Tag Archives | green health

Huge Healthy Cookbook Library Giveaway

Sweet-Greens-Holiday-Giveawcookbook-library-1Today’s giveaway is for all of you foodies out there! I know you’ll go crazy for it! It’s a huge healthy cookbook library – with 13 beautiful cookbooks worth over $300!

This cookbook library includes a variety of excellent recipes for everyone’s palette. Here is a breakdown of the amazing cookbooks this library includes.

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  1. Better Food for Dogs (A Complete Cookbook & Nutrition Guide) by David Bastin, Jennifer Ashton and Dr. Grant Nixon, D.V.M.
    People want their dogs to have happy, healthy and long lives and providing the best nutrition is one of the most important steps you can take toward achieving this goal. The problem is most of us aren’t nutritionists and there are so many conflicting opinions about dog’s dietary needs that feeding your dog can become an overwhelming challenge. Better Food for Dogs is an invaluable reference that will guide you through this nutritional puzzle. It also provides you with all the information — complete with tasty recipes, tested and approved by dogs — you need to feed your dog a natural home-prepared diet, one of the best investments you can make in his/her health.
  1. The Complete Coconut Cookbook by Camilla V. Saulsbury
    Coconut is all over the news — and the shelves of supermarkets. Formerly relegated to the role of decadent treat, coconut is now embraced with an enthusiasm that borders on obsession. And it’s no wonder, given its smooth, creamy texture and the compelling health and nutrition benefits of pure coconut. Everyone from hardcore health-foodies to recreational cooks — and everyone in between — will enjoy these all-natural, high-energy, top-notch, easy-to-make coconut dishes. The 200 innovative recipes cover a broad spectrum of fresh flavors and provide delicious and dependable results.
  2. The Smoothies Bible by Pat Crocker
    Drinking smoothies is the fastest, easiest and best-tasting way to achieve good health. In addition to its original 250 smoothie recipes, this new edition of The Smoothies Bible introduces 100 fresh, new recipes with even more antioxidant fruits and vegetables — even classic cocktails with and without alcohol. However, Crocker retains her original premise: smoothies are a delicious part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.
  3. 200 Best Panini Recipes by Tiffany Collins
    The fresh, robust flavors of Italian grilled sandwiches. A panini is an Italian-inspired pressed sandwich enjoyed throughout Italy and, increasingly, in North American cafés, restaurants and kitchens. Italians regard panini as fast food thanks to its easy preparation, which also accounts for its success in North America. Sales of panini makers have skyrocketed, with small appliance manufacturers releasing new models each year.
  4. 150 Best dips and Salsa by Judith Finlayson & Jordan Wagman
    Packed with mouthwatering recipes, this book is all you’ll ever need to get any occasion off to a memorable start. Dips and salsas are the most sociable of recipes. They’re a great catalyst for getting a party off to a good start because they encourage guests to congregate around while scooping and munching.
  5. Tasting the Seasons by Kerry Dunnington
    Tasting the Seasons includes an impressive variety of fast and fresh, irresistible, user-friendly recipes: family-oriented one-dish wonders, updated classics, and creative gourmet entrees – all presented with a steady focus on how to identify, select, and prepare foods using ecologically sound principles. Gathered in a highly readable and entertaining format with humorous culinary-related stories are nearly 250 recipes for superbly seasoned, beautifully presented meals to serve as the center of any occasion, from an intimate family dinner to a large holiday celebration.
  6. The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson
    The first edition was incredibly successful having sold close to 95,000 copies! Definitions of healthy eating have changed quite dramatically since The Healthy Slow Cooker was first published in 2006. In those days, it was one size fits all — low fat, low calorie and no saturated fat. Since then, there’s been a shift in thinking. Many leading experts now feel that many of our modern diseases are directly associated with the consumption of wheat and advocate reducing carbohydrates. Another significant development is that the evidence against saturated fat has been gradually diminishing.
  7. The World’s 60 Best Salads Period
    In The World’s 60 Best Salads… Period, discover main dish and entrĂ©e salads that are colorful, easy to prepare, and absolutely delicious, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
  8. The World’s 60 Best Lunches Period
    In The World’s 60 Best Lunches, discover fun-to-eat lunches for kids and adults alike, great packed lunch options to make your midday meal something to look forward to, and original ideas for eating lunch on the go, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
  9. The World’s 60 Best Recipes for Students Period
    In The World’s 60 Best Recipes for Students, discover creative, delicious ideas for limited budgets and big appetites and recipes for every occasion, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
  10. The World’s 60 Best Skewers
    In The World’s 60 Best Skewers
 Period, discover the very best kebab recipes, original side dish and presentation ideas, and sure-fire methods for making the tastiest marinades, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
  11. The 100 Best Decorated Cookies by Julie Anne Hession
    Hand-crafted cookies from your kitchen are perfect for any occasion! Whether you’re an occasional holiday home baker or a seasoned pro, you’ll absolutely delight in Julie’s designs and ideas. This fun and creative book features tempting cookie decorating ideas for a wide array of occasions and holidays.
  12. Organic: Farmers and Chefs of the Hudson Valley by Francesco Mastalia
    The Hudson Valley, New York has become an epicenter for the local, organic, sustainable food movement. With its rich agricultural land, the awareness for sustainable living, and the growing demand for local, organic food, the farm-to-table, locavore movement has become a way of life in the Hudson Valley. Organic spotlights the Hudson Valley as a region at the forefront of this movement and features the portraits and words of the dedicated farmers who are committed to growing and producing food using sustainable methods, and the chefs who echo their beliefs and pay homage to the food they produce.

Visit the links above to check out these fantastic books and leave a comment to enter – I’d love to hear what items you will pick out if you are the winner. The winner will be announced on December 17th. Good luck!

rareEarth Naturals Giveaway

Sweet-Greens-Holiday-Giveaw

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Let’s kick off the holiday season with a fabulous giveaway! I know you’ll love it. The sponser is rareEarth Naturals, and the prize is a generous $75 gift card!

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rareEarth is committed to creating 100% all-natural artisan made in the USA products that are safe, synthetic free, responsibly sourced and beautiful. With all the challenges in the world today, it’s important to remember to give to ourselves—to find simple pleasures that nurture the spirit and allow us to breathe deep and be well.

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I know many of you are starting your gift lists and holiday shopping this week, and rareEarth is a shop that should definitely be on your radar. Their perfumes, candles, diffusers, room mists, and spa collections would all make beautiful, yummy gifts.

dream diffuser

I had the opportunity to try out the Dream (Lavender, Armoise & Clary Sage) diffuser, the Love (Rose Absolute, Palmarosa  & Ylang Ylang) spa candle and Joie (Estatic-Joyful) perfume and found all 3 items to be out of this world. rareEarth’s use of 100% essential oils makes for products that are pure, sustainable, and luxurious.

Seriously, any gal on your holiday shopping list will fall in love with any item that you surprise her with this holiday season!

Visit rareEarth and leave a comment to enter – I’d love to hear what items you will pick out if you are the winner. You can earn extra entries for follow rareEarth on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest – just leave a separate comment for each. The winner will be announced on December 17th. Good luck!

 

Full Disclosure: This giveaway is brought to you by a partnership with rareEarth Naturals.

Snack Happy this Holiday Season with Goodies from Snikiddy

Snikiddy

If you are like our family, you look for the healthiest products when grocery shopping! I like my family to eat a very healthy and balanced diet, and I admit we still have our snacks from time to time! When picking out snacks for road trips or impromptu trip to the beach, we try to be more conscientious in picking ones that are free from GMO’s, artificial colors, preservatives, refined sugars, MSG and hydogenated oils. And with the holidays right around the corner, we usually have some snacks on hand for friends and family who stop by. So when Snikiddy asked if we would like to try some of their snacks, we jumped on the chance. Snikiddy currently offers three product lines: Baked Fries, Cheese Puffs, and Eat Your Vegetables. We really enjoyed these healthier versions of some of our favorite snacks and think you will too! Read on to learn more about them:

1. Baked Fries
These are perfect for all you potato chip addicts out there, especially if you desire a healthier option. Baked Fries come in Cheddar Cheese, Sea Salt, Barbeque, Original Seasoning, Bold Buffalo, and Hot & Spicy, each of which boasts a profile with 50% less fat than regular potato chips, no gluten, no GMO’s, no MSG, and no cholesterol. To top it off, they’re kosher, as well as vegetarian, with one vegan friendly option. I am not a chip fan – but Eben and his friends enjoyed this one!

2. Cheese Puffs
The two flavors of Cheese Puffs are Grilled Cheese and Mac ’n Cheese. They are gluten free and non-GMO, contain no trans fats or MSG, and they’re low in saturated fat too. MSG is called an excitotoxin because it can overexcite you body’s cells to the point of serious damage. It’s also been shown to destroy neurons in an area of the brain that leads to obesity. Snikiddy seems to understand these dangers, and excludes MSG from its ingredients list entirely. We all enjoyed these ones – they reminded me of the cheese puffs that my grandma always had on hand – but without all of the junk.

3. Eat Your Vegetables
These are veggie chips, each a combination of different vegetables: carrot, kale, konjac, spinach, broccoli, tomato, beet, and shitake mushroom. Each bag is low in sodium, weighing in between 140mg and 150mg per serving. Eat Your Vegetables come in five flavors: Salt & Lime, Sea Salt, Sour Cream & Onion, Jalapeno Ranch, and Italian Herb & Olive Oil. These were the mister’s favorite – he loves tortilla chips.

If you are looking for some great snacks that are healthier too – give Snikiddy Snacks a try!

 

Full Disclosure: We received samples of Snikiddy snacks – and would have shared them with you regardless because they are good-for-you yummy!

 

 

How to Get an Organic Makeup Look in Under Five Minutes

Products
The other day I was browsing through my local drugstore and as always I stopped at the makeup section. I got to the end of the aisle and saw that Physician’s Formula came out with new organic makeup products! So I couldn’t resist and went ahead and purchased the two products, Natural CC Color + Correction Cream and Natural Fake-Out Mascara. As soon as I got home, I tried them out! Here are the steps I followed:
Step 1: Cleanse skin to get rid of any trace of make up and dirt.
Step 2: Squeeze some of the Organic Wear Tinted Moisturizer on the top of your hand and use your index / middle finger to apply this evenly all over your face (make sure to blend this down a bit below your jaw line so that it is evenly applied).
Step 3: Apply a few coats of mascara to your top and bottom lashes. 
Check out the finished look!
before and after
Do you have any organic makeup products that you cannot live without? Please share in the comments!

 

Cloth Diapers are an Affordable and Healthy Alternative for Your Green Baby

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There are many advantages to choosing cloth diapers over disposable diapers. Disposable diapers are the third largest component of landfill waste. All for an item that is using only for a super short period of time. On top of that, it takes hundreds of years for a disposable diaper takes to decompose. Plus, the production of disposable diapers is not environmentally friendly – not to mention the amount of chemicals found inside of diaper, the same diaper that will touching your baby’s body. With the growing enthusiasm for cloth diapers, more and more superior products are available every day. Read on for 4 other reasons you should definitely consider using cloth diapers, then give them a try!

1. They’re much better for the environment
Reusable cloth diapers need never to see a landfill at all. They can be washed at home in your washing machine or sent out through a home delivery cloth diaper service.

2. They are just as effective as disposables
Whether the diaper is cloth or disposable, it needs to be changed often. Dryness is the best way to prevent diaper rash, and most cases of diaper rash occur simply because the diaper wasn’t changed as often as necessary. If they are being used correctly and changed as often as needed, cloth diapers are just as absorbent and no more likely to cause diaper rash than disposables.

3. They are much more cost effective
Once the initial cost of the cloth diapers is met, there is very little cost to cloth diapers. A few more loads of laundry a month may bump up the water bill a few dollars. However, compared to the cost of disposable diapers, which can range from $50 to $100 dollars a month depending on your area, that cost is negligible.

4. Organic options are available
Organic cotton and bamboo cloth diapers are available on the market too. Each are made with strict organic principles and have excellent absorbent capabilities. Bamboo especially is excellent at wicking moisture away from the skin. So you can feel reassured that there are no harmful chemicals touching your baby at all!