Plastic Shopping Bags Uses and Storage

I know many of you have already started using those wonderful reusable "green bags" when you go shopping.  But, if you are like me, sometimes I get to the store and realize I forgot them.  Or, you are just running in for a couple items and you forget them in the car or don't want to bother for such a small order.  You opt for plastic over paper and now you have some of those plastic shopping bags.  Most would maybe reuse it in it's original form to carry things once or twice, recycle it, or toss it, but I have found some great additional uses for these bags that save me money.  I also found a great way to store them so they don't take up too much room either.

1. Free trash liners for your bathroom trash cans.
2. If you have cats, they are perfect little trash bags for scooping the litter clumps.
3. If you are already recycling or composting, you probably don't have half as much kitchen trash as you used to.  Why do you still need the industrial size trash can in your kitchen?  Downsize to a 3 gallon/11 liter waste basket, roughly the size you might use under a desk.  The plastic bags fit perfectly so you don't need to purchase kitchen trash bags anymore, either. Just make sure the bag doesn't have a hole in the bottom or you might end up with a mess if you put wet stuff in the trash.  Mine fits perfectly under my sink, so its out of sight and the pets can't get into it.  With these smaller size trash cans, you might even have room under your sink for a separate trash and recycle waste basket.  This will make it more convenient to recycle, so you will be more likely to do it.  With a smaller trash container, obviously, it will fill up a little quicker than a big one, but you will be able to keep smells to a minimum inside your home since you will be taking the trash out more frequently.



Upcycled plastic baskets by bagsagain.etsy.com

4. This one might be a stretch for some of you to make yourself, but I have actually seen people cut these into long strips like yarn and knit, crochet, or weave them into rugs, beach bags, purses, place mats, baskets, accessories, and other amazing creations.  Check out some some of these very affordable items others have made out of plastic shopping bags that are for sale on etsy.com  They will blow your mind!!  Some Etsy sellers even sell patterns for those of you who might want to try to make some of these, and "yarn" that is already pre-made for these creations, if you don't want to take the time to cut it up yourself.

Now that I have you thinking a little differently about these plastic shopping bags, here's my trick to making them compact for easy storage.  

1. Stick a couple fingers of your right hand through the handles of the bag.  Keep your fingers in these holes the whole time until right at the end at step #4.
2. Using your left hand, starting near the handles, smooth and pull the bag into a long plastic strip.
3. Grasp the "bottom" of the bag with your left hand and with a twisting wrist action, roll the bottom of the bag up around two fingers on your left hand all the way up to the handles creating a little "ball" around your left hand fingers and twisting the bag around your right fingers creating a small "loop"
4. Flip the "loop" from the handles around your right hand fingers over the "ball" wrapped around your left hand fingers.  This will keep this tight little ball secured and compact for easy storage.  
5. A small box, basket, or drawer will hold a ton of them in this compact form until you are ready to use them.  Simply unhook the loop, unwind, and they are ready to use again.

Anti-bacterial Hand Gels and Dry Hands

Do you suffer from dry cracked hands?  Do you carry around a little bottle or hand sanitizer gel, or keep them in your car, around the house, etc?  Do you know that the main ingredient in these gels is alcohol? 

Habitually putting these hand sanitizer alcohol based gels on your hands can really dry out your skin causing rough, and painful chafing and cracking.  If you are worried about germs, did you know that properly washing your hands with regular, not even anti-bacterial soap, is just as effective at killing and removing germs as all that expensive anti-bacterial stuff?  All this anti-bacterial everything really is not helping anything except contributing to building up the defenses of super germs and bacteria that eventually become resistant to these products, while severely drying out your skin.

Instead of grabbing the anti-bacterial hand gel or anti-bacterial soap, opt for the simple old fashioned soap hand washing, if it's available.  It might seem like a simple thing, but surprisingly, most people do not know how to properly wash their hands to make it most effective.  Here is a good article that breaks it down as a simple reminder we call can use.  5 Steps to Effective Hand-Washing

The best non-drying soaps are cold processed super-fatted soaps containing ingredients such as goats milk, olive oil, shea butter, or jojoba, just to mention a few.  These true soaps typically contain excess oils, which have not been converted to soap that help moisturize and clean at the same time.  Most mass produced conventional "soap" bars are really detergent bars.  Many times the manufactures remove the moisturizing natural occurring glycerin produced during the soap making process and turn it into lotion, which is then resold as a separate product for a much higher price per ounce.  These "detergent bars" can also cause your skin to dry out with excess use, since it also removes the natural oils in your skin as it washes away the dirt and germs.

If you prefer liquid soaps, don't go for the clear soaps.  These may be pretty, but they can also be contributing to your dry skin.  These clear soaps do not contain any excess oils which have not been saponified, or turned into soap.  That is why they are clear.  Instead, opt for the others you cannot see through. These typically are more moisturizing since the excess unsaponified oils give them a more creamy appearance.

In addition to some wonderful natural lotions now available, you can also try some home remedies you might already have in your kitchen to keep your hands and skin protected and moisturized.  After washing or soaking your hands, apply a little olive oil or coconut oil to your hands.  You don't need much or you won't be able to open a door knob for a while. :o)  Just a drop or two will help seal in the moisture and absorb into your skin helping to heal and prevent those dreaded dry and cracking hands.  An extra rub into your cuticles works great, too.  If you happen to have any tamanu oil, which I went into more detail in a previous post Must Have for your Medicine Cabinet, this will really help speed up the healing process of dry cracked hands and protect your skin at the same time.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I know some of you have been waiting patiently for this post, so here it goes.  I don't know about you, but it used to kill me to drop $20 or more to get the large economy size HE name brand laundry detergent at my local big box membership club.  I had tried some of the cheaper brands, but was not very happy with their cleaning ability.  I was also not very happy to be paying for a large percentage of water or fillers in the formula and many chemicals that are not earth friendly.  I have a septic system at my house, and I was told by a septic repair man that one of the worst things you can put into your septic system is household detergents, mainly laundry, dish washing detergents, and bleach.  The main active chemical ingredients throw off the natural balance of good bacteria, which is the key to a properly working, trouble free system.

Over several months time, and giving samples to family and friends to try and get their feedback, I have come up with a formula that I have been using for several years.  When I first started making it, I used store bought soap bars made specifically for laundry use.  Since I now make my own cold process soap, I now make my own bar soap to grate for my laundry soap.  For those of you interested in experimenting with soap making, I'll share that recipe in a later post.  For those of you not quite ready to jump in and make your own bar soap, the store bought laundry bars, such as Fels Naptha or Zote Soap, will work just fine for this recipe.

Homemade Laundry Soap

• Roughly 2 1/2 cups loosely packed grated laundry soap bar (see note below)
• 1 cup washing soda (AKA soda ash, or sodium carbonate)
• 1/2 cup borax
• 1/2 cup baking soda (AKA sodium bi-carbonate)
• A few drops of Essential oils of your choice (optional)

This recipe makes approximately 4 1/2 cups of dry laundry soap.  Depending on the capacity of your washer, the size loads you wash, and if you have a HE or regular washer, you will need roughly 1 to 2 tablespoons per load.  At one tablespoon per load, this will get you about 72 loads per recipe, for 2 tablespoons per load, roughly 36 loads.  Buying the store bought laundry bar soap, bulk baking soda at the wholesale club, borax at my local big box retailer, and soda ash at my ceramics supply store (I will explain a little farther down in this post), the cost per load is roughly $.018/load for 1 tablespoon or $.036/load for 2 tablespoons!  Compare that to roughly $.20 to $.40 per load for your typical store laundry detergent.  With coupons you can get it down a little cheaper, but nowhere near less than 5 cents per load unless you are a coupon goddess and have double coupons in your state.  Don't have that here in Florida. :o( You are also saving on the cost of fabric softener since with this formula, you don't need any.  Your clothes and towels will come out super soft.  If you are still having static issues in the winter, add a little white vinegar to your rinse cycle, where you would normally add the fabric softener, and that will help.  If you like some scent to your laundry, adding a few drops of your favorite essential oils to the mix will do the trick.  The amount will vary based on the essential oil, since some are much stronger scented than others.

I make laundry soap in an old food processor.  If you don't have one, a box grater will work well to grate your bar soap.  It will just take longer.  Some say the rhythm of the grating process is therapeutic.  Personally, I would rather get it done fast so I can move on to other things.  I first slice the bars into small enough strips to feed into the top feed tube.  Allowing them to dry for a few hours at this point will also help the shredding go a little easier.  Then I shred it with a shred disk you might use for carrots or cheese, then set the shredded soap aside.  After all my soap bars are shredded, I measure out my recipe in the food processor with the chopping blade at the bottom.  Give the whole batch several long pulses until it is all well blended and it is ready to go.  I store mine in an old 5 gallon paint bucket, even a re-purposed cat litter container would be perfect, as long as it has a lid to keep moisture levels down.  As you can see by the size container I use, when I make my laundry soap, I make a big batch, so I will have enough to last me several months. 

All of these ingredients you should be able to find in your local big box store, or even your grocery store, but I shopped around for the best prices on each item.  One ingredient in particular, sodium carbonate (NOT sodium BI-carbonate), AKA washing soda or soda ash, is typically found in the laundry aisle, but I found an even cheaper, more obscure place to purchase it.  Believe it or not, soda ash is an ingredient used to make some glaze formulations in ceramics.  If you have a ceramics supply house near by, you might be able to buy soda ash by the pound from them way cheaper than in the laundry aisle.  It works good for other cleaning purposes, as it is also sold as washing soda.  It is also the same active ingredient in coffee machine cleaners you would typically pay several dollars for a small 8 oz container.  Mix it 1 tablespoon to 4 cups of water and you have another money saving use to keep your coffee maker clean.  Just make sure to run 3 batches of clean water through your machine afterwards to rinse out the cleaner solution.

If you are worried if this laundry soap recipe will work in an HE machine, don't.  This is a very low suds formula that works great in HE machines as well as regular machines.  When I had people test my formula, I had people with both kinds of machines try it with great results.  It also works great for baby clothes and people with sensitivities to many laundry product additives.  I only had one person complain it bothered her, but later found out she has sensitivities to baking soda.  You can also make the recipe without baking soda, but here in Florida with the harder water, it really seems to help soften the water and help with the rinsing.  Tweak the formula for your water conditions and see what works best for you. 

If you are finding bits of soap left undissolved after the wash, you are likely using too much. If you are used to store brands, the amount of this recipe you need will seem like too small of an amount to get the job done.  Keep in mind, most conventional store brands include water or other fillers to make it looks like you are getting more for your money.  When you strip it down to the essential cleaners you really don't need much.  I have seen other on-line recipes dissolve or cook their soap formula to make a liquid soap.  I guess you could also do that, but who wants the extra work, plus it will just take up more room with the added water. 

Speaking of other online formulas for laundry soap, many will recommend using left over scraps of regular bar soap you might use for washing your hands or your body.  Don't do it.  These bars are mostly either detergent bars, since in production the skin friendly glycerin is removed to sell for a higher price in lotions, or the bar is what they call "super-fatted."  If you don't already know, soap is made by chemically changing the physical properties of oils, butters, or fats into soap using lye, also known as sodium hydroxide.  In soap speak, super-fatting soap means having excess oils added to the soap that do not completely saponify, or turn into soap, during the chemical and curing process.  These unsaponfied oils are great for moisturizing your skin, but not so good for your laundry.  Excess oils will build up on your clothes and in your machine over time.  Not good!  Please use only soap designed for laundry purposes or cold process soap that is not super-fatted.  Lard or tallow based soaps also seem to work a bit better than vegetable oil based soaps, in my opinion.  Over time, the vegetable based soaps seemed to make my whites a little dingy.

I hope this post has been worth the wait, and you now have a whole new insight to your laundry.  It may be far more than you ever thought you would know about soap or laundry, but typically knowing too much is far better than not knowing enough. :o)  Please post your comments and results, so if you have tweaked your formula for different parts of the country others can also benefit from your findings.

Microwave Potato Chips

You read the title correctly.  Yes, you can actually make crunchy chips in the microwave.  I was watching a Dr. Oz episode and was inspired by one of the kitchen gadgets he was showcasing.  Being the frugal person I am, I thought, "Why spend the money on the gadget?"  Who needs another gadget cluttering up their kitchen, anyway?

Slice the potatoes paper thin.  If you have a mandolin slicer already, that is the perfect tool used on the thinnest slice setting.  Place a reusable non-stick silicone baking sheet in your microwave and turn off the turn table to keep it from spinning.  Place your potato slices on the sheet making sure to not over lap.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt, then nuke on high for 2-3 minutes.  The time will vary based on how thin your slices are and the power of your microwave.  If they turn out a little chewy and not crunchy, your chips are either cut too thick or it needs to cook a little longer.  If they are cooked a little too long, they will taste a bit burned.  Play around with a few small batches until you get it just right.  They are delicious, light & airy, and much healthier than any fried chip.

You can also try this trick with a variety of veggies & fruits like sweet potatoes, apples, pears, or other root veggies like parsnips, beets, etc.  Check out some of the variations you see in the snack aisle for inspiration. You will probably have to play around a little to find the perfect cook times for each type.  I found with apples, and other items that have a higher sugar content, the sweeter they were, the more likely they had a tendency to be a bit more chewy than crunchy, but they are still delicious.  With the apples, I found putting them in for 1 minute and 50 seconds, flipping them, then putting them in for another 30 seconds came out the best.

It's much quicker than a dehydrator, so you can make them fresh whenever you get the craving.  I haven't tried it yet, but I would think they would store for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container or baggie. I'm sure you could also do the same thing in the oven on a low bake setting, but when you don't want to wait or heat up your kitchen, try this instead.  Imagine the possibilities!

Plant a Fruit Tree

Trying to eat more fruit?  Why not plant a fruit tree?  Even if you don't live in a warmer climate, with the large variety of fruit trees available, many will survive in areas that get quite cold.  Some trees will even bear fruit if grown in containers, which can be moved to a more sheltered area when the mercury drops.  While you enjoy your bountiful harvest, every year, your property values will likely also increase.  Here in Florida, did you know that your property value increases $1,000 for each mature citrus tree?  That's quite a return on your essentially maintenance free, $20-$50 investment for only a few short years to sit and wait. 

One mature tree will likely produce more fruit than your family can eat all by yourselves.  Why not see if a neighbor would also plant a different variety, so when the trees start producing you can swap?  You can maybe even sell your excess to a local farm stand, keep your neighbors supplied, or donate your excess to a local food bank or church to help feed those in need?

Before you buy, do your homework.  Online resources and local nurseries are a great place to find out information on which trees will do best in your area, growing habits and size of a mature tree, how long you will have to wait to get fruit, what maintenance or pruning will be required or not, if a second tree is needed for pollination or not, and how much fruit you can expect from a mature tree.  Check out local smaller nurseries before opting for the big box retailers.  You will likely get much more valuable growing information, a healthier tree more fitting for your climate, and help support your local small businesses.

Grow your fruit organically and you can really benefit.  You can reduce the amount of pesticides and fungicides your family ingests, and your cost, versus what you would pay for organic fruit elsewhere, will save you bundles!

Double it Up to Save Time and Energy

When you do take the time to cook dinner, why not make a batch twice as large as you actually need for that day?  This way you only really cook once and can heat up left overs on a night when you are too tired or pressed for time to cook.  You only need to turn your oven or stove on once instead of twice.  Your microwave uses much less power to reheat your meal.

Package your left overs in convenient sizes that serve one person.  I recommend the low cost stackable containers so many companies sell now.  Why invest in expensive ones when the cheapies last quite a long time and if you want to send home leftovers with a friend, they don't have to worry about returning your container.  Many containers that you might normally toss in the recycle bin will work also, think sliced lunch meat.  I personally like ones that are somewhat see through so you can see how large the portion is without opening it and you remember that it's not something else when you go back to find your leftovers later without having to notice the label.  Label them with a piece of scotch tape and a sharpie, so you know what it is, and don't forget the date you made it.  The labels will peel off easily later and they are super inexpensive.  If you don't eat your leftovers in a day or two, pop it in the freezer.  On those busier days, open up the freezer and you have a smorgasbord of healthy options to pick from with a delicious homemade taste, which are ready in minutes.  Just like a restaurant, each person can pick their favorite because you thought ahead and froze them in individual serving sizes. They heat up quicker in the microwave this way, too.  Pop them onto a plate or in a bowl.  Never heat your leftovers in plastic containers or use plastic wrap in the microwave because harmful chemicals, like BPA, leach from the plastic into your food when heated.  Cover with a paper towel if it will have a tendency to splatter.  Prevent the mess now and you have less to clean up later.  Your personalized healthy meals will be ready in minutes.

Pre-made store bought microwave meals are expensive, even with coupons, and typically don't include too many veggies or contain very small portions of protein.  Overall, most are lacking in the nutrition department.  They are usually carbohydrate heavy, since carbs are cheaper for companies to produce and they help fill you up, so you think you had a good size portion for your money. Unfortunately, these simple carbs, like white rice, regular white flour pasta, or breads like in a pizza crust, cause your blood sugar to spike shortly after eating them.  In an hour or two your blood sugar will crash causing you to feel hungry again.  Then you start craving the stuff you probably shouldn't be eating and start packing on the pounds.  When you do the cooking, if you go a little heavier on the veggies, add complex carbs like brown rice, whole grain flour items, or add a normal size protein portion, the meals are much healthier for you and will fill you up just as well, or even better, but keep also your blood sugar normalized without the crash and subsequent cravings later.

Healthier Soft Drink Alternatives

Have you been trying to cut back on your soft drink consumption to either lose weight, save money, or just be healthier.  Me too.  Here are some suggestions you might want to try to bring some variety into your choices and make it a little easier to opt for the healthier choice:

I'll bet most of you have a coffee machine.  When you are done with your morning cup of joe, the machine sits there lonely all day.  Put it to use making a batch of iced tea.  You don't need any special machines like some companies would like to make you believe.  You already own it.

In the spot where you normally put your coffee filter, place the tea bags, with no additional filter, fill up your water reservoir to the top and let her rip.  For a 2 quart container, 4 regular sized tea bags or 2 family sized tea bags are a good start.  For a gallon container, try 3-4 family sized bags.  Adjust the number of tea bags to your taste.  If your coffee pot has an extra feature for brewing smaller pots of coffee, like 1-4 cups, turn this on as well.  It will preheat the water a bit more making the brew a little stronger.  In the meantime, fill up your drink pitcher half way with ice.  When it's done brewing, pour the hot tea over the ice and top off with additional water, if needed.  If you like it sweet, now is the time to add your sweetener, then give it a stir.  Instead of sugar, you might want to try a no calorie natural sweetener made from the stevia plant, like Truvia, or an other alternative sweetener like Agave Nectar, which has a lower glycemic index, which means it will not spike your blood sugar as much as regular sugar does.  Personally, I keep mine unsweetened, so everyone can make theirs the way they like it, or just drink it unsweetened.  Agave nectar also dissolves better in cold liquids, since its a syrup instead of crystals, so it can easily be added later.

Have you ever noticed how many different types of teas are out there?  Every type I tried is also great iced.  Think of how many options you have: green, black, oolong, spiced like chai, fruit blends, herbals like peppermint or chamomile, rooibos, and so many in between!  Many have wonderful health benefits as an added bonus.  Don't forget, if you are trying to cut back on your caffeine intake, opt for the decaf versions or one of the herbal, rooibos, or fruit types.  Maybe even try a half-caf version, half regular tea bags an half decaf tea bags, to start to ween yourself off your caffeine habit.

If you are missing the little bubbles in your soft drinks, try some of the flavored seltzer waters on the market now.  Beware of the ones containing artificial sweeteners.  For a cheaper alternative try the unflavored seltzer waters, the store brands are just as good, and add a splash of cranberry, pomegranate, orange, or grapefruit juice, or squeeze a lemon or lime in for some added flavor.  If you go for the fruit juices, read the labels and try to choose ones that have no added sugars and are 100% juice.  Use your imagination.  You might just find a new favorite.

Could you be allergic to dairy and not know it?

I was.  Correction, I still am, but didn't know it until just a few years ago.  I thought I had outgrown my allergies to dairy around age 5.  Instead, my symptoms of my allergies had changed and were making me miserable for years and I didn't know why.  Even the doctors I saw about my symptoms, were more eager to treat my symptoms with a blanket type treatment of allergy medication rather than finding the root of my allergy problems.

When I was a young child, milk, cheese, ice cream, even milk chocolate would give me severe stomach cramps and diarrhea.  I remember my uncle taking me out for a treat of ice cream against my parent's wishes.  I wasn't about to turn it down.  It tasted great!  Unfortunately, I would pay for it later.  Around age 5, it seemed I had begun to outgrow my allergy to dairy.  No more stomach cramps and gastrointestinal issues.

I remember growing up, for as long as I can remember, I used to sneeze shortly after I woke up.  Sometimes uncontrollably for 15 minutes or more.  I tried all kinds of stuff thinking it might work.  I finally just decided it must be the change in temperature from getting out of bed, allergens in the air or something like that which was out of my control.  I would just get up a little earlier, sneeze my head off, and get on with my day.  You adapt and move on.  As I got older it got more difficult to breath through my nose.  Again, I thought it was just pollen, dust, smoke, or other stuff in the air.  I may have had allergies to those things as well.  Little did I know that they were not the root of my problems. 

After college and getting a good job with good insurance, I finally decided that I would get a specialist to see if he could figure out what could help.  By this point, I gradually had almost completely lost the ability to breath through my nose unless I took decongestants, which would make my heart race due to the pseudophedrine.  After surgery to fix a deviated septum (a crooked area of cartilage that goes down the center of the nose between the nostrils), I still was prescribed a regular cocktail of nasal steroid inhalers and systemic allergy pills to keep my symptoms somewhat under control.  Over time I would become immune to one treatment or another and would have to try another combination.  They were very expensive and really didn't resolve everything.  I adapted as best I could, and thought I would be stuck with these problems forever. Even other specialists I consulted could not offer other solutions that would work better.

Of all places to find a solution, several years back I was reading a new book I picked up on exercise.  8 Minutes in the Morning, by Jorge Cruise.  On one of his daily inspirational pages before the exercises of the day, he had a quick little paragraph about dairy allergies and the common symptoms.  It sounded somewhat familiar, so I figured what could it hurt to try cutting out dairy for two weeks? I had been allergic as a child, so it was not completely out of the question.  Low and behold, without altering my medication doses, I started noticing improvement after only a week.  By two weeks, I could breath better than I ever remembered.  One by one, I stopped taking my allergy meds to see if the great luck continued.  Sure enough.  I'm off all allergy meds for several years now and the only time I experience problems is when I have a moment of weakness and eat dairy.  Darn pizza!  Yogurt, for some reason seems to be the exception to the rule.  It doesn't seem to bother me much.  Maybe because it is fermented?  I don't know.  Jorge also mentioned in his article that many cases of asthma are actually a symptom of undiagnosed dairy allergies!  He said, the actual thing in dairy that causes these type of allergies is the protein called Casein.  This milk protein can also be found in many "dairy free" cheese alternatives and whey protein powders found in many protein shake mixes.  Read the labels!

Could you or someone you love also have dairy allergies and not know it?  Why don't you try cutting out all milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter, coffee creamer, etc. for two weeks and see what happens?  In the beginning it may not be easy, but cutting out the medications and feeling so much better is so worth it.  There are many other alternatives out there now to make this transition easier than it ever has been before.

Impromptu Oriental Stir-Fry

Got some odds and ends veggies you don't know what to do with?  Maybe some left over meat, noodles or rice?  It's Oriental night!  Why do take-out if you probably have everything you need already?  You can make the dish as simple or as complicated as you like, depending on what you have available and your taste.

Even if you don't have the left over noodles or rice, in the time it takes to cook up a batch, you can have them ready by the time you get your veggies all chopped up and ready to throw in the wok.  If you don't have left over meat that you could dice up, it would be nice if you had a little plan earlier in the day to marinate some raw meat in soy sauce or something similar, but it is not a must.  Any kind will do, chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, even diced canned spam.  Yes, I said the "S" word.  American's typically turn up their noses, and it probably isn't the healthiest thing I will ever suggest, but it is packed with flavor and very reasonably priced.  Did you know spam is one of the most popular meat products world wide?  It is especially popular in Oriental dishes.  Once in a blue moon won't kill you.  Just don't make it a regular staple in your diet and you will likely be just fine. Even if you don't have meat, you can just do vegetarian or scramble up a few eggs, pour them into a fry pan, without stirring, let them cook up into a flat sheet, then dice up and set to the side until you are ready to add later.  You could also do some form of tofu.  Personally, I don't like that stuff, so I couldn't tell you what to do with it. :o)

As far as a recipe, you have my permission to a JUST WING IT!  If you like the veggie, you will likely like it in your dish.  The tricks to getting it to taste right are:

• Cut the pieces small enough to cook quickly and evenly.  Cutting thin and on a diagonal works well.
• Use an oil that can tolerate higher heat such as peanut oil or coconut oil
• Cook with high to medium-high heat and keep things moving
• Add the ingredients in the order from "takes longer to cook" to "takes just a minute to cook"
• Don't overcook and make your veggies mushy, a little crunch in some of the them is always more interesting in the overall texture of the dish
• Except for the meat, don't season until its just about ready to serve to avoid burning

Start with heating up your wok or large skillet. You could probably even get away with a large stock pot, but it would not be ideal.  Add a tablespoon or two of oil.  When it starts to run around the pan easily, you are ready to go.  A good basic start is some carrots, celery, broccoli or other veggies that take a little longer to cook - cook a minute or two, stirring frequently.  Then add ingredients that take a less time to cook, such as cabbage, meat, mushrooms, pea pods, peppers, onions, scallions, fresh ginger, minced garlic - cook a few minutes longer, don't forget to keep stirring.  Then add the last ingredients that cook quickly or just need to be heated such as shrimp, zucchini, yellow squash, bean sprouts, diced fried scrambled egg, etc.  Stir around another couple minutes till cooked through, but veggies still have a little crunch to them.  Turn down heat to keep warm, but not burn or over cook.

Now you are ready to add your cooked noodles, or rice, and seasonings.  Any kind of noodles will do, from the everyday spaghetti, or linguini noodles, to something a little more exotic, like rice noodles, soba noodles, etc.  You could even use the noodles in the little cheap ramen packs.  If you choose rice instead of noodles, a less sticky rice is better, but any variety will do.  Just cook your choice, per the package directions, before adding to your veggie/meat mixture.

The seasonings are all a matter of what you like, also.  If you didn't have fresh ginger or garlic earlier, you could add some powdered ginger or garlic, or any combination of the following: soy sauce or tamari, or sesame seeds.  For a more authentic flavor, try some seasonings that may not be as familiar such as: sesame seed oil (just a tad since the flavor is quite strong), mirin (sweet cooking seasoning), rice vinegar, or ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce).  If you like your dish to have a little kick, try adding some crushed red pepper, Chinese mustard, sriracha hot chili sauce, or a chili paste such as sambal oelek.  The latter of the two have quite a potent kick, so use very sparingly until you get a feel for the heat they have.  You can always add more, but its not so easy to take out.  Once you think you have a good bit of flavor in it, taste it and adjust as needed.  If you want to thicken the sauce a bit, dissolve a teaspoon or so of corn starch in a tablespoon of cool water in a separate container.  With the seasoned veggie mixture over medium heat, slowly add the corn starch water mixture to the sauce in the bottom of the pan, while stirring constantly.  As sauce heats up it will thicken.  Don't add all the corn starch mixture at one time.  Put in a little bit, wait till it starts to thicken, then add a little more if it needs it to get it just right.


Once you try this a time or two, you will get a feel for what you like.  You might even feel a little adventurous and try some veggies next time that you have maybe seen before, but didn't know what to do with, like napa cabbage, bok choy, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, and so many other oriental veggies you might find in a specialty store.   Your dish will be ready before you could have picked up the phone and waited for the delivery man.  You used up odd and ends instead of maybe throwing them out in a few days, and no tipping required.  Remember, to follow the basic rules, have fun, and add a pinch of love and it always turns out tasty!  Just like take-out, it makes great leftovers, too.

Removing Red Wine Stains

Aw, Man!  You just dripped red wine on your shirt, or worse yet, on your friend's light colored carpet.  Don't panic, but don't let it sit there too long, either.  First try to dab up the excess with something absorbent, like a white paper towel, or a clean rag.  Don't rub, Dab.  Also, try not to spread the stain over a larger area in the process.  Now you need two basic things you will likely find in any household:

• a bottle of dish soap, the kind with the squirty pop top, 
• and a bottle of plain old cheap hydrogen peroxide

Did you know that the size opening and threading on most dish soap bottles is exactly the same as the ones used on pretty much every hydrogen peroxide bottle?  Divine intervention?  Maybe?  Here's the trick....  Unscrew the pop top from the soap bottle, don't rinse the soap off of it, then screw it right onto the hydrogen peroxide bottle.  You now have the perfect tool for your wine removal.  The little bit of dish soap remaining on the pop top works with the hydrogen peroxide so you can apply it exactly where it needs to go.  Use the tip of the bottle to gently massage the fabric or carpet to get between the fibers and remove the stain.  If on a carpet, use a clean white paper towel or clean rag to soak up the excess liquid as you go, so the carpet doesn't get too soaked.  Like magic, the soap and peroxide mixture makes the stain almost vanish before your eyes.  After the stain has disappeared, rinse with cool, clean water and dab up the excess with a different clean white paper towel or clean rag.

Many online cleaning tips tell you to mix up a batch of this and that, using up a bulk of the hydrogen peroxide solution, and getting out more mixing stuff than what you actually need.  Don't waste time or more supplies than you really need.  The pop top allows for precision placement of your cleaning solution with little to no waste.

I used this trick for one of my parent's friends over the holidays.  They were shocked at how simple and quick it worked.  This trick will work on colored fabrics as well, but make sure you rinse it afterwards.  It will also work on many more organic type stains that are typically tough to get out.  Hydrogen peroxide is very similar to the active ingredient in cleaners like Clorox 2, so it will also be safe on most color fabrics.  On your fancier fabrics, you might want to spot test on a hidden area, just to make sure, but I've never found a problem when I have used it... knock on wood!

Repairing a Frozen or Sticking Deadbolt

My husband went to open the back door last week.  The deadbolt turned a little bit, then completely froze up.  We couldn't turn it either way without feeling like we were going to break the key off in the lock.  Yours might not be that stuck, maybe its just sticking or not too easy to turn.  Don't call the repair man, grab a philips screwdriver, the one with the X on the top, and a can of WD-40 spray lubricant.

Most deadbolts have two screws on the inside of the deadbolt, the side facing the inside of the door.  Loosen those screws and put them in a safe place close by so you don't loose them.  Righty-Tighty, Lefty-Loosey is how you can remember which way to turn.  As you open up the lock, pay attention to how all the parts fit together and where they are located to help you know where they need to go back in just a minute.  There will likely be two parts, the decorative cover and the round part the key fits into, if you have that type.  Or if you have the kind that has a knob that turns, it might be all one piece.  There will be a long stick part coming off of this piece that fits into a squarish opening in the part that stays in the door.  Set those pieces to the side.

Grab your can of WD-40 and spray all inside the lock mechanism over any part that looks like it will move.  Point the can inside the opening at a few different angles, to make sure you get everything.  Using your screwdriver, place the tip into the squarish opening that the stick like part had fit into.  Turn to the right and to the left to see if you can get the lock parts to move again.  They should start to move now.  You should be able to open the door now.  Spray a little more lubricant into the lock and add some more on the deadbolt on the side of the door.  Continue to turn the deadbolt locked and unlocked with your screwdriver until the mechanisms move freely.  Now it's time to reassemble.

On my particular model lock, the squarish stick part has one slightly rounded side.  The opening in the door will have the same.  You will need to line up the sides of the square so they fit properly, but don't forget the decorative cover, if your model has the two pieces.  Now reinsert the piece.  This might be a little easier if the lock is either in the completely locked position, or completely unlocked position, instead of somewhere in between.  You might not get it lined up exactly the first time, but be patient, you can do it.  Fit the pieces back in place.  Reinsert the screws and tighten them up.


You did it!  The lock likely just needed a little lubricant or there was dirt and dust in the moving parts making it stick.  Congratulations! You just saved yourself some money and a call to the repair man.  Now that was easy, wasn't it?!

Slay Soap Scum

A wet sponge and the good old fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax blasts through soap scum and hard water spots better than any spray I've used.  Even better than other powder cleaners I've used.  With little to no elbow grease, soap scum is history.  Give a little rinse and your shower doors and tiles are nice shiny.  It's cheap and found in the laundry aisle of your local supermarket or big box store.  I've tried other "green" cleaning concoctions of baking soda with vinegar and water, but those still required quite a bit of elbow grease and I wasn't completely satisfied with the results.  Borax works so much better.

Pass on the "Diet" Foods and Drinks

Trying to get some extra pounds off?  Did you know that avoiding foods and drinks with "diet" on the packaging can actually help you lose weight?  Sounds contradictory, but you heard me correctly.  Many diet foods and drinks have ingredients that are "fake" to replace fat, sugar, or carbs, etc.  The "fake" ingredients being added, or adjustments made to the product to enhance the flavor, may be less healthy for you than the ingredients that were naturally in it to begin with.  Artificial sweeteners, in particular, were originally developed to give diabetics a sweet alternative, not for everyday people to consume to lose weight.  These artificial sweet chemicals are addictive and mess with your taste buds and your body chemistry.  Companies producing these products realized that changing their marketing strategy to get the masses to consume these products, in addition to the diabetics, could be very lucrative.  Through million dollar advertising campaigns, over the years, they have brainwashed us into viewing these products as a "healthy" alternative to sugar and a method to lose weight.. Those companies are laughing all the way to the bank.  Don't fall for the ruse.

For instance, typically in turkey bacon, fat is reduced compared to original pork bacon, but sodium is increased to make it taste better.  Fat in moderation helps satisfy your hunger, while increased sodium can cause havoc on blood pressure, and make you retain excess fluids making you feel bloated.  You might be better off grabbing a smaller portion of the real pork bacon instead.  In reduced or fat free baked goods, the processed carbs or sugars are typically higher than the original versions.  In soft drinks, flavored water, candy, cookies, etc... sugar is removed or reduced and being replaced with artificial sweeteners.  These artificial sweeteners give you the sweet taste you want, but studies have shown that because you don't get the calories normally associated with that sweet, your body will crave additional calories later to make up for the calories your body expected to consume when you ate that sweet.  In the long run, you tend to consume more calories than if you would have just grabbed the real thing to begin with.  Keep in mind, you still have to eat the real things in moderation, or eventually limit them to a special treat, or you won't be doing yourself any favors, either.  Artificial sweeteners also train your taste buds to expect an intense sweet and you tend not to be satisfied with the normal sweet any more, again increasing your tendency to eat more normal sweets to feel satisfied.  Some people are also experiencing health problems when artificial sweeteners are consumed in large quantities or taken over long periods of time.  Why even go there?

Typically, the regular foods are cheaper per ounce, than their "diet" counterparts.  Those pre-portioned 100 calorie snack packs are a great example of paying more for less product.  If you want a cookie, buy the regular package, and just grab one or two.  Save your money!  You claim the smaller size pre-portioned packages help your will power?  Baloney!  What is stopping you from grabbing more than one of those pre-portioned packages anyway?  It's all a mental game the food companies are cashing in on at your expense.  Use these for your kid's lunches to save time?  Take a minute to put some regular snacks in baggies ahead of time to make them easy to grab when packing lunches.  It is likely still cheaper this way, even counting the extra cost of the baggie, and you can customize your child's portions.  These 100 calorie portions are still rather large for most kids snacks.  They just end up tossing the excess in the trash, or eating more snack food than they should for their smaller bodies.

Do a little experiment.  Try slowly transitioning "diet" foods out of your kitchen.  Read the labels.  If you have a hard time pronouncing the ingredient, you probably shouldn't be eating it.  It might take a week or two to re-train your taste buds, especially if you are a artificial sweetener junky.   (Note: If you regularly chew gum, you might be consuming a large amount of artificial sweeteners there as well.  Don't forget to take those into consideration as well.)  If you eliminate artificial sweeteners from your diet, you won't feel so deprived.  When you do grab for a food that normally would be on the cheat list, like those little chocolate candies that melt in your mouth and not in hands, take notice as to how many you WANT to eat.  (Note: Don't do this while being distracted or eating mindlessly in front of the TV or all bets are off! )  Most people will be satisfied with just a few, rather than the large handful they might have otherwise wanted to eat.  You will also start to notice that many foods you used to think were bland or not sweet at all, have much more flavor than you realized.  Everything will begin to taste better, naturally.  Taste your food before automatically adding salt or sugar.  You may not need to add it at all anymore.

I don't believe in depriving yourself when you are trying to lose weight.  Just make small, smart modifications in your everyday routine, so these changes will stick.  You will slowly be changing your lifestyle, not actually be on a so-called "diet."  Your weight loss will be slow and steady, and you will keep it off.  In the big picture, that is what is really important.  Yo-Yo dieting is not healthy.  With "diets" that you can't maintain long-term, once you end the "diet", you fall back into your old unhealthy routines that made you gain the weight to begin with.  Long term you will likely end up being heavier than you were when you started the "diet".  What's the point of that?  Be smart and do it the right way for long term success.

Must Have for your Medicine Cabinet

My favorite thing in my medicine cabinet is Tamanu Oil.  You say, "What is that?  I've never heard of that before!  How can something I have never heard of before be a must have in my medicine cabinet?  If its so great why haven't I heard of it?"  I really think the many doctors, pharmaceutical companies, personal care and first aide product companies don't want to spread the word because they would lose too much business.  Either that, or they just don't know about it.  That is my personal take on it anyway.  It is a cold pressed oil, think olive oil, that comes from a nut that grows in Southeast Asia.

100% Cold Pressed Organic Tamanu oil is truly amazing.  I first heard about it from an expert in lesser known natural medical alternatives from around the world who appeared on the Dr. Oz Show.  I don't even remember his name, but I would sure like to thank him.  He said that it was good for everything about the skin.  Being a soap maker, I was intrigued.  I searched for it on the Internet to find out more about it, then ended up ordering some online.  That was the best money I have spent in a long time.

Tamanu oil has an amazing variety of properties that you don't find in too many products all at the same time.  It works as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antibiotic, and anti-microbial topical treatment.  It will even help lighten age spots and reduce the appearance of scars, and it smells good too.  I thought it sounded too good to be true, but I wanted to try it anyway.  I use it for minor cuts, scrapes, rashes, burns, minor abrasions of the skin, etc.  It really seems to speed healing by a few days in many cases, takes the sting out of the "ouchies" almost immediately, reduces the typical itching sensation you typically get with healing or scabbing because the oil keeps it moist and prevents cracking and drying of the area, and the little scars you sometimes get with nastier boo-boos are non-existent.  It will clear up minor blemishes and even acne in just a few days!  If you can get it up and under and around the nail, it will even help eliminate toe nail fungus, the culprit in common toe nail discoloration. (Must be applied 2-3 times a day till the nail grows out.)  Just imagine how many creams, ointments, lotions, prescriptions, and co-pays you could eliminate with just one product! I'm hearing some major jingle in those pockets, not to mention eliminate some clutter in the bathroom!  Those benefits were already impressive, but let me tell you about two other applications that totally blew my mind and saved who knows how much money in medical expenses. 

When my daughter was 4, she went through a phase, like most kids, where she had a bad habit of picking her nose.  Despite the seemingly continual attempts to stop this habit, it continued for quite a while.  At one point I noticed she had gotten a little red, raw looking area just below her nose.  By the next day, the area below her nose had doubled in size and small areas on her arms and even her legs and torso were starting to appear the same way.  She complained of severe itching and couldn't keep her hands off.  My husband recognized this as something he had seen growing up called impetigo, also commonly called infantigo.  My mom, who had worked for a Dermatologist, also agreed.  This is a VERY aggressive bacterial infection that spreads like wildfire.

Now it was Saturday, and the doctor's office is closed.  What to do?  I looked up this infection online to see what to expect, how it is typically treated, and how I could ease my daughter's symptoms until the doctor's office opened on Monday.  Online I found that no home remedies were suggested except washing hands very well and all the time to help reduce spreading, and the typical treatment was high does of systemic antibiotics over a week or two, maybe longer, and the resulting scars typically take months to disappear, and may be permanent.  I freaked!  With the size of the one area alone, right below her nose, I could only imagine the torment she would face if that scar was there for an extended period of time.  I remembered that I had the Tamanu oil, and all of its claims to be antibacterial, antibiotic, and helps improve the appearance of scars.  I applied it with a cotton ball immediately to all the areas I could find in a head to toe search, including using a cotton swab to get the area up her nostril to make sure it didn't spread up that way, as well.  I applied it 3 times a day.  The itching eased, which stopped the scratching and resulting spreading.  By the next morning, Sunday, the redness had totally gone out of all the areas and I didn't find any new areas.  This was a major improvement considering how rapidly the areas spread over 24 hours the day before.  I was feeling relieved and amazed that I had seemed to get it under control, but my husband was still freaking out and encouraging me to get her in to the doctor Monday morning.  He had seen such bad cases on his brothers as a child, that he didn't want to take any chances.  By Sunday evening, many of the areas had started to scab, and some of the minor areas had even started to shrink or disappear!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  The improvement was so dramatic, that by Monday, I didn't even call the doctor.  Even my husband had agreed that it looked like it was well on its way to recovery, so much so that we probably wouldn't need the doctor after all.  By the end of the week, even the initial spot under her nose and a large area behind her knee had healed up so well you couldn't even tell it was ever there!  The only clue was that her legs had been pretty tan and some of the skin around the spot on her leg was not as tan.  Truly AMAZING!

Without getting this post too long, I also would like to tell you about my dad, a diabetic since age 24, now in his 70s.  He used Tamanu oil for a nasty injury on his big toe that seemed like it was not healing at all.  He has neuropathy in his feet, nerve damage common in diabetics, so he didn't feel it when something heavy dropped on his big toe.  It got all swelled up, black and blue and red, and appeared to be infected.  After a few days of showing little to no improvement, they were considering having a doctor check it out.  Diabetics have a difficult time healing in their extremities typically anyway, but this really didn't look good at all.  I was worried that if it didn't get better, it could turn into gang green and may ultimately end up getting amputated.  Unfortunately, this is not that uncommon for diabetics.  I carefully applied the tamanu oil to every area I could get to, and applied it generously around the nail area so I would seep under the nail.  Told my parents to apply it 2-3 times a day and keep it elevated.  By the next day a majority of the redness and swelling was showing significant improvement.  Finally!  Long story short, in a matter of a couple of weeks, it had healed up beautifully.  Lost the nail, but that was expected.  That was quicker than most scratches heal up on his legs.  We couldn't believe it.

A little goes a long way with this stuff, and it has a shelf life of 12-18 months, so don't buy too much.  I have had mine a little longer, and it still seems to be working fine, but I don't know how much longer it will hold up.  When I bought mine, the best price I could find, figuring in shipping, was at http://mountainroseherbs.com/.  There are other places that sell it also, so check around for the best price.  Hope you give it a try and experience the amazing healing powers of this natural oil personally.  By the way, I was not paid for this endorsement.  I am simply speaking from experience and hope my experience can help you out as well.

Trying to Get Organized?

Have you pledged to try and get your life organized for your New Year's Resolution?  Here's a FREE resource you can download that contains lots of tips and tricks to get you well on your way.  This book normally retails for $14.99, but is available for Free right now in the downloadable Kindle format.  Organize for a Fresh Start: Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life  by Susan Fay West.


Did you know you can get this download for Free even if you don't own a Kindle?   Many devices that have programs or apps that allow you to download these type of books.  There are Free versions available for many devices such as iPhone, iPad, WindowsPC, Mac, Blackberry, Android, and Windows Phone 7.  See the link below to get hooked up!

Free Kindle Software/App Info

While you are off in Amazon land, browse the hundreds of other books you can also download for free. Free Kindle Books on Amazon.com