Superbowl Party Snacks

On the Grill – Mini Pepper Poppers

You will need: (use organic when possible)

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Do It Yourself – Organic Skin Care for Oily Skin

Astringents and Toners

Astringents work best for oily skin because they remove excess oil and will temporarily tighten the skin and enlarged pores.

Natural astringents include:

• peppermint -is refreshing and antibacterial
• witch hazel – mild and reduces excess oil from the skin
• sage – mild and fragrant
• cypress essential oil – mild and helps regulate the production of oil in the skin
• grapefruit essential oil – also mild and helps regulate the production of oil in the skin

Toners tend to be gentler and usually include natural soothing ingredients, such as:
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Organic is a Higher Standard

The other day I posted the information that I had found regarding Wal-Mart “Organics” and one of my readers, thegreenmommy, posted this great comment:

“…when articles tackle the subject of deceptive use of “organic,” it makes consumers doubt the entire organic food industry’s validity.”

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Wal-Mart “Organics” – Buyer Beware!

Wal-Mart is up to their old tricks and muddying the label of Organic.

Shown above – Natural Sugar is labeled as “organic” by this in-store signage at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Tomah, WI. This mislabeling was identified on January 14, 2007. This photo was taken along with many others by The Cornucopia Institute, one of the nation’s largest organic watchdog groups. See more photos.

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Garlic is Good for Your Dogs Too

Garlic isn’t only good for you but good for your dog as well.

Garlic strengthens your dog’s immune system and helps them fight harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Garlic also helps their cardiovascular system and some people find that it helps keep fleas at bay.

• Add a quarter clove of finely minced garlic per 10 pounds of dog weight to your dog’s daily diet.

Garlic Dog Treats

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Natural Facial Scrub Using Honey

Honey is a Natural Healer

Honey has been used for centuries in cultures all over the world as a natural skin healing agent. Honey contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase, that when combined with water, produces hydrogen peroxide, a mild antiseptic. In addition to the glucose oxidase enzyme, honey also contains antioxidants and *flavonoids that may function as antibacterial agents. Honey also has the ability to moisturize the skin with out making it oily.

With these properties, honey is a great natural skin cleanser and moisturizer.

Some Favorite Honey Facial Recipes

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Classic Office Prank – Newbies vs. Old-School

Along with spreading the knowledge of living naturally, I’m also a web designer at NextStudent, Inc. I’ve been working there a little over 2 months now along with a few other fellow newbies. Over the Christmas break all the old-schoolers were on vacation so we decided to have a little fun……

NextStudent | NextStudent Prankster | NextStudent Web Marketing Team | office prank | newspaper prank

Mystery Goo Leads To a Discovery Your Dogs Will Love

 

Meet Duke. He’s my 4 year old red blood hound and he is prone to getting food, water, dirt, mud, anything at all really all over his ears and face. It’s a regular routine around here to be wiping him down with a wet rag. But today I discovered something about Duke that your dogs may love.  

When I got home today his face and ears were covered in a white-ish sticky goo. I think it’s safe to say that he had a lot of fun while I was at work. Even though it was a mystery to me what the goo was, I had to clean him up before he was set free inside my house. So I walked him in and had him lay down in his spot while I got a wet rag.

Even here in sunny Phoenix, AZ the tap water is cold during the winter and when I tried to clean his gooy face the goo wouldn’t come off. So, I thought about it for a second knowing I didn’t want to resort to soap because that would turn into a bigger mess than I wanted to deal with at the time. I decided to just try warm borderline hot water. And the goo came off but that’s not the discovery.

While I was cleaning Duke’s face and ears he began to act odd, like nothing I’ve seen him do. His eyes rolled back, his body went limp, I had to prop his head up with my knee so I could get into the wrinkles; he was in heaven. It had to be the warm water, I thought. So I went back into the kitchen and got a bowl of hot-ish water, sat on the floor with him and wiped his face and ears down with the warm water. He loved every minute of it and his 85 pounds of dog weight had turned into goo in my lap.

Duke isn’t the only one.

I tried the warm water on Harley, my 8 year old border collie/basset hound mix and also Oliver, my 5 year old beagle/basset hound mix. They loved it as well and my bet is so will your dog(s).

pampered pooch | mystery goo | green dogs | natural dogs | dogs

Bring Your Pets with You

Green pets? I must be joking right?

No, not really and here’s why…

What we domesticate is our responsibility for life.

We bring home the cutest, the cuddliest, the warmest and the most loving little critters and because of our choices, they are now completely dependent upon us for just about everything. For starters, they need a healthy and nutritious diet so let’s start here.

Let’s get smart about our pets

Dogs – a man’s best friend and so true this is. But would you give your best friend a plate of food chuck full of pesticides, nitrates, lead, synthetic preservatives, artificial flavorings and colors and say, “Eat up Buddy, I love you.”??? Same goes for all the cat lovers out there. Dry cat food has been linked to kidney problems, especially if they don’t drink enough water.

What you can do.

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Organic – How do you know?

In our grocery stores we see such labels as natural, home-free, free-range and others but these terms don’t mean they are organic. These claims maybe true but they aren’t interchangeable with organic.

So how do we know what is or isn’t organic?

We start with looking for a label whether it’s a single-ingredient food such as fruits and vegetables or multiple-ingredient foods such as pasta sauce or bread.
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Skin – Your Largest Organ

60 % of any substance applied directly to your skin is absorbed into your body.

This is a scary thought when we think of the chemicals in commercially available skin care and cosmetic products. Most of these chemicals are toxic or we know little to nothing about the long term effects on our bodies. For example, lip stick is one of the most toxic cosmetic products because it contains harmful chemicals such as, PVP, saccharine, artificial colors and artificial fragrances. But what also makes lip stick harmful is that it is applied to such a thin layer of skin making it so easily absorbed.

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From the Roots up

Do it yourself naturally. It all begins with you and maybe a bit of information from this little blog.

Natural and healthy living takes more than a New Year’s resolution but it’s enough to get started. It was my 2006 resolution and here I am a year later still enjoying the benefits of natural living.

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