Lemon and Honey Ginger Tea Recipe (for sore throats)

Long time no see!!! This past month has been crazy!!! Time flies by so fast! I really need to work on my schedule in order to do all I want to do in a week... Six Weeks ago I started what has become a fantastic adventure: Crossfit. I thought I could be satisfied with one or two nights a week but three times it is! I love it!! So demanding yet totally beneficial for my body, mind, my confidence... I am slowly becoming the stronger version of myself.... in may ways! I wont get into that tonight but will share my thoughts on my new addiction soon enough.

In spite of all the good foods I'm eating and the fresh air I'm breathing, I did manage to catch the flu this past weekend. Stayed in bed for three days with a runny nose, a sore throat and a massive headache. This happens to me sometimes at fall. I live in Quebec city Canada. We are having an amazing month of October weather wise but this time of the year can be tricky: so nice and warm in the afternoon you can walk outside in a tee-shirt, but then , without announcing itself the wind wakes up and you are freezing! Nights are very cold. Windows opened all day, then closed at night unless you forget and wake up in the middle of the night like it was winter in your bedroom...

With winter just around the corner I thought I would share with you my dad's recipe to soothe a sore throat... I have been drinking this concoction since I was  little girl and find it very effective! Helps relieve the pain before bedtime and is very comforting. I even drink it just for the pleasure of it!

LEMON AND HONEY GINGER TEA (for sore throats)

Ingredients: 

- boiling water
- the juice of half a lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of honey
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground chinese ginger

 
This is very simple: Pour yourself a cup of boiling water as you would for tea. Add the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon and a half of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of ginger, mix very well. I let mine sit for five minutes before drinking. If the water is too hot, it will just increase the burning sensation of a sore throat. 

  

DIY face toner

This has been a very busy week! Between work, house chores, cooking, the boyfriends birthday, and my new crossfit addiction, I have not had any time to whip up a recipe of face toner. I have been going without it for over two weeks now and my face is paying for waiting that long. I have very sensitive skin... it's not dry but can be, it's not oily but I get occasional spots, when it's cold in the winter it goes crazy....pfffffffff!! My skin regimen has changed in the last couple months. I have tried many products for sensitive skin and always find them too harsh even though they are meant to be soothing. So now, I go as natural as I can. I will post my morning and night face routine very soon.

Back to toner! There are many recipes out there. I took the time to read alot and do a little reasearch on the subject. I came up with a simple 3 ingredients recipe for my new toner:

Rosemary Peppermint Honey Diy Face Toner

Ingredients:

- 1 rosemary sprig
- 1 white tea with peppermint bag (you could use one white tea bag plus one peppermint infusion bag if you can't find the same I use)
- Raw honey
-Water
- 1 container of your choice ( I use my old Lush toner container)
- 1 small funnel

1- boil water
2- make yourself a cup of tea (not for drinking)
3- add your sprig of rosemary to your cup of tea

4- let everything sit for 4 minutes
5- toss the rosemary and tea bag away
6- let the tea get to room temperature (I puit mine in the freezer for 7 minutes)
7- then add a teaspoon of raw honey

8- stir for one minute, then using the funnel pour into the container of your choice

*I keep mine in the fridge, the coolness of the toner on the face feels really good! After 2 weeks, I make a new recipe*

I chose raw honey (has not been heated, pasterized, or processed in any way) for its many beneficial properties: it contains vitamins and anti-oxydants and has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It leaves the skin soft and smooth and is an effective treatment for your occasional spots.

White tea is rich in anti-oxydants that will protect the skin.

Peppermint tea will soothe skin irritations... and smells divine!

Rosemary is rich in vitamins and anti-oxydants. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and used on the skin will provide you with a healthy glow. And once again, smells so good!!!

DIY eye makeup remover

In the past months I have been reading alot of DIY recipes for beauty products. The main reason is that I beleive I should know exactly what I put on my face every day. I was raised reading food labels. I was taught at a very young age that my body absorbs what I feed it (inside out) whether it is the food I eat or the products I use on my hair, face and body in general. To be frank, I always had the thought in the back of my mind but never really gave it any importance whatsoever.

A couple of weeks ago I decided I would make big changes in my lifestyle for my own benefit and also my daughters. My father gave me so much information all my life to help me make the right choices and I just never put all this knowledge to good use. I will elaborate on all these changes in the next weeks but right now since I had a little diy recipe to whip up today and I thought I would share it with you. My daughter and I ran out of eye makeup remover. We have been using our homemade version for over two months now and we love it!!! I have sensible eyes and any kind of store bought eye makeup remover always makes my eyes tingle and often burn even making the delicate skin around the eye area all red. And when I happen to find one that doesn't hurt my eyes I am faced with another problem: I can't get rid of my mascara properly and end up literally scrubbing my eyes of my face!!!

After doing some research on DIY recipes, I got inspired to try combining olive oil and rose water to make our eye makeup remover. Olive oil is known to help breakdown makeup and impurities. This is what will work on that mascara we love so much. It wont clog pores and will keep the delicate skin around the eye hydrated. I used some organic olive oil... the same I eat every day in the salad dressing I make!

 
Rosewater is moisturizing and it acts as an anti-inflammatory, soothing the delicate eye area. It is often found in beauty products. As the olive oil, rosewater is a source of antioxidants and is known beneficial to sensitive skins.

DIY EYE MAKEUP REMOVER

Ingredients:
- Olive Oil (organic if possible)
- Rosewater
- Travel shampoo containers

*Fill your container accordingly: 1/3 olive oil and 2/3 rosewater.

I made two bottles, one for my daughter and one for myself. The oil and rosewater don't mix together as you can see in the bottle on the left. Give it a good shake (as seen in the right bottle) before pouring a couple drops on your cotton pad. I like putting the damp cotton pad on my eye and holding it there for a couple seconds before I wipe off the makeup... just to let it attack my mascara properly. My eye area is left with no trace of makeup at all. I sometimes wait up to 30 minutes after I washed my face to put on my skincare products (lotion and all) and my eye area still feels hydrated after all that time! It is better for my delicate eyes and better for the wallet. My daughter loves it as well! Eyes are happy, daughter is happy, wallet is happy and so am I!

Some time off

Today is the last day of my summer vacation time... Back to work tomorrow after two weeks off . I accomplished plenty during that time: forgetting what day we were, living without a schedule, eating when hungry, sleeping when needed... I wish this lifestyle could go on another week! This years vacation was some time off everything. I stayed home, not  knowing what the next day would bring. I realise now how much I was tiered and how much my body and mind needed a break. I slept a whole lot during these two weeks (4 hour naps in the afternoon and full nights sleep) and even today I feel my body still needs some rest. I honestly thought I took time to breathe here and there but realise I just DIDN'T. These two weeks inspired a change in my lifestyle and I will share my thoughts and experiences on the subject in the months to come right here with you all.

I must mention I did have some good time in the past two weeks. It wasn't all about sleeping. I saw some friends, went for a couple walks, and took a couple pictures for future inspiration...

A fun little project: I have been seeing these origami crane mobiles here and there on the web. Thought I'd make my own while watching Gilmore Girls... had my little work station and some good tea for company:

Lovely walk in a park with my dad, taking pictures along the way for color inspiration:

An afternoon with a friend in a ceramic shop, working on a car coffee mug project and sipping some pretty fancy coffees:

Bought some new tea:

And to finish my vacation, another nap on the couch with this little guy... This is Jack. He was happy to have some company for his afternoon ritual snooze:

Homemade Granola

As a kid I used to love granola. With time I stopped eating it because store bought granola sometimes tastes too sweet or even old. The boyfriend eats granola on weekdays along with some yogurt and fresh fruit and we buy some frequently. Each time I'm surprised at how expensive granola is. For the fun of it, I started surfing the net reading recipes and I got inspired! Yesterday I came up with my own concoction. I went to our health store and bought organic ingredients. Here is my recipe:

JENNYS GRANOLA MIX

n.b. every item below is organic

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup barley flakes
2 cups corn puffs (plain natural, no sugar added)

1 cup roasted coconut flakes
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (plain natural)
1/2 cup sunflour seeds (plain natural)
1 cup banana chips
1/2 cup dried pineapple
1/2 cup dried papaya

1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup pure maple syrup

*preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius*

1- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl except dried fruit (put these aside for now).
2- Add in your oils and maple syrup and fold until all dry ingredients are covered.
3- Line 2 baking sheets with parchemin paper, pour and spread half of your mixture on each one.
4- Put both baking sheets in the oven for 1 hour total or until the mixture is dry. Every 20 minutes give your mixture a stir and alternate the baking sheets on you two levels in the oven  so they both get the same degree of heat.
5- Once done, let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes then divide and spread your dried fruits on your granola. Let cool completely.
6- Put in a an air tight container. I keep mine on the counter because it is going away fast but you could always freeze part of it if you don't eat it in the next two weeks.

This granola is my first batch! I might put a little less maple syrup next time though it's not that sweet... Doesn't taste old like the store bought kind.. and I like knowing I chose the best ingredients I could!

 

Delicious fast and hearty breakfast!

Breakfast is without a doubt my favorite meal of the day! I love weekend breakfasts with their 1001 things to eat even though preparing them is alot of work... On week days I like to keep it simple. I wake up early and have lots to do before leaving the house... Oatmeal is always a winner when time is an issue and a bowl of porridge will definately keep the tummy satisfied till lunch time! Here for you is my goto recipe (my favorite and boyfriend is a fan also!):

Jenny's Apple Pie Oatmeal Recipe (serves 2)

You will need:

2 cups rolled oats

1 apple (cored and diced)

Milk

Maple Syrup
Butter

Cinnamon

1- Put oats in a saucepan, cover with milk and add a pinch of salt. Add 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Cook on medium heat mixing every minute or so with a wooden spoon. This will give you a very nice textured porridge and it won't stick to the bottom of the sauce pan. Cook until desired consistency. Put aside. 

2- Put the apple cubes in a non stick pan with a tablespoon of butter and cinnamon to the taste. Cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes tossing the apples around every thirty seconds. After the 3 first minutes of cooking, add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. The juices of the apple mixed with the maple syrup will transform into a gooey sweet sauce to drizzle over the porridge before eating it.

To serve, divide the oatmeal into two bols, top with the apples and drizzle on top the juices that are left from cooking the apples. Pure deliciousness!!! Mmmmmmmmmmm

The sea and I...

I find the sea has soothing properties for the soul. As a child I used to say I came from the sea, that there was a special bond between us. I believed the sea had her own personality and that I spoke her language. I grew up playing on the beach with my friends and I remember my dad would pick me up from school  at lunch time to go eat lobster looking at the waves sitting in the sand... not talking, just enjoying the beauty before us (a couple seagulls waiting close by desperately hoping we leave a little snack behind). On rainy days I loved my beach! I would run after the waves and let them chase me back to shore. They always won the race, filling my rainboots with water... that was the fun part! Today I don't live by the sea I once knew but still visit once a year. The first thing I do when I arrive and after giving my grandma a big hug is go sit in the sand, close my eyes, listen to the waves and breathe in the same rythm as my friend the sea... listening to her stories... letting her heal my soul...

She is the one responsible for one of my passions... collecting rocks and little treasures she leaves behind. I have been doing that for as long as I remember. I still have all the little rocks, pieces of sea glass and little tiny seashells I gathered as a child. And today I still go on the hunt for new additions to my collection every time I have a chat with the sea. I store my treasures in glass jars and use them as bookends or just lay them out for me to touch and see. I don't hunt for paticular things, just what's pretty to my eye. Here are some of my favorites of the moment:

I can't wait to go treasure hunting once again! It's been a year already! I can't wait to listen to a new chapter of  a story that has been writing itself for 35 years...