Savvy Tips and Tricks

As most of you know if I can get away with making something at home rather than buying it, that's the route I am going to go. It's healthier, cheaper and just all around better for everybody. I was reading through some of my favorite blogs this morning and realized I have a lot of go-to things that I do that I have never shared before. So for those of you that are interested. Here is a little list of home-remedies/homemade things that I do on a regular basis:

1. Homemade vapor rub - The store bought stuff is not safe for little ones so I came up with my own about a year ago and everytime someone is congested or stuffy I make a small batch and rub, rub, rub! A lot of recipes call for beeswax etc. But I wanted to do something that I could just whip up with what I had on hand. So I use about 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil (great for your skin) and then 10 - 15 drops each of eucalyptus and peppermint oil. Avoid rubbing this on the face because of the peppermint oil. It will smell very potent but trust me, once you put it on it is not that strong. If it's in the middle of the night and they wake up stuffy I'll just put a few drops of Eucalyptus on a cloth diaper and put it in front of their fan. The whole room smells soothing and you'll see a great difference in their coughing. I even do it for myself too and put a cloth under my pillow. Sleep like a baby when I'm sick!

2. Homemade Apple Sauce - Ok organic applesauce is ridiculously expensive but I won't compromise on it because apples are one of the worst for pesticides, over 50 different pesticides are found on apples EEk! So I've found a way to do it for even cheaper than regular applesauce and it's pretty easy too. I keep a lookout for clearance organic apples at my local health food store. I can get apples for about 85 cents a pound. Not bad for organic apples. They just need to be eaten soon orrrrrrr made into applesauce :) So break out your apple slicer (love this thing! Saves my life on a regular basis... quick healthy snacks BAM) core/slice about 2 to 3 large apples and then chop them into chunks into your blender. That's right... don't peel them... trust me. Put them in with skin on... the skin has the most nutrients, why rob your applesauce of those nutrients? Add a little water and a tablespoon or so of lime juice (you could use lemon but I like lime... it's a little smoother). Blend until you get a smooth consistency, turn your blender off and then taste a little... YUM! Tastes like you are biting into a fresh apple and it's so sweet! No need for any sweeteners! Try it... you'll see. Put your applesauce in a clean empty applesauce jar and voila. And what do the taste testers say? "Mom I like this applesauce, it's yummy."

3. Another sick little one remedy - Garlic is a great natural antibiotic and honey is great to sooth a cough in a pinch. So why not grate up some garlic in some honey and give them a spoonful. Fresh garlic by itself is AWFUL. Yes I've tried it. Hey when you are sick and don't have time to be... you'll try anything!! But this way is not so bad, the honey covers the taste pretty well and it coats your throat.

That's all I've got for now. I'll think of more savvy ways to do things and share!

Wii Fit Woohoo!

Okay so we've had the Wii Fit for about a month now. We played around with it for the first week or so and did all the games and some of the exercises :) So this past two weeks I have been trying to be really serious about working out more and have done 30 minutes every other day or every two days so 2 to 3 times a week :) Good start right? Well I have lost 4 lbs so far and have had two people tell me that I look like I am loosing weight in the past day! So needless to say I am very encouraged! It's nice to know that you are exercising and trying to be healthy but when other people notice it makes all the difference.

I am still far from my goal but am only about 2 lbs. away from loosing all the baby weight then I just have to get rid of the pre-baby weight! Okay no more talk about this weight junk... I just had to brag on my Wii Fit!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

P.S. Even though I don't like talking about weight... I'll still keep you updated on my progress with the Wii Fit.