Are there any tweet peeps out there? Over the past few years, I’ve used Twitter off and on. I don’t have the original account I started with, having abandoned it when I got out of the habit of tweeting.
The other twitter account I recently stopped updating, mainly because I’m taking a break from gaming. Yes, it’s true that I’ve tweeted about gaming/non-gaming info but since I’m not actively playing anything (at the moment) I don’t want to be hammering my tweet gaming peeps with almost 100% non-gaming related posts. Make sense?
Anyway, if you’d like to follow my tweets you can do so by following CrunchyOpal.
The invasion of mulberries (in our back yard) is a definite sign that Summer is in full swing.
Mulberry harvesting is one of my most enjoyable gardening past times. The mulberries are thick. If you look down you won’t find a green grassy carpet instead you’ll find mulberries covering every inch of ground. You’ll also find them in the Mulberry trees too.
What makes mulberry picking even more enjoyable, is the variety of birds that pay us a visit during this time. They all converge to feast on those mulberries. There is such an overabundance of mulberries that you really don’t miss the ones that they eat. Mulberries are great in raw ice creams, mulberry jams, tossed into fresh and raw salads, sauces… they’re also delicious in smoothies too.
Yesterday, after arriving home from our carnival adventure, I decided to take some of the mulberries I had picked that morning and make a pitcher of Mulberry smoothie. Although this isn’t a green smoothie recipe the Mulberry smoothie is simple to make, and extremely delicious. I like the tangy (slightly bitter taste) of our mulberries so I normally don’t add anything besides a liquid (this time I used unsweetened apple juice) to sweeten it. However, you can choose another liquid or sweeten with a natural sweetener like honey or stevia.
Mulberry: Health Benefits
Mulberries are delicious, and they have the added bonus of being good for you too.
Mulberries contain; fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, carbohydrates, iron and proteins which are great for ones health.
Mulberries have an antioxidant action.
Mulberries contain anthocyanins (pigments in the fruit) which also has an antioxidant action. Scientist has studied mulberries as a means to fight cancer and diabetes too.
Promotes health liver and kidneys
Helps eliminate constipation
I’ve used mulberries many times when I’ve had bouts of constipation and it has helped eliminate this condition.
Used to treat anemia.
Mulberries are high in iron, so is natural way to treat anemia naturally.
Mulberry Smoothie: Healthy and Delicious
4 cups of Mulberries
fresh is best but if you are unable to get those, get frozen mulberries
3 cups of apple juice
You can also try pineapple juice, or one of the natural sweeteners I mentioned above.
2 bananas peeled and sliced
Directions
Slice the bananas and place into a sealable container; freeze until hard.
In an electric blender, combine the Mulberries, bananas, and bananas; process till smooth.
This smoothie is slightly thick, if you prefer a thinner smoothie add more liquid.
Instead of reaching for a sugary drink devoid of health benefits, why not choose a smoothie that’s not only taste delicious but is loaded with nutrients too? Enjoy!
For those living in the USA, I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day. My daughter and I attended a few Memorial Day events. No BBQ’s here, we kept it simple.
Since there’s a carnival in town I decided to take check it out with my daughter. I really had no choice, she’s been talking about it for days. Ever since seeing it as we went to school and church so yesterday was the perfect day to check it out.
Originally I thought the carnival would be packed, but being that it was early. It wasn’t. I imagine people were still out attending various events and most likely would be stopping by the local carnival when it got lively (evening-time.)
I paid the $20 per person for unlimited rides. Yeah kind of pricey, especially since the carnival was small but I had gone purchasing the tickets route I would have spent a lot more money. Having the bracelets wrapped around our wrists my daughter, and I could get on unlimited rides, and our carnival adventure began.
Since it wasn’t crowded, my daughter and I were able to get on as many rides as she wanted without a line. Some of the operators were nice enough to let us stay on as long as we (she) wanted too. Many thanks to the nice operators out there, you really made my daughters day. We had so much fun hopping on the ferris wheel, bumper cars, big ol’ super slide. She enjoyed all the rides with the exception of one…
It’s rocket type ride. It was a lot like this one shown in the video, but ours was shaped like a rocket. Also, the rockets only carried two passengers and you are completely enclosed.
Daughter:Mommy, I want to get on that ride!
My seven year old daughter pointed at the rocket ship, impatiently yanking on my hand.
I look way up in the sky! I’ve been on this ride when I was younger and I know how it operates. I loved it but honestly didn’t think she would.
Me: (Glances at her, the rocket–looks doubtful) Are you sure?
Daughter: Yes mommy, come on! Come ON!!!
…and so we got on the ride. She was really excited until we got up to the highest peak and plummeted down to the ground.
Daughter: Mommy! (scared) I don’t like this ride! I want to get off! I want off! (screams)
Me: It’s ok, just hold on.
Lies! I knew it wasn’t ok, although she met the height, my daughter is slim (just like her mommy) some of those rides will toss you all over the place especially if you’re a string bean. The bar only goes down so far.
I grabbed onto her to so she knew I was there, hoping that would calm her down. Nope, not computing! My daughter is too scared and wants to get off NOW! The attentive operator heard her (seems he had his doubts too) screaming and me talking to her. (I had to talk loudly since she was screaming so much) and let us off the next time we coasted back to earth.
Daughter:Jumps over me and out of the ride.
Yeah that’s right she didn’t even wait for me to get out and help her out. The cab was very low to the ground though, but still…
Daughter: (chants and claps) I’m never getting on the ride again! I’m never getting on the ride again!
My daughter proceeds to hop around like an extremely hyper rabbit. She hopped around the ride, hops around me, the attendant. My daughter (still not satisfied) hops around some more. She burns off the nervous energy and is fine. The operator and I looked at her, we’re both relieved (and slightly amused too.)
Mommy Lesson Learned: If I have my doubts about a ride, you’re not getting on it.
After that incident, we got on several more rides. There were some we repeated many, many, many (did I say many) times because she really liked them. Since it was early, we were able to get on most of the rides without a line, hooray for her. Naturally, I won her a stuffed animal too. Hey, what’s the carnival without winning one of those ridiculously overpriced stuffed animals? Fortunately, I’ve always been good at those games, so I don’t spend a lot of money winning a big prize.
It was 92F (33.33C) yesterday. Yeah it was a hot (but enjoyable) day. Naturally, I came prepared. I was armed with a towel and water spray to keep my daughter cool.
Did we eat at the carnival? No, I was fully prepared to buy my daughter something if she wanted it. They actually did have some nice choices. Which was good! I wasn’t interested in anything for myself but she didn’t want to eat anything at the carnival. Regarding ‘junk food’ my feelings are similar to what Storm Talifero’s view on the subject.
I discovered The Garden Diet (website run by his wife and himself) a few years ago. I really appreciated the emphasis on eating whole foods. I don’t think you need to be a raw foodist, vegetarian, or vegan to be healthy but we do need to make healthy choices in regards to what we do put into our bodies.
Ok, back on topic…
Tired but extremely happy, we finally headed home. Of course, she told me numerous times she was never eVer eVEr eVER EVER getting on that rocket ship again!!!
Are there any tweet peeps out there? Over the past few years, I’ve used Twitter off and on. I don’t have the original account I started with, having abandoned it when I got out of the habit of tweeting.
The invasion of mulberries (in our back yard) is a definite sign that Summer is in full swing.
For those living in the USA, I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day. My daughter and I attended a few