The Green Clean

Give your home a fresh sparkle with simple, nontoxic ingredients you may already have on hand.

Green cleaning is amazing for Mother Earth, good for our familie's health and the best part. Awesome for your wallet. Following is a simple guide to makeing and using eco-friendly cleaning formulas that will ensure a glowing and healthy home.

The Kitchen
Oven:
to soften baked-on spills mix 2 teaspoons of Borax Powder (made from natural Mineral) with 2 tablespoons liquid soap and enough water to fill a spray bottle. After applying, scrub off stains with a steel wool and chlorine-free scouring powder.
(Tip: line a lower rack with aluminum foil.)

Countertops:
some essential Oils- including those derived from lemons, grapefruit,and oranges- are antiseptic and antiviral, so they'll be extra tough on Gems. One Caveat: D-limonene, a sustance found in ortange peels, can cause severe allergic reactions in some people when in dought, use hot water and soap to kill germs, and let your countertops air dry.

Linoleum Floors:
Unlike standard detergents. vegetable-based surfactants use biodegradable oil derived from plants- including soy, coconuts, and corn- to attract grease and dirt. Another plus: Eco-Friendly cleaners often forgo phosphates, a detergent additive that suffocates freshwater ecosystems.

spray windows and mirrors with white vinegar, a classic eco-friendly cleaner:

dry with washable cloths.

The Bathroom:
Bathtub
Sodium carbonate, the mineral in what is also known as washing powder is a natural abrasive that gives you scrubbing power to remove soap scum without toxins.

Toilet:
The source of the tartness in tomatos and citrus fruit, citric acid attacks and dislodges the mineral deposits that can hold grime onto the bowl- and it doesn't have a harsh smell, like some toilet bowl cleaners.

Mirrors:
The classic way to clean: Spray the mirror with White Vinegar. To make the process even more eco, use recycled newspaper or a washable white cloths rather than paper towels.

The Living Room:
Coffee Table:
Made from the waxy coating of a palm leaf, Carnauba wax is a natural, nontoxic emolient that gives wood surfaces a nice smooth luster.

Carpet:
Green cleaner: Club soda. The carbonation (and often salt) in club soda helps lift stains. Pour onto spills as quickly as possible, leave for a few minutes, then blot. Keep a six-pack of screw-top club soda bottles in your pantry for quick cleanups.

Air:
If you're allergic to some plants, you might have a problem with a lavander, a common natural fragrance. Instead opt for Cinnamon or Vanilla Essential Oils. Because hydrocarbon propellants are highly flammable, eliminate the aerosol in favor of a pump spray.

Happy and Healthy Cleaning.

Mediterranean Style Roasted Vegetable Salad

Mediterranean‐Style Roasted Vegetable Salad by SimplyCooking.Wordpress.com
 1 eggplant
 1 onion
 2 summer squash
 1‐2 mild chiles
 2 T olive oil
 salt & black pepper
 garlic
 lemon
 cumin
 fresh basil
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut 1 eggplant and 2 summer squash/zucchini into fairly large chunks. Add 1 onion, sliced, and 1‐2 mild
chiles such as Anaheim, diced. Toss all the vegetables in a roasting pan with 2 tbsp. olive oil, coarse salt
and pepper. Roast until browned at the edges, about 25 minutes.
Whisk together 2 tsp. garlic paste or 2 pressed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. lemon juice and
1
tsp. cumin. Toss with the vegetables and add more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle over with
shredded basil. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Sugar

I am going to start by telling you that sugar can rec Havoc in your body. Do your best to eliminate them from your home and eating them. Not only will you feel better but by eliminating sugar you will, loose those pesky pounds and look Fabush.

Sugar: lifts you up and then lets you down. Asking for more and more. Hard to give up I know. Trust me I just did and although only for one day today I can feel better, not even graving it. White sugar is very processed. Nature grows food as a whole and should be eating as a whole. White sugar creates in valences in our bodies. When we eat foods that are missing pieces or have been removed through processing our bodies get confused, and stress out trying to make up for the missing elements. As opposed to creating natural balance this food "processed" creates imbalance. White sugar sucks vitamins and minerals from our blood and bones. Because white sugar is UN-whole our bodies give up vitamins and minerals in order to process all that sugar. Food should give us nourishment. Sugar causes tooth decay, bone loss, depression and weak blood. Not so sweet after all ha?



White Sugar Suppresses Your Immune System: When we eat sugar our blood sugar soars to abnormal levels. In order to bring it back down, our pancreas releases a hormone called insulin to handle all the excess sugar. When the sugar has been metabolized, too much insulin remains, and this excess insulin causes imbalances in the rest of our hormones especially our immune system. Making you weak and vulnerable to disease. Sugar also over work the liver. When the liver has too much to handle it deposits the extra toxins in the tissue of our body.



Sugar Puts You On A Roller Coaster: This may include Nausea, Headaches and fatigue. When the blood sugar is crashing it brings on anxiety, dizziness and heart palpation and depression. It also makes you want more sugar. This can also lead to mood swings. Not good.



White Sugar is Associated with Cancer: When your blood sugar soars, too much insulin is produced. This excess insulin promotes the growth of certain kinds of cancer cells. Including the breast, Ovaries, lung, colon, prostrate and stomach.



Sugar Makes you Fat: I am a walking example, I have gained about 10 extra pounds thanks to sugar. Every soda, every cupcake every extra glass of wine will for sure give you an extra pound her or there.



Sugar Contributes to Insulin Resistance and Diabetes: When you eat refined sugar your blood sugar skyrockets to abnormal levels. In order to balance the situation, your pancreas releases lots of insulin. to help usher the sugar into your cells, where it's used as fuel. If you are eating candy and other foods high in sugar, your blood is filled with sugar.



As you chance your way of eating. You will become more sensitive to what food is doing to you.



Tips: Anything ending in "ose" should be considered White Sugar.

Dextrose, Glucose. Sucrose, Maltose, and Fructose are all simple sugars that show up on food labels everywhere.



High Fructose Corn Syrup: HFCS This is very addictive just like white sugar. It's in everything today. Also keep in mind that the corn used for this has been Genetically Modified. HFCS is suspected to cause insulin resistance. Believed to be a big contributor to our ever climbing obesity rates.



Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar: is slightly less processed then white refined sugar, but watch out for this as well. Sucanat, Florida Crystals and milled cane as well as Turbinado, Muscovado and Rapedura sugars.



Good For you Sweetness: Brown Rice Syrup, Barley Malt, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Fruit, gods candy.