Three Reasons to use Aloe Vera; Health benefits

Aynaria 15 Comments

Aloe Vera Plant

Aloe vera can be traced back to over 6000 years. Egyptians depicted the aloe plant on carvings. Aloe vera is a natural remedy, and its used to treat a variety of conditions. Because of aloe vera’s anti-inflammatory properties, it is effective in treating conditions such as sun burns. Aloe vera gel can be extracted directly from the plant or it can be purchased at many health food stores, drugstores, and online stores.

 

Aloe Vera Soothes Sunburns

 

  1. Sunburns usually effects large areas of the skin. Redness, itching, swelling, scaling, and pain are all symptoms of a sunburn and can leave an individual feeling miserable. Reduce the pain from a sunburn by applying aloe vera juice to sunburned skin. Aloe vera gel or juice is an ingredient that can be found in many sunburn products. Apply aloe vera juice to the affected skin several times daily.

    2. Aloe Vera Promotes Dental Health

  2. Teeth require daily cleaning. We brush them several times daily to remove the plaque, food, and bacteria that can be trapped inside the mouth. Finding a suitable toothpaste is essential in maintaining healthy teeth. Toothpastes with aloe vera juice is as effective as other toothpastes. According to a study published in PubMed, it protects against Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, Prevotella intermedia, and Streptococcus mutans.

    3. Aloe Vera Can Help Eliminate Constipation

  3. Fast paced lifestyles, stress, medication, and poor eating habits are a few causes of constipation. Aloe vera is recognized for its stool softening properties. Aloe also contains a powerful compound called aloin. Aloin is a powerful compound containing strong laxative properties that helps treat constipation. Taking 150 mg of dried aloe vera juice is effective as laxatives, according to the Mayo Clinic.

References:

This post was written in advance, since I’m away for the Thanksgiving holidays. I won’t be checking my personal mail. My holidays are spent taking a break from everything technology related. I’ll be back soon, and will respond to comments, and visit your virtual homes.

Blessings, Opal

Happy Thanksgiving

Aynaria 7 Comments

Thanksgiving mouse

In the United States Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month. In our country, Thanksgiving is the most traveled holiday of the year.

We’re usually away for the Thanksgiving holidays, and the condo where we reside is perfect for relaxation. It overlooks a gorgeous lake, and my daughter and I spend our mornings on the beach collecting seashells. I look forward to the Thanksgiving holidays, since it gives me a chance to reconnect with family members that I don’t see too often. It’s also a time that I completely relax.

Do we need a special holiday to be thankful? Of course not, I’m sure many of use give thanks throughout the year. I’m definitely thankful for my loved ones, and I make an effort to let those people know (throughout the year) how much they mean to me often.

Have a wonderful day, and for those in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving!

This post was written in advance, since I’m away for the Thanksgiving holidays. I won’t be checking my personal mail. My holidays are spent taking a break from everything technology related. I’ll be back soon, and will respond to comments, and visit your virtual homes.

Blessings, Opal


Smoothies; Green energy drink

Aynaria 8 Comments

Green smoothie

I tend to eat a lot of fiber in my daily intake. I love dark leafy greens, and prepare them in a variety of ways. For those who’re not used to dark greens, there are other ways you can incorporate them into ones daily intake.

Adding greens to raw juices or smoothies is an excellent way to increase your fiber, along with many other nutrients that the greens provide. Because you’re adding the greens to a fruit smoothie, it will mask the taste of the greens.

I love dark leafy greens, and often eat them raw. I tend to add a bit more greens than what I’ve suggested below.

Green Energy Drink

  • 4 cups unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 cup cubed pineapple
  • 2 cups collards (or other greens like lettuce, kale, or collards)
  • 1″ ginger root

*If you want a thinner smoothie, add more apple juice. Directions

  1. In a blender add all ingredients
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. Drink and enjoy

This post was written in advance, since I’m away for the Thanksgiving holidays. I won’t be checking my personal mail. My holidays are spent taking a break from everything technology related. I’ll be back soon, and will respond to comments, and visit your virtual homes.

Blessings, Opal

Volunteering: People will judge you by your actions…

Aynaria 13 Comments

Quilters June2011 1

Say hello to the quilting group where I’m the newest member.

The above picture was taken last year. I wasn’t a member then. However, it includes some of the ladies that are part of the quilting group. We meet each Monday for three hours. It’s a great time of fellowship, and it gives me a chance to do something crafty… sewing. I learned how to sew when I was seven.

“We judge ourselves by our intentions, but others judge us by our actions.”

Many of us have the best intentions when it comes to serving others, but how many of us follow through? If we don’t watch out, we can easily forget the promises we’ve made.

Since my parents have always been active in helping others (even when the early years when they were poor themselves) I try to make an effort and give back to those who might not be as fortunate as myself.

Helping others, is something I strongly believe in, and it’s something I put into action since I was a child. My parents are great role models. The days when I struggled financially. I still helped others. I look back on my early twenties quite fondly. You should see some of the recipes I came up with then — however I survived.

Quilt Pinning 2 11 21

In todays quilting group, I managed to take a few photos. The majority of our time together is spent working, but we do manage to squeeze in conversation too. Because of the groups friendly nature, it gives everyone a chance to get to know one another — and to form genuine friendships too.

Quilt Pinning 1 11 21

As the newest of this group, there are times when I’m in the spotlight. It’s natural, they want to learn about me and so I’ve been happily weaving in bits of my daughter and my life into the conversation. Because of their friendliness, it didn’t take long for me to feel like one of the group, and so I look forward to my Monday quilting sessions.

Next Monday, one of the ladies is going to help me with my crochet. In the top photo, do you see the tall lady to your right with the sunglasses? Yep, she’s the one that will be helping me. She’s German, and I enjoy chatting with her. She’s told me a few stories of her country.

What’s brought these wonderful ladies together? A common desire to help those less fortunate. I’d say its even more fulfilling, because of the friendships that have been made. They’ve effectively turned their belief, of helping others, into action.

Photography: Autumn

Aynaria 13 Comments

Woods 1

Have you ever had one of those days where things don’t go as planned? I’m guessing most of us have had those type of days. Yesterday, it was my turn to experience that. Uhm, yippee? I had lots of plans but the majority of them weren’t completed.

I was struck with waves of nausea throughout the morning. Raking the leaves wasn’t a pleasant experience, since I had to frequently take breaks, however the job was completed. I’d planned on visiting our stream with my daughter, but since I wasn’t feeling well — after finishing the leaves I headed inside. The above photo was taken in our back yard, near our woods.

I did manage to prepare an extremely delicious soup, and so I’ll be posting the recipe on the blog. Yes, I actually managed to measure the ingredients. However, if I want to take pictures, I’ll have to make more since my daughter and I consumed it all.

In the afternoon, I did something I haven’t done in a while, I pampered myself. Because I have a full life; Being a mom, work, volunteering, etc., at times I forget that I need to take care of me. However yesterday I took notice, and it felt great!

I drew a super hot bath, using some of the all natural bath products (that I make) on myself. I gave myself the full treatment. A few drops of essential oil was added to my bath water; Lavender, rose geranium, and peppermint. All three are effective at combating nausea. Additionally, I applied a clay facial mask. Those are great for skin tightening, removing impurities, and toning the skin. A sugar scrub was applied to my body, and after that round of pampering I applied a nice moisturizer. One of my body butters to which I’d added essential oils rose and lavender.

After some body pampering, I started feeling like my old self again. I’d like to believe that the soup I prepared specifically for that occasion helped, along with my stubborn resolve that I wasn’t going to become sick, and the pampering was good too.

Whatever it was, it was a nice wake up call that even though I live a busy life that now and again I need to relax and take care of myself too. Here’s hoping you all do the same.

Stir fried vegetables with brown rice; Vegan

Aynaria 9 Comments

Veggies n Brown Rice

A few moments ago, I made this dish of stir fried vegetables and rice.

It’s a simple meal that can be prepared in minutes. Occasionally, you’ll see me preparing meals that do take a while to make, however in this household it’s rare. I love good food, the majority of my daughter and my meals are home cooked.

Color (besides taste and nutrition) is something I look for in a meal. I enjoy seeing a variety of hues displayed within a dish, and so you’ll usually see some type of vegetable (or fruit) playing a starring role in the meals I prepare. Not only does it add a bit of food bling, it  also supplies us with the nutrients that our bodies needs. I’ll write more on the importance of food nutrition in a later post.

I’m a whole foods lady, meaning I eat foods as close to its natural source as possible. If you were to open our freezer you wouldn’t find too many pre-packaged meals. Wait… I take that back!  You would, but they’ve been prepared by myself. Occasionally, I’ll prepare meals in advance and freeze them for the times when I just want to heat something up for us.

Meal Preparation

I’m vegan, but these days my eight-year old daughter isn’t and so you’ll see non-veggie dishes that I’ve prepared for her. While she does eat non-veggie dishes she still prefers vegetarian or vegan cuisine.

If you’d ask me a few years ago, if I’d have let her make such a decision (this early) I would have told you no. Back in the day, I never prepared non-veggie dishes either, but now I do for loved ones. Of course, they get a nice mix of veggie cuisine, and those dishes have been devoured by them. WIth some, they were surprised that they actually liked the dish. To which my response is, it’s all in the preparation.

Bonding with family

In recent years I’ve made several non-vegan meals for family and friends. However, even though they weren’t vegan they all had a few things in common; they were nutritious, delicious, and quite simple to make. Who wants to spend time in the kitchen, when you have loved ones to hang out with?

Although my life is fairly busy, I still think it’s important to share meals together, and so you’ll find me taking my dinner time with my daughter. It’s a great chance to see what happened during her day, and because I listen it’s one way she knows that I care about what’s going on in her world. At times, we all need to be quiet and listen to what others have to say. After I pick her up from school, I usually let her help me prepare something for our evening meal. However since I have a few surprises in store for my little princess today, I decided to prepare our meal early.

The cookbook

Those who’ve followed me from my old site, VeganMomma, might remember me mentioning a cookbook I was writing. Creating a cookbook is challenging  for me. Why you ask?  It forces me to actually measure ingredients. That’s something I don’t (normally) do. I just know what amount works well with a dish. I guess that comes from cooking for a while. I made my first meal when I was four years old, thirty-seven years later I still enjoy cooking.

Anyway, while writing the book I realized there were a lot of stories to tell — some have been tied to various dishes I’ve made over the years, and so I went back and included stories. Crescent Dragonwagon’s Passionate Vegetarian and Yumana Devi’s Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking did an excellent job of applying that technique into their cookbooks.

If you’re a fan of those types of cookbooks, you’ll find plenty of stories mixed in with many of the recipes they share. I read cookbooks like a novel, I enjoy them because the passion that is apparent with the one who’s writing them, but along the way I’ve learned additional cooking tips from some very talented chefs.

Next year, I’m taking a few cooking classes. I’m looking forward to them, and will most likely share bits of what I learn here.

 

Photography; Clouds

Aynaria 10 Comments

Clouds 1

This morning, while taking our Shih Tzu (Mr. Bentley) for one of his morning walks, I noticed the clouds. After he’d done his business, I immediately ran inside, grabbed my camera and started taking pictures with my Nikon D80.

A few of my lens have been temporarily displaced, so I’m using the lens that came with my Nikon D80. Although not the shots I wanted to take, it’s still a great view of what I saw in the sky this morning.

Clouds 2

My daughter is used to me snapping up my camera and running outside, the majority of the time she joins me. However since she was sitting at the table eating the breakfast I’d prepared; Veggie scramble, banana pancakes, pineapple/strawberry, & kiwi smoothie (all made by myself). She wasn’t moving. She asked me, “What did you see mommy?” “Clouds”, I said while streaking out the door. “Oh!”, she said, turning her attention back to her breakfast.

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud. I enjoy my alone time, but I haven’t felt lonely in a long time. Anyway, the poem is one of my favorites by William Wadsworth, and so I’ve decided to include it below. Perhaps, you’ll enjoy it as much as I?

Because of the season, I don’t have any daffodils to show you. However if you stop by Celebrate Life this coming spring, I’ll have plenty of gardening photos to share.

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wadsworth 1804