¡Feliz Navidad!

May you bask in the relentless, sacrificial love of our Savior Christ Jesus,

who left his wonderous throne to give us a life of hope.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Jason and Naomi

homemade laundry detergent w/out Borax

I am an ingredient HAWK.  Anything I buy to eat or use, I read the ingredients.  If I don’t know what they are, or know they are artificial, I won’t buy it. Likewise, when looking up recipes for homemade laundry detergent, I was very particular as to what ingredients it called for.  I knew I wanted Dr. Bronner’s liquid Castile soap, cuz I absolutely love the all-natural ingredients in it and it has peppermint essential oil in it, making for wonderful smelling soap. Not to mention that peppermint is refreshing and calming to the skin (bonus!).  As I was researching recipes, I began to learn that Borax is not good for your skin.  It is actually a harsh chemical that is commonly used as an herbicide and roach killer.  It can be a skin irritant.  Yikes! I then immediately began to look for recipes WITHOUT Borax.  I came across this recipe with only 3 ingredients.  It is super easy to make!  I ended up making 3 gallons of it.  I’ve washed multiple loads with it and absolutely LOVE it.  The peppermint oil in it makes our clothes smell so good not to mention the washing machine and dryer as well!

1 cup liquid castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s ’cuz it’s organic and main ingredients are jojoba oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and peppermint)
2 cups water
1/3 cup salt
1 cup baking soda or washing soda

vinegar (throw in a Tablespoon per load for tough stains)

Halloween 2011

GF vegan pumpkin spice muffins/bread

Today is FINALLY the first day of Fall!  My FAVORITE season.  So I decided to commence the new season with my favorite vegan pumpkin muffins.  I experimented this time and made them GF simply by replacing the flour with almond flour.  If I can replace any baked good with agave and almond flour, I am happy. Here is the scrumptious recipe…

I love these because there is no oil or butter in them–just pumpkin, spices, and almond flour!

2 c. almond flour

a little less than 1/3 c. agave nectar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 ts. baking soda

1/2 ts. salt

1/2 ts. cinnamon (I throw in a little more)

1/4 ts. nutmeg (again a little more)

1 15 oz can of organic pumpkin

unsweetened coconut

Mix all together and put in muffin tin or bread pan and sprinkle with coconut and bake for 25-30 min. at 375 degrees.

a typical Abdilla Sunday

Relaxing in the hammock

and

an evening hike

natural remedies for the common cold

It was bound to happen.  After 3 weeks into the new school year I got the common cold.  Surprise, surprise.  As mentioned in previous posts, I love experimenting with natural remedies for acute ailments and have found that oregano oil is uh-may-zing!! Right away, when I noticed the first signs of a cold, I started taking 3 oregano oil pills(a natural decongestant)  in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and then 3 more at night.  Let me tell you this is the shortest lived cold I have ever had.  I owe it to the oregano oil, the many cups of tea, vitamin C, and garlic broth that I have been living on these last few days.

best cookies EVER

Our go to sweet tooth quencher is vegan gluten-free dark chocolate chip cookies.  Seriously they are the BOMB.  I got the recipe from my friend who has her own healthy eats website.  After making these cookies many a time, I experimented myself with the recipe and added a few scrumptious ingredients to make it PERFECT.  Believe me, you will never go back to the bad-for-you Toll House choc. chip cookies.  Every single ingredient in these cookies is GOOD for you.  That is why we can’t resist…

2 1/2 c. Almond flour

1/2 ts. salt

1/2 ts. baking soda

1/4 ts. cinammon

1/4 c. shredded coconut

1 c.  oats

1/3 c. Agave nectar

1T vanilla extract

1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

Mix it all together and scoop onto baking sheet for 10 min. or so until golden brown at 350 degrees.  We love to freeze them in a ziplock baggie and eat them cold….IRRESISTIBLY DELICIOUS!!

homemade granola

There is nothing like homemade granola, especially with almond milk and topped with fresh strawberries or raspberries.  Hmmm good!! 

Here is my recipe:

3 c. oats

3/4 c. sliced almonds

1/2 c. sunflower seeds

1/2 c. pumpkin seeds

1 c. goji berries

1/4 c. shredded coconut

1/4 ts. salt

1/2 ts. cinammon

2 T. sunflower oil

1/2 c. Agave nectar

Mix dry ingredients together and oil and Agave in separate bowl then pour it over the dry ingredients.  Mix.  Put on baking sheet sheet or pan and cook till brown at 350 degrees.

#20: Backpack Southern Colorado

The last week before school started, Jason and I went on a 7-day backpacking trip in the South San Juan Wilderness in Southern Colorado, one of my goals on my Bucket List.  It was magnificent!  We enjoyed miles and miles of hiking, adventures, wildlife, precious time with my man, and breathtaking views….everything I love about backpacking. Here are some pics…

Homemade “lara bars” Jason made for us. Delicious!!

Jason’s awesome handiwork

my hottie fly fisherman

my love

my mountain man