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Friday, February 14, 2014

Juicing:: Another Adventure in the Kitchen Corner

Bismillah (in the name of Allah)

  As a family we often find ourselves looking for ways to incorporate healthy eating into our days. A quick google search or even better a visit to the health and wellness section of your library will let you know the myriad of benefits juicing has. Apparently, drinking raw juice not only enhances the immune system, gives your digestive system a break but it also can be used as a non-toxic treatment for cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases.

We made an investment last year in buying this Omega juicer and I am very satisfied with it. The Gerson institute recommends this juicer when used for health enhancement. For therapeutic use they recommend The Narwalk but the Omega was right for our purpose and fit within our budget.

Mostly, we juice leafy greens such a kale and chard (rainbow and swiss), parsley, and add a carrot and an apple or orange to sweeten it a bit and make it easier to drink. We found that the more we drank this juice the less we wanted sweet fruits and instead our bodies craved the leafy greens.

We, for no good reason, took a long break from juicing. Acquiring the organic vegetables needed became a bit difficult. We didn't have the fridge space to buy a week's worth of greens and I found myself making several trips a week to buy them. Our budget doesn't allow for our largish family to eat 100% organic and our nearest supermarket carries a pretty small organic selection, which means buying organic green and fruits for juicing is an errand on its own for us. Eventually the juicer was taken off the counter and forgotten for a couple of months. Really a shame.

I said enough and brought the juicer back to its rightful place: the counter. On a weekend outing we found ourselves at a local health food store and I seized the opportunity to pick some organic vegetables and fruits they had available and had our first juicing party in a long time. They didn't have leafy greens so we settled for a sweet treat: carrots, beets and apples. 

The kids did not complaint one bit.







  It's priceless to see them enjoying something so wholesome and good. I am looking forward to making juicing a part of our everyday life.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Being Busy Being Just a Mom

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

  A neglected blog this is. And I am unapologetic about it; somehow it just got put in the back burner but I knew I wanted to come back here to this space and for that reason I did not delete it altogether, I just left it alone since what? September 2011!

  So, what's been happening around here...? I have been super busy being just a mom, oh not just a mom, a stay at home mom, ok in all honesty... the title is a homeschooler stay at home mom. A title I never, in my wildest dreams, would have thought nine years ago. But here I am raising four children, home educating them, striving to provide them with nourishing meals and good memories. I must say I am very happy life took this turn and made me a mama of four darlings (the last sweetling came into our lives in the summer of 2012, and I'll refer to him as Soofer to continue with the tradition of giving my babes nicknames in this space)

  I am not going to pretend life is all sweet and my days are full of joy and laughter and well-behaved children who do as they're told. But I'm going to let you know that I'm going to spare you those details, most of the time. I want to come here to 'talk' about the things that bring calm and peace to my soul, things that I dream of doing, things that are relevant to homemakers and moms; I want to share new things I learn, keep a sort of journal of the various things I got going in the kitchen, the sewing corner, the learning corner, etc.

  Right now I should go and start a batch of sourdough, my second attempt this winter. If it goes well I will share the results here.

  So follow along and share your thoughts.