This week I found myself wiped out from a recurring back injury and after a very effective deep tissue massage, my massage therapist recommended that I follow it up with some Emergen-C as well as the bucket load of water I already was going to drink.

Supposedly the extra nutrition from the Emergen-C combined with drinking the extra water helps with the soreness that sometimes follows a deep tissue massage. I knew about the water, but hadn’t heard the nutritional recommendation before, but I was willing to give it a try.

I happen to have some Emergen-C left over from our road trip first aid kit, but needed another way to drink it – cuz the only way I like it is mixed with really cold bottled water, which I didn’t have.

So I thought I’d do an experiment – how would it taste in a banana orange smoothie recipe?

Oh my goodness – you’ve got to try this! It’s like drinking a Dreamcicle. Yum!

It even passed the kid test (I didn’t tell them I boosted it).

So here it is, my new Banana Orange Smoothie Recipe, with the optional nutritional boost:

1 banana

1 -2 cups vanilla almond milk, depending on how thick you like your smoothies

a heaping large spoonful of frozen concentrated orange juice or 1 whole, peeled orange

a handful of ice cubes

1 packet of Emergen-C, orange flavored (tangarine might work as well)

Dump it all into your favorite blender, and blend to taste (but be sure to use a setting that can handle ice cubes, cuz I’ve burned out more blenders on ice cubes and frozen bananas, and it’s not fun going without smoothies!)

Drink cold, hopefully with all those little yummy ice chips in there …yum!

Now if I can only find a way to keep J from drinking my smoothies… just kidding – just don’t tell him they are healthy for him

For more of my favorite smoothie recipes, check out my post on healthy smoothies, and here’s site full of healthy smoothie recipes worth trying.

As February is American Heart Month and I have some personal experience with the affects of not taking care of your heart, I promised to share with you some free heart-healthy cookbooks. 

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to download or order your copy of Keep the Beat: Deliciously Healthy Dinners, the cookbook I shared earlier.

But today, I have another free heart-healthy cookbook for you. 

It’s called Platillos Latinos: Delicious Heart Healthy Latino Recipes and is another wonderful downloadable (pdf) cookbook from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. 

Because it’s a Latino recipe cookbook, all the 26 recipes are in both English and Spanish, and includes both little heart-healthy cooking tips and the nutritional information in both English and Spanish.

I’m a California girl living in Texas, so Mexican and Latino recipes are integrated into our dinner menus, and I love the flavors. But I don’t usually like the fat.  This recipe collection gives great little tips on cutting the fat, and includes yummy Latino flavor.

The cookbook includes a total of 26 easy to prepare, heart-healthy Latino recipes such as:

• Appetizers and Soups, including a lentil soup recipe (lentils are wonderful nutrition and very-budget friendly)
• Entrees like Latino style Turkey Meatloaf, and Chilian Corn and Meat Pie
• Vegetarian Recipes like Quinoa and Black Bean Salad, and a veggie warp. (gotta love Quinoa!)
• Side Dishes and Sauces like fresh salsa and a Argentian Chimichurri sauce, and of course
• Desserts and beverages – like Flan and a mango shake.

There’s a substitutions page that shows if a recipe calls for a high fat ingredient like cream what to subsitute instead to make it more heart-healthy.

So there you, another free heart-healthy cookbook for you.  I’ve got at least one more to share with you next week, so be sure to come on back and grab that one too.

Enjoy!

…Shannon

P.S  Just click the title link to download your copy: Platillos Latinos: Delicious Heart Healthy Latino Recipes (opens in a new window)

P.S. S. It looks like you can also order a printed copy of the cookbook from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute here. But I haven’t tried it out myself, but the option looks like it is there if you prefer a printed copy.

Recently while cooking dinner, I realized I had run out of laundry soap – and didn’t have time – or ability – to run to the store. So J volunteered to make up some homemade powdered laundry detergent for me, if I would teach him how. (what a great kid!)

And then he agreed to do it all on camera so you can learn how to make homemade laundry soap too, just in case you ever have a need

The cost breakdown for homemade laundry soap is equal to about the cheapest laundry soap available on the market, but it is quick and easy to do, and a real time saver if you are caught in a pinch like I was.

Budget wise – I also consider it a time saver and money saver, because I can’t seem to get through a grocery store with *just* one item, so just having the ingredients on hand helps. And if money is tight having the ingredients already on hand, makes it much easier to make a new batch of homemade laundry detergent without figuring out where the money is going to come from to make another shopping run.

For ingredients, you need:

• a bar laundry soap (Fel Naptha, Zote, or any other bar laundry soap), usually costs about a $1
• washing soda , found in the laundry isle, usually costs about $3-4
• Borax, also found in the laundry isle, usually costs between $4-5

The washing soda and Borax will last you a while (the recipe only calls for 1 cup), and I usually just make sure I have a bar of Fels Naptha on hand (especially during poison oak/sumac season).

In all I think it costs about 5 to 10 cents per load, depending on how much you pay for your ingredients and if you use the optional Oxiclean (or generic) like I do in the video.

And then just follow the instructions in the video… it’s really that fast and easy.  And then all you need is 1 Tablespoon per load, 2 if the kids’ clothes are particularly dirty.

Enjoy!

…Shannon

P.S. If you aren’t able to see the video, here’s the short version of the homemade laundry soap recipe:

Mix together 1 bar of laundry soap (grated), 1 cup of washing soda, and 1 cup of Borax

Yep, that easy.

P.S.S.  If you have young children in the house and you make your own anything, be sure to write the ingredients on the container you use, so that if there’s ever an accident that involves you or a babysitter calling poison control, you can just read the ingredients off the container rather than trying to remember what’s in there.

As February is American Heart Month, and I promised you some free Heart- Healthy Cookbooks, here’s the first one.

 Keep the Beat: Deliciously Healthy Dinners is a beautiful heart-healthy cookbook put out by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

There’s two versions of the book available:

- a Free PDF version (just click on the link to download it (opens in a new window).)

and a print version, which you can order online. I got both versions and in the video above show you the print version that came in the mail this week. 

When I ordered my copy, the print version was free (not even a shipping cost). But no where on the site does it say it is free and you do have to go through a shopping cart process, but it never asked me for payment.  My suspicion is that getting the print version for free is a temporary promo, but I have no confirmation of that.

So… If you’d like a copy of the print version (it’s a beautiful cookbook), head over to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute site and order your copy. It’s a beautiful cookbook to add to your collection of heart-healthy recipes.

To get your copy, just go to the Keep the Beat order page (opens in a new window). Enter a ’1′ in the quantity field and click the “add to cart” button.

It’ll then walks you through an order process with shipping info. I had mine sent to a PO Box and it worked great.

Enjoy – and please, Take care of your heart!

…Shannon

Feeding a large family?  I just ran across this and knew I had to share it with you.

Kelly Morris, a busy mom of 9 (and a fellow homeschooler), recently released her new e-cookbook: Just Get ‘Em Fed: Simple Whole Food Meals for Your Family.

And it’s free!

Not only does Kelly share her family’s favorite recipes across each type of meal, including

• casseroles
• pasta
• chicken
• beef
• slow cooker/crockpot

She also shares her strategies for menu planning, grocery shopping (w/kids in tow), and food storage, all with an eye on time and budget, and of course nutrition. 

If you are feeding a large family, grab your free copy of Just Get ’Em Fed and check out her suggestions. I know I found some new tips and a more than few new recipes to try out.

Also, while you are at it, be sure to check out Kelly’s site. She has a ton of information on staying balanced and managing life with a large family.

Enjoy!

…Shannon