a few of my favorite things

In honor of the New Year, I thought I'd make a list of some of my new favorite things. This idea is a combination of something Paige did on her blog, and...well, Oprah. But hey, in turning over a new leaf, I've acquired some new favorites in regard to health and nutrition. And I can't just keep them to myself!


1) Oyin Handmade Funk Butter. It's a deodorant cream that dries fast. And I mean fast! I went looking for an aluminum-free alternative to regular commercial deodorants. I came across some that I utterly despised, but someone clued me in to Oyin Handmade, and I was very impressed. I also have started experimenting with their hair products, and I really like what I've tried so far!

2) "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon is my absolute fave as far as cookbooks go. It's traditional (including recipes for ketchup, mayonnise, and sauerkraut) but wonderfully tuned in to modern tastes (enchiladas, fudge). It is dense with information on the history of food, but also detailed in cooking instructions.

3) I am loving Burt's Bees Lip Balms. My current darlings are pomegrante and honey. (I do want to try Oyin Handmade's lip balms soon, though! I have a a good feeling about those, too.) For this former Carmex queen, experiementation is everything.

4) The Nourishing Gourmet is my new absolute favorite website. It's actually a blog, the keeper of which has been greatly influenced by Sally Fallon (the cookbook author on #2). The recipes are easy to follow and fairly simple to execute. (Remember, I don't consider myself a gourmet by any means.) I also love that she includes slow food philosophy here and there, as well as discussing the pros and cons of various ingredients. I can't get enough of this website!

5) This one is a "nourishing practice." It's soaking my grains. For an explanation of why and how, you can click here. In a nutshell, it makes the grains so much more digestible, and the minerals and nutritients within much more accessible. And also, in my opinion, it makes goods made with whole grain flours taste SO much better!

6) In a similar vein, another of my new favorite practices is soaking nuts and then slow-drying them. You can read more about that here, if you like. Again, it's for digestion and health...but I think it makes them so delicious. We call these "Crispy Pecans, "Crispy Almonds," etc. because they've got an extra, salty crunch to them. The house smell so good when they're drying!

7) Speaking of nuts, my new favorite snack is trail mix. I use: a handful each of crispy pecans, cashews, raisins, and chocolate (or carob) chips. So yummy! I've been munching on a small dish of this in place of dessert for weeks...I don't want anything else. I can't get enough trail mix, although Jeff tells me that there it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

8) Raw honey. Good stuff!

9) Another blog that I'm really excited about is My Year Without, where a gal from Battle Ground, Washington chronicles her year-long quest to be sugar-free. What an encouragement!

10) Fresh berries. Sweet, succulent, abounding in varieties, colors, and uses. I can hardly wait for berry season to come to Oregon again! I have so many plans: preserves, syrups, muffins, desserts. I want to start mixing crushed berries into plain yogurt for my boys. They adore yogurt but alas, it's packed with sugar. I'm so glad God is so wonderfully creative in the foods he gave us, and how they can offer our bodies real nourishment.