Homemade Salsa

Did you notice all the yuckies in store-bought salsa? All the unpronouncable ingredients and sugar.. now tell me why salsa (the one that's not SUPPOSED to be sweet) has freaking sugar in it?
Salsa is just as versatile as you can imagine, you can literally throw everything in there. We like ours a little spicy, and our favorite combination is:
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of green chillies
(if those two items are in season, get them fresh!!)
1 tsp. cumin
a squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp. dried cilantro (i'm not a huge fan of cilantro, but use fresh if you like it!)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup sweet onion
1 clove garlic
Combine all ingredients and pulse a few times in food processor.
Enjoy knowing all the ingredients in your salsa!

Healing from within

I've been feeling a little under the weather. I know when something is coming on, and usually I will take over the counter medication to try to contain whatever is attacking my body. Being that I'm nursing though, I can't take most of the cold medication out there (nor do I want that stuff in my body anymore anyway). The only way I know how to heal my body naturally is with food. Yes, you heard right.
I'm currently reading the book It starts with food. One of the quotes that struck me:

"The food you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy. Those are your options. There is no food neutral."

So in good food fashion I juiced a disgusting amount of fruits and vegetables and let the vitamins and nutrients do their thing. I also made a smoothie with things I'm not able to juice like banana and spinach (you can juice spinach, but I feel like I get more with the smoothie). And sure enough after just one day of feeling sluggish and that awful "I'm coming down with something" feeling, I started to get more energy, my throat wasn't as scratchy, and my nose unplugged. Two days later, I never did come down with that "something."
And the other amazing thing is, baby is getting all of this through my milk as well, rather than over the counter medications.
The power of food is amazing!

Sticky Icky

You know those annoying stickers that come on products and you just.can't.get.them.off? Ugh! I gave up on this frame a long time ago, stuck my wedding picture with it and lived with the fact that the price sticker was still half-way on it.
I read  that one of my essential oils has the capability to take the sticker off, and to be honest I completely doubted it thinking"no way, NOTHING will get this darn thing off!" I had tried soap and water, vinegar, windex,... you name it, I've attacked this stupid sticker with it.
But what have I got to lose, right? I put a drop of lemon on the frame and swiped the paper towel across it not expecting anything....but it started to come off! A few swipes later, it was gone. I didn't even have to scrub!!! I'm giddy.
Here's the proof:

Follow me on facebook for more tips on how to use the oils at facebook.com/livepurely1
and to get your own oils shop at mydoterra.com/livepurely

Banana Ice Cream

The other day my mom posted this banana upside down cake recipe. Hang on while I clean up this puddle for salivating over her dessert! Since we eat gluten/grain-free, this was unfortunately a no go.
My healthy alternative?
Yummy banana ice cream that's so easy to make, you'll wonder why I even bothered posting a recipe!

Ingredients:
3 Ripe Bananas - the riper (more ripe?) the bananas, the sweeter the ice cream will be.
1 T almond butter (or peanut butter if you prefer)

No, I didn't forget anything....

1. Cut the bananas up into small pieces, stick in a tupperware container, and freeze.
2. Try not to check the freezer every 30 minutes to see if they're frozen yet.
3. Take them out and put them in a blender and blend.
4. Blend some more.

5. Scrape the sides, mix it up, and blend some more.
6. Yep, you're still blending.
7. Once smooth, (don't give up it'll get there) add almond butter.

Oh, and don't even try to compare this to the pictures on my mom's blog, hers are far superior.

Delicious! Next time I'll experiment with flavor a bit, perhaps add some berries, or dark chocolate...mmm.

Essential Oils

I am so excited to tell you about doterra. I have just recently started looking into essential oils, and came across this company called doterra.
I originally just wanted to use essential oils to put in my homemade cleaning supplies and truly didn't realize how many other benefits they had!
I had bought peppermint and lavender essential oils from our local farmer's market and I was fine with them for that purpose. Well, when I came across doterra, I decided to go to a class and check out what it was about. I figured at the least I would learn how to use my own oils.
What I did learn is that the quality of doterra's oils is far superior to what I had bought at the farmer's market.
My lavender smelled strong, and my peppermint smelled like a peppermint patty. Little did I know that the exact opposite is what they are supposed to smell like!
doterra's lavender smells soothing and flowery and the peppermint is so potent it takes your breath away! (good for sinuses).
I learned the oils go through rigorous testing to ensure their quality. Some of the people at the class had already tried them and swore on their benefits.
I'm the type of person that's not easily "sold" on things, so I researched the company for days upon days and the more I read, the more I liked about it. There's so much more to say, but I'll leave that for a rainy day.
I'm excited to partner with doterra as an independent product consultant and to tell you more about what essential oils can do for you from medicine cabinet makeovers to cleaning supply makeovers and more!!
I will be sharing tips on how to use oils on my facebook page, so go "like" it. You know you want to! www.facebook.com/livepurely1
You can purchase oils on my website: www.mydoterra.com/livepurely
And if you have questions about the oils, contact me at: livepurely1@gmail.com

5 easy ways to be a little greener

I am never going to become that person that doesn't use toilet paper (but kudos to you if you don't). I feel like evolution at least gave me that much. But, we've screwed up. And, it's going to take hard work to take care of this one beautiful Earth.

Here's some easy, quick ways to be a little greener. 

1. Use less paper towels. My husband is a paper towel fanatic and it's a hard habit to break I admit. I cringe every time I buy them, alas because of the price mostly, but still. I spend five bucks on some nice dish rags, and try to use those whenever possible. I do keep some on hand for the really yucky messes, and until husband stops going through withdrawals.

2. Take totes to the store. This one is so easy, yet I'd always forget to bring them!! Now I stash them in my pantry, so I know to grab them when I'm making my list before I go to the store. I noticed they can put all my groceries in four totes, but if they use plastic bags, it takes about twenty. Terrible! 

3. Buy less processed foods. Ok, this one may be easier said than done, but I have noticed a HUGE difference in the amounts of packaging I'm not throwing away anymore.

4. Use less produce bags. You know those little plastic bags you put your produce in at the store? I only use them if I have something to get weighed. I actually saw someone put bananas in a plastic bag today. What a waste. I used them for apples and plums today, but also bought a lemon, avocado, and grapes and left them out. If I'm only buying one of something (onion, garlic, etc.) I leave them out. 

5. Repurpose. Keep empty containers to use for different things. Especially if you're making a lot of your own things, keep that old lotion bottle, deodorant stick, etc. and use them to fill with your homemade lotions and potions :)

What are some quick things you do to stay green?

Cauliflower-crust pizza

When we were doing our 30 day challenge, we had a hard time finding something that would substitute pizza. We did try "meatza" which was disgusting. It was basically a crust made out of ground beef and egg and it was thick and crunchy and ..just gross. I don't know how people eat that stuff.
As we are eating mostly gluten-free and still trying to avoid grains, I was still inclined to find a reasonable substitute.
We had just gone out to get pizza the night before, and since nothing compares, I was sure this was going to be a flop. Much to my surprise, not only was this recipe delicious, but Husband even said he'd it again. (As a matter of fact, I've got a cauliflower crust, baking in the oven right now!)
We followed this recipe, but added some veggies to ours.
I highly urge you to try this yummy alternative to pizza. It's delicious.
Here's the recipe:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/the-astonishing-cauliflower-pizza-crust-you-have-to-taste-it-to-believe-it.html

And here's our version: