Apparently I’m on a lemonade roll these days. (And if you haven’t made my Rosemary Lemonade yet, what in the world are you waiting for? There’s no refined sugar and it is ohmygoodness amazing.) But seriously, what says summer better than a nice tall glass of fresh lemonade? (That cool, refreshing drink! . . . Uh oh. Thanks Dad, for your corny sense of humor. It wasn’t completely lost on me I guess!)

If you’ve visited the pick-your-own strawberry farms in the past few weeks, you’ve probably put away at least a few dozen quarts in the freezer. When I went, I ate at least half my weight in strawberries straight from the field. I then promptly decided I would never bother buying strawberries from the store again. They just have no flavor compared to these beauties!

As far as being easy, you’ll see how ridiculously simple it is to make in a moment. And as far as being healthy, let’s take a gander at the ingredients:

Lemons – Chock full of vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium. Also helps to alkalize your body and promote better digestion.

Strawberries – Packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin B complex, magnesium, and fiber. They are also a low sugar fruit that even has some antiviral properties.

Stevia – A no-calorie, all-natural sweetener that won’t spike your blood sugar levels. I like SweetLeaf brand for stevia powder, but the liquid stevia is generally the best way to go to avoid added ingredients.

Pretty nice, eh? So here we go. Grab your blender and let’s get started.

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend it up!

Did you pick your own strawberries this year? What are your favorite strawberry recipes?

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

Apple cider vinegar is naturally antiseptic and antibacterial, plus it helps balance the pH of your skin (which is actually supposed to be slightly acidic). I use this after I wash my face with honey. The smell is a bit potent at first, but don’t be dismayed! You won’t walk around smelling like a salad all day. The smell quickly dissipates. You can add different ingredients like brewed green tea or herbs to mask the smell, but it doesn’t really bother me. As easy as it is to make (which you’ll see below), I just don’t worry about anything extra.

Making Your Own ACV Toner

Step number one – acquire some apple cider vinegar. You want the good stuff. Trust me. Don’t skimp on whatever is cheapest at the store. You want raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar that is still full of enzymes, minerals, nutrients, and beneficial strains of bacteria (called the ‘mother’). My favorite by far is Bragg’s, but I also like Eden Organics.

Step number two – add your ACV to a small glass container mixed with filtered water. Start with a 1:1 ratio (50% ACV, 50% water), but you might find you need to dilute the mixture more based on the sensitivity of your skin.

Step number three – take a cotton pad or the corner of a washcloth and dip it into the solution. Spread evenly all over your face after washing it.

Don’t rinse it off, but just let it air dry, then finish with a light layer of coconut oil as moisturizer.

This toner is incredible for balancing your skin tone, getting rid of acne and pimples, and giving you that ‘glow’ – naturally! And did I mention how cheap this is?!

Have you ever used a natural toner like this one? If not, what are you waiting for?

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Your Green Resource

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve become more and more a fan of the sweet and savory combination as of late. It started with these Lemon Rosemary Cookies and I never looked back. Since then, I’ve roasted my Brussels sprouts with pears, shallots, & thyme and brewed iced tea with plums and thyme. (Recipes coming sooner or later for both of those. You’ll probably see the tea before you see the Brussels sprouts since it is sadly no longer Brussels sprouts season. *tear*)

You’ll definitely want to use fresh rosemary for this drink. But don’t buy a package of fresh herbs from the store. Go ahead and buy the entire plant (or grow it from seed yourself). Way more cost effective.

You can also play around with the sweetener options. The coconut sugar will turn your lemonade a slight shade of brown, but the flavor is awesome. If you like your lemonade extra sweet, I would recommend adding a few drops of stevia extract. Completely up to you. The original recipe called for one cup of sugar, so you can use that as a reference if you want to play with substitutions.

I will say, though, I made this for a friend for her birthday and heard it was the best thing that has ever passed her or her husband’s lips. There’s just no arguing with that, folks.

Rosemary Lemonade

Ingredients:

Directions:

Place 2 cups of water, honey, and coconut sugar in a saucepan and bring to a gently boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add rosemary leaves, and let steep for about an hour and a half.

Once it has cooled, strain the liquid into a jug or pitcher, add lemon juice and remaining 3 cups of water. Stir well and serve over ice with a sprig of rosemary for garnish.

What’s your favorite summertime drink?

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Fight Back Friday, Your Green Resource

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

And our Sunburst Salmon Omelet with goat cheese and Strawberry Tarragon Goat Cheese Hotcakes made with local flour from Overeasy Cafe:

Also, the gardens at the Biltmore were insane. I almost passed out in the azalea garden from inhaling so deeply. It smelled so wonderful! These beauties were in the conservatory:

Growing Green Series Recap

One of the most exciting things on the blog was the Growing Green series I joined with Broccoli Cupcake, i Dream of Clean, and The Frugal Seed. All month long, each of us posted simple tips to go green, save green, think green, and teach green. My contributions were 5 Simple Tips to Green Your Backyard, 20 Simple Ways to Save Money on Your Utility Bill, a (Non) Disposable Challenge, and a post titled, I Wonder What My Neighbors Must Think.

If you want to join in on the (non) disposable challenge, it’s not too late! Simply commit to not buy anything disposable for the next month. No paper towels, no paper napkins, no trash bags, no tissues, no plastic baggies. (Toilet paper is still allowed, though!) If you run out of something inside the month long parameters, either go without or get creative to find ways to use things you already own (or buy reusable, preferably used or repurposed, items like glass jars from the thrift store).

Food Food Food

Recipes this month covered just about every meal. I started with breakfast (Carrot Cake Porridge – a great way to eat your veggies first thing in the morning), moved on to party appetizers (Goat Cheese Pepper Poppers – gone in a split second at my friend’s birthday celebration), turned to a main dish salad (Not Too Creamy Egg Salad – perfect for making a large batch to keep in the fridge for lunches), and ended with an epic dessert muffin (Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins – the whole orange goes in the blender. Talk about easy!)

Urban Homesteading and Otherwise Being Politically Incorrect

The hubby and I are having so much fun living in a house with a yard. I was pleasantly surprised by all the reader’s comments on this post who use a reel mower to cut their lawn as well!

I also took a stand against a vegan diet being a healthy one. What are your thoughts on the issue? Click here and leave a comment!

On the Book List

I finally finished reading Folks, This Ain’t Normal by Joel Salatin! My goal has been to read at least one book each month this year. Folk, This Ain’t Normal was supposed to be my book for February. I just finished in mid-April. Granted, it’s a 350 page book, so cut a girl some slack. I guess I’ll just have to double up and read two books in a month soon.

For April, I’m almost finished with The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread. This book is revolutionizing the way I look at bread and grains in general! It’s incredibly well researched and easy to understand. And it’s fascinating how much misinformation is out there about bread, grains, and gluten. After all, grains made up 53% – 75% of the diet of ancient civilizations. It nourished and sustained them for generations. What happened? Get the real story and learn how to make your own healthy bread at home with minimal effort. (Seriously. I’ve already tried it and I love it!)

Looking Ahead to May

I’m excited to share that I’m in the process of a blog redesign! I figured it was time for something fresh. Hopefully May will be the month to unveil it!

I also have quite a few great recipes ready to post. The one I’m most excited about at the moment? Rosemary Lemonade made with zero refined sugar.

Subscribe to my RSS feed with your favorite reader or get new posts delivered to your email inbox so you don’t miss anything!

Which post from Laurel of Leaves was your favorite this past month?

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

I wonder if they are curious or if they simply write me off as a hippie.

My initial response might be that I don’t really care one way or the other. And truly, if someone wants to just write me off as a lunatic, that’s OK. I’m secure enough in my own life decisions to not let that affect me. But I think if I’m completely honest, I want them to be curious.

I Want to Be a Catalyst for Change

It’s a desire of my heart to spread life in whatever shape, form, fashion, or package it comes in. Flowers blooming, encouraging words spoken, immune systems being built up naturally, fresh air flowing through open windows, soil being built, natural resources being saved, creativity abounding.

I think back to my first exposures to real food. It began with a friend who was taking a distance learning nutrition course talking about the importance of organic milk. Sounded important to me. I started buying organic milk, carrots, grapes, etc. Then another friend and mentor explained the pasteurization and homogenization processes to me. It was all so very complicated at the time, and it mostly went in one ear and out the other. But the fact that it was important to these two friends was still impressed upon me.

I was being primed for my complete 180 degree nutrition change that would come just months later.

So it’s not my goal to convince every random person I meet that their way of life sucks and they should abandon everything they’ve ever known to embrace something different.

I want to plant and water seeds of change in anyone who is willing to listen or notice.

I Want Them to Notice

Here’s the deal. I don’t want to be different just for the sake of being different. Or anti-establishment. Or judgmental against those who don’t choose to live the way my husband and I do.

But I do want it to be obvious that I am different from most of society today. If any philosophy, concept, or precept is important to you, shouldn’t it run it’s course through the whole of your life? And shouldn’t it also then be obvious to other people that those philosophies, concepts, or precepts are guiding your choices and your actions?

Of course, you can take that to it’s logical conclusion and berate me for using toilet paper when I challenge other readers to commit to not buying anything disposable for a month. Such a hypocrite, I know. (Sarcasm there, in case you were wondering.) But hopefully we can all see the point I’m trying to make about being different.

If the majority of people are fat, sick, and nearly dead, don’t you want to differentiate yourself from them? Don’t you want to make as many choices as possible that will lead to life, health, & fitness? 

That’s the goal in my life. I want LIFE! And I want other people to notice and want the same.

What about you? Do your neighbors think you’re weird? What do you think about that?

This post is #4 in the Growing Green series in honor of Earth Day on April 22. You can find other great posts related to TEACHING green this week on these blogs:

i Dream of Clean

Broccoli Cupcake

The Frugal Seed

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

And no, this isn’t anything like the mowers your father and grandfather have told you horror stories about. I know you’ve heard the anecdotes of lugging around that horrid self-propelled mower in the heat of the summer, heaving and ho-ing like a cave man before the marvels of modern technological advances.

Don’t believe it people. Reel mowers today are nothing like the days of old (though I’m sure those stories were at embellished and exaggerated at least a bit. I mean, come on, walking to school in the snow uphill both ways?)

When my husband and I moved into our first house (as opposed to an apartment), we took on yard maintenance for the first time. The hubby had talked about wanting a self-propelled push mower for the past year. I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking we would have to dig one up at an antique shop or something and hope it wasn’t rusted beyond repair. But I knew that once he got the idea in his head, nothing else would satisfy him. So off I went to do some research.

I have to say — I was blown away with what I found. Reel mowers, as they are called, are still made today and they are fantastic for your lawn! Now that we have one of our own, I will never go back. And here’s why:

1. Reel mowers require no gasoline. Trust me, your checkbook will be thanking you for this one when gas prices start to spike over the summer. Reducing your dependance of cheap, foreign oil is always a good thing. When an economy is based on cheap oil, what happens when it becomes expensive? Don’t waste your money cutting your grass. Find better things to do with that cash.

2. No maintenance to speak of. Reel mowers are very mechanically simple and don’t require any maintenance to speak of. No priming the engine, no cord to pull, no spark plugs to clean, no batteries to replace. The blades on our Scotts Classic are self-sharpening, but even if you need to sharpen your mower’s blades occasionally, you can purchase a kit for less than $25.

3. Doesn’t bother the neighbors at 6am. Let’s say the high for the day is 103 and you want to mow the lawn before the sun really heats up. With an engine on your mower, you’ll quickly become the most hated person in the neighborhood when you fire it up at 6am on a Saturday morning. Mow the lawn in the middle of the night if you want with a reel mower! Not that you would, of course. (Oh, this reminds me of the movie Fun with Dick & Jane when they steal the neighbor’s grass in the middle of the night. Funny movie!)

4. Scissor-like cutting action is better for the grass. The blades on a reel mower rotate vertically (north to south), as opposed to the rotary blades of gas and electric mowers that spin horizontally (east to west – like a helicopter). That rotary motion rips up and tears the grass. Grass cut with the blades of a reel mower will heal faster, be less likely to suffer from disease or attack from insects, and will be able to develop deep, drought-resistant roots. You’ll probably notice (like I have) more actual grass and fewer weeds on your lawn.

5. It’s NOT difficult to push at all. I was delightfully surprised when I pushed our mower for the first time. Even my father in law said ‘Wow!’ when he first tried it out. It is absolutely not difficult to push. Granted, if the grass in your lawn gets extra tall, it will be difficult to cut with a reel mower. But once you’ve got it under control, you won’t have any trouble.

6. No pollution. You might balk at this. Surely a little gas mower doesn’t pollute that much, right? While it is a small engine, running a lawnmower for an hour can put out as much or more pollution as driving around in a typical sedan for 200 miles! Yikes.

7. Mowing with a reel mower is a more pleasant experience. I distinctly remember mowing the yard in high school with a lawnmower, breathing in nasty fumes, and still feeling like I was vibrating for an hour afterwards. Plus there’s the danger of rocks being slung out from a rotary mower. Mowing with the reel mower is a much more pleasant, rather invigorating experience. It’s nice to finish the job and realize you’ve done it all with your own strength.

We bought ours used from a friend, but this is the model we have. You can also browse different models and read reviews on Amazon.

So who’s with me? Have you ever used a reel mower? Are you interested in trying it out?

This post is linked to Fight Back Friday, Your Green Resource

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

And again, I must have eaten at least 3 of these in one sitting. I would have eaten more if I hadn’t had to share with my husband. But he probably would have said the same thing. Good thing we share well.

For this recipe you literally take an entire orange, peel and all (minus the seeds, of course), and throw it in the blender. How easy is that?! And wow, talk about massive orange flavor in these beauties. You’ll also notice I use natural sweeteners – a combination of pure maple syrup and granulated coconut sugar. I’m especially loving coconut sugar these days (also called palm sugar) because it’s full of flavor, low glycemic (35 on the GI scale), full of nutrients (like potassium, magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron, among others), and it doesn’t generally trigger any food cravings. Find it at your local health food store or order it online.

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 390 F.

Cut unpeeled orange into chunks and remove seeds. Place orange chunks, coconut sugar, and maple syrup into a blender and blend until orange is finely chopped. Add egg, milk, and butter, and blend until combined.

Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl and add almond meal. Pour orange mixture into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Mixture will still be lumpy. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 390 F for 15-20 minutes.

Have you ever baked with coconut sugar? What are your favorite natural sweeteners?

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

i Dream of Clean

Broccoli Cupcake

The Frugal Seed

I wouldn’t necessarily call my myself a pack rat (though through my life I have had some pack rat tendencies at certain stages). And I am definitely not a hoarder. (You should see the piles of things we gave away before we left for New Zealand last year.) But I do like to see the potential value in an object that could be reused or repurposed and will often hang onto it. You know, just in case.

Granted, I’ve been a lot more careful about what exactly I hang onto these days. After having to pack my whole life in Rubbermaid containers and store it in a family member’s attic for a year, I think twice about what I buy and what I acquire. (As a reminder: just because something is on sale – or even if it’s free – doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good deal!) I rather like living lightly. The thought of  having kids in the future and acquiring more and more stuff, and then the thought of wanting to travel with said kids at some point - let’s just say I don’t like the thought of having twice as many boxes to store!

BUT – I also hate throwing things away. I hate waste. I absolutely cannot stand spending money on a bunch of plastic straws for my smoothies (all individually wrapped if you buy them from Costco!) only to throw them in the garbage can after one use and let them collect in a landfill! (Which is why these awesome stainless steel straws were on my wish list. Thanks to my mother in law for the great gift!)

Wasted money, wasted resources, and wasted energy to produce said resources. Which inevitably leads to a mindset of disposability in general. As a culture, we place less and less value on the objects we have in our lives and we take it for granted that we are able to replace them at the blink of an eye (or at least with a trip to the closest big box store). 

I want that to change. So I started by changing myself.

As the hubby and I were moving into our own place a few months ago, we realized there were so many items we needed. Toilet paper for one (we hadn’t bought any for a year as we lived with hosts in New Zealand and then friends and family once we got back!) So that I do buy. But I hated the thought of buying paper towels, paper napkins, plastic baggies, etc, etc, ad nauseum. So, I just didn’t buy them.

And guess what? We have survived!!

I use rags instead of paper towels, cloth napkins instead of paper, and I wash out plastic & glass containers to reuse them instead of throwing out plastic baggies.

And since we compost our food scraps, we take out the trash maybe biweekly. Maybe. And it probably isn’t even because it’s full. Usually it just starts to stink and needs to be removed from the house.

A (Non)Disposable Challenge

So I propose a challenge for you crunchy, hippie, crazy, anti-establishment, homesteading freaks.

No, check that. This is for anyone. Literally anyone in any stage of life.

Do I need to spell it out for you? A-N-Y-O-N-E.

Commit over the next month to not buy anything disposable. No plastic straws, no plastic baggies, no trash bags, no paper napkins, no paper towels. Check yourself every time you go to the store. Do you really need that? Couldn’t you make use of something you already own? Or could you find a reusable version of what you need at a thrift store or secondhand shop (like glass Mason jars for food storage)?

The one exception I will make: toilet paper isn’t included in this challenge. I’m not that crazy. But you never know, I might be eventually. Ha!

So come May 23, maybe you’ll run out to the store and stock up on all the disposable goodies you committed not to purchase in this challenge. But maybe you’ll think twice. Maybe you’ll actually like saving your money for other things like groceries or a meal at a nice, local restaurant. I know I would much rather share a Mexico City and a Zipper with my husband at The Silly Goose instead of stockpiling disposable paper towels.

If you want to join the challenge, leave a comment here! Then you can copy the code below for the button and spread the word on your own blog. If you don’t have a blog (or even if you do), share the love on Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest! 

<a href="http://www.laurelofleaves.com/2012/04/dont-be-disposable-a-challenge/"><img border="0" src="http://www.laurelofleaves.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nondisposable-125.jpg" /></a>

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Your Green Resource

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

I serve it on a bed of baby spinach leaves or spread on a piece of sourdough toast. Of course, I only use free range, pastured eggs. They are chock full of nutrients (way more so than conventional battery cage eggs), aren’t washed in a chlorine bath, and are so much more flavorful.

I also use homemade mayonnaise (made with pastured eggs and grapeseed oil) or I buy Veganaise made with grapeseed oil. None of that rancid canola or vegetable oil in regular store bought mayo. Plus, have you ever looked at the other ingredients in that jar? Downright scary, I tell you.

Not Too Creamy Egg Salad

Ingredients:

Directions:

After hard boiling eggs, transfer to a bowl of ice water, then chop them in half, peel and all. Scoop out yolk with a spoon and add to a small bowl. Roughly chop egg whites into cubes and place in a separate large bowl with diced celery. Add mayo and lemon juice to the egg yolks and mash together well with a fork.

Gently fold mayo mixture with eggs and celery. Season with sea salt & pepper and serve on a bed of greens or spread on a piece of toast.

What are your go-to recipes for meal planning?

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.

i Dream of Clean

Broccoli Cupcake

The Frugal Seed

This week’s Growing Green theme is SAVING green while going green at the same time. I’m a huge bargain shopper when it comes to grocery shopping, so of course I apply that same frugality to our utility bill. There are so many natural things you can do to make a difference ecologically as well as financially.

Here are some of my favorite simple tips for saving money on your utility bill. These are easy-peasy ideas to implement that don’t require installing a bunch of new items or remodeling the house:

1. Unplug appliances like the toaster or blender whenever you are not using them.

2. Put your television, DVD player, computer, printer, etc. on a power strip and turn them off at night.

3. Unplug your modem and router at night as well.

4. Turn off the AC and open the windows when the weather is nice.

5. Use fans in the summer and space heaters in the winter.

6. Install a clothesline or use a clothes rack to dry your clothes. Using the dryer accounts for a full THIRD of your electric bill!

7. Line your curtains to help insulate. This is helpful in the winter or summer to keep cold air out or in.

8. Only run your dishwasher when it is completely full.

9. Install a rain barrel in your backyard. Water your plants for free with collected rain water.

10. Don’t flush the toilet every single time you use it. You heard it before — if it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.

11. Turn off the water in the shower while you’re shampooing. Turn it back on to rinse.

12. Use natural light as much as possible instead of turning on lights.

13. Open the curtains on south facing windows (or north facing if you’re reading this from the Southern Hemisphere) to let in sunlight during the winter.

14. Close the blinds or curtains on south facing windows (or north for you Southerners) in the summer.

15. Use a hot water bottle at night instead of an electric blanket or mattress pad.

16. Turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater.

17. Use the oven as seldom as possible in the summer. Cook on a gas grill instead.

18. A slow cooker costs only pennies to use. Make soups or stews in it instead of on the stove top.

19. Wash the majority of your laundry in cold water.

20. Hand wash large pots & pans to save room in the dishwasher.

What are your best tips for saving green while going green at the same time?

©2012 Laurel of Leaves. All Rights Reserved.