 

 

Note:  Prior to putting them back in the refrigerator, I did wipe them down with white vinegar later in the day, because they were a little sticky – it is blueberry juice after all.  Not as brilliant in color, more deep watercolor effect, but they still looked pretty cool.

Here are some other cool websites with recipes for dying your next years Easter Eggs with food you can find in your kitchen:

radmegan:  Natural Egg Dye: A Rainbow of Options

Smithsonian.com: Easter Eggs Dyed the Natural Way

Blissfully Domestic:  Coloring Easter Eggs Naturally

Good words of caution from the Smithsonian:  “The FDA suggests not eating hard-boiled eggs that have sat out for more than two hours and to eat refrigerated hard-boiled eggs within one week. Good Housekeeping agrees with the two-hour rule.”