20 Last Minute Green Gifts Under $25!

With the holiday shipping time frame running down and your budget probably crunched as well, you may be looking for some last minute green gifts that won’t cost too much (all $25 or under) AND that will still arrive in time for a green Christmas. Following are some excellent choices…

Five Great Green Gifts for Kids

1. $9.35 – The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth: This is an excellent book for kids with few cons. Part of the book was written with help from actual kids and the book is printed on recycled paper with soy inks too! Read my full review.
2. $20.00 – Eco Playdough: All natural art medium for crafty kids made with plant, fruit and veggie extracts. No chemicals, artificial dyes or metals and the containers are made from cornstarch and are 100% compostable. I saw this dough recently at the PDX green fair and it comes in totally brilliant and lovely colors of orange, yellow, green, and pink plus the containers are adorable. Note – the Bamboo Rolling Pin is sold separately.
3. $24.99 – idbids:  These soft toys come in three different styles – Scout the Cloud, Lola the Flower or Waverly the bright blue water drop. Each is handcrafted with 100% organic Egyptian cotton and colored with natural organic dyes. With the purchase of each kit, a child can enter an online code that will help protect the habitats of animal friends through The Nature Conservancy’s Plant A Billion Trees campaign, Adopt an Acre, or Rescue the Reef programs. Each kit comes with an organic cinch sack for the child to wear, a storybook printed on recycled paper with eco-friendly inks and a field guide.
4. $25.00 Wooden Giraffe Block Set: Adorable 16 piece block set in a giraffe drawn wagon. This toy is eco-cute, made with sustainably harvested wood, and finished with non-toxic linseed oil.
5. About $25 or less - Green Toys are made of eco-friendly recycled milk cartons, packaged in recycled cardboard, and provide hours of fun for both boys and girls. Most come in at under $25 a pop too, such as the Eco-Friendly Tea Set (shown above), Tool Kit, Dish Set, Chef Set and Recycling Truck.

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A CIA’s Chili Recipe – Post Turkey Dinners

I was recently sent this very unique and intriguing cookbook called More Spies, Black Ties, & Mango Pies – Second Helpings of Stories and Recipes From CIA Families All Over the World.  You don’t need to rub your eyes because the title is correct and pretty well sums up what the cookbook is about. It’s definitely not your usual set up of recipes.

Paired with each recipe is a different experience of various CIA agents and their families. These experiences are then accompanied by a recipe. It’s a great book because you learn more about what it’s like to be a CIA agent and how the food they have to come up with is sometimes less then ordinary. After all they usually have to travel to far and foreign destinations where ingredients are not familiar.

The recipe I chose to include isn’t exotic but I think is appropriate as we near the Holidays. It’s an International Award Winning Chili recipe made by Michael V. Hayden the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and one of the creators of this book.

Chili is one of those comfort foods that is exactly what the body needs after Turkey overload. After the left overs have all been eaten up I recommend making this Chili recipe (I should remind you it’s an award winning recipe).

When Michael was posted in Eastern Europe during the mid-80s he decided to enter his famous chili into a chili-cooking contest. He was competing against fellow Americans and other from the international community. None of them knowing he was a CIA agent of course. The Belgian Ambassador was one of the judges and awarded Michael the first prize!

International Award Winning Chili

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped onion

9 cloves garlic, minced

5 tablespoons oil (additional as needed)

3 pounds beef (chuck or round) cubed

9 tabelspoons chili powder

6 tablespoons flour

5-6 teaspoons cumin seeds

3 cans kidney beans (optional)

6 cups low fat, low sodium beef broth

Salt

Pepper

Cayenne pepper

Directions:

Saute the onion and garlic in oil until wilted. Add beef and saute until it just begins to brown. Stir in chili powder, flour, cumin, and beans, if using them. Add broth and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Serves 10-12.

This has to be the easiest recipe for after the Holidays. You definitely don’t want to be putting too much work into dinner after you slaved over your Holiday feast.

Not to mention it’s the best meal during the cold winter months!

Happy Holidays!

Recipe Source and Cover Art: More Spies, Black Ties, & Mango Pies – Second Helpings of Stories and Recipes from CIA Families All Over the World.

Chili Image Credit: iStockPhoto

My Boyfriend is Busy & Stressed Out

There are a million reasons these days why your boyfriend might be unusually stressed out and busy…new job, new school, new financial situation, etc.  With the country’s financial situation the way that it is, lots of people take on more responsibilities than they did before just to make ends meet or create opportunities for the future.  Men and women are taking on more hours at work and are forced to take on even more responsibilities as co-workers get laid off.  Many are heading back to school to focus on higher education until the job market turns around.  All around me I see that people are more and more stressed out!

If you find that your significant other is part of this stressed out population, it can definitely be extremely taxing on you.  You probably feel pushed to the side because you know that he has so much already on his plate that the relationship is not something that he has time to worry about right now.  He is probably so occupied with everything else in his life that he just doesn’t have the energy to address any issues that arise between the two of you.  You might feel that you are taking on more than you can handle in all other areas of your life together to help to ease the stress, but that might be pushing you to a breaking point as well.

Even if your significant other is extremely busy dealing with stress related to school, work, and non-relationship areas of his life, it is still necessary to have balance in order maintain a successful relationship.  If you have issues that you want to address with him, you need to find time to discuss them.  Be thoughtful when picking a time to talk, but feel confident that what is going on in your life is just as important as everything that is going on in his.  Even if the stresses that he is dealing with seem so much more demanding and important as they related to the world and your financial situation, the personal and relationship issues that you are dealing with are also extremely important.

The most important thing to remember is to maintain calm and open communication throughout these super stressful times.  If you have something that is bothering you, find a way to talk about it in a practical and non-accusatory way.  The last thing you need right now is to have a fight!  If you keep your issues inside because you think they’re not important, they will end up building and will result in a huge blow-up at an inopportune time.

Think about your feelings and how you want to discuss them and approach your significant other with confidence and ideas on how you can resolve the situation.  Give him an opportunity to digest the issue that you have raised because there’s a big chance that he has been too busy to think about it.  Express to him that it’s important to the relationship to maintain communication and balance so that you can support each other in these tough times.

Image: sxc.hu

Best Egg Nog Recipe in the World!

When my mom died and my sister and I divvied up her belongings that my father did not need, I ended up with the coveted “The New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.” It was profoundly sentimental to me because it was the duct-taped book that my parents had used to prepare our world famous Holiday Egg Nog. While the fabulous Walker Family Christmas Eve Party dated back to the early 1970s, the addition of the Holiday Egg Nog did not come to be part of the tradition until I was in high school or college. I’m going to take full credit for adding it to our lineup of Midnight Rum Balls and the Green family’s peanut butter chocolate thingies. I simply said what a great idea it would be to make our own egg nog than buy that nonalcoholic stuff they sell with the milk at the grocery store. And thus the tradition began.

This old Fannie Farmer cookbook was actually my father’s mother’s book. She died, ironically, on Christmas Day when I was a wee kid, but judging from the photos I’ve seen of her, I’m sure she would have enjoyed having a cup or two of the Walker family nog.

There is a science to this egg nog recipe. For starters, it uses raw eggs. I remember when I was a kid and it was OK to lick the cake batter out of the bowl without someone freaking out about salmonella poisoning. I’m not sure what happened to eggs between now and then. But my father, the immunologist, says that the alcohol in our egg nog is enough to kill just about anything in its path. Honestly, this recipe uses enough booze that even my family would warn guests not to smoke near it.

The other odd thing is that this recipe is to be made a week before it is consumed and “store in cool cellar.” We live in Alabama. Our cellar holds wine and is climate controlled, otherwise it would be about 75 degrees this time of year. But, the refrigerator is a fair substitute. And we make room.

I have had two different excellent chefs taste the Walker Family Egg Nog and they both agreed with anyone else who has ever been brave enough to try it. It is excellent. And for those skittish few out there – not a single person has come down with salmonella or any other illness from consuming the raw eggs in this nog. (Think Rocky Balboa in Rocky, the first one.) As for alcohol poisoning, well, I can’t vouch for that.

I’m going to share this recipe, and you’ll thank me if you try it. (I’m not going to type it in because that’s probably a copyright issue. So I’ll just shoot the page.) But if you really want to thank me, then you can visit BlissMom.com after Dec. 1, because at the end of the month I’ll be moving on from the glorious BlissTree. Bittersweet. Meantime, let’s toast to this, the best egg nog recipe you will every try.

Photos, JWJourney

Inspiration Jars

I like to keep my home office filled with pretty things and objects that radiate peace, love and incentive.  In my line of work I especially need all of the inspiration I can find. I have  project for you that takes pennies to make and will offer you a world of inspiration.

Here is what you will need to get started:

• Transparent glass paint (blue and green)
• Dry air enamel paint (white)
• Stencils (inspirational words)
• Sponges
• A paper plate
• A couple of old jars with lids or small glass cups
• ½ inch brush
• scissors
• A craft knife (xacto knife)

Remove any labels from the jars and wash in hot soapy water. Let the jars dry thoroughly. Decide which colors to paint which jar, it is always wise to plan ahead. Place the lid of the jar on a paper plate. The lid will be smaller than the jar and that will allow the paint to run off onto the paper plate.

Open, or cut the tip off of the paint bottle nozzle. Just make a small snip in the nozzle so that the paint does not run too freely. Start at the top of the jar, let the pain drip down, moving around the perimeter of the jar. The paint should now be dripping down the entire jar from top to bottom. You can pick up any access paint with your sponge and fill in any area with the excess paint. Do this to all of the jars that you intend to paint.

Let the jars sit for at least 8 hours. When the jar is dry to the touch use your craft knife to remove any drips. Let the jars sit overnight to make sure they are completely dry.

Position the stencil on the jar where you want your words to be and dip the end of a sponge into the white paint. Dab the sponge on the paper plate to remove any excess paint. When stenciling you need very little paint. Any excess paint will drip down behind the stenciled letters. Less is always better when using paint with stencils. Let the jar dry for another day to make sure that the paint cures on the glass.  Enjoy!

Bath and Body Care

Lavender Bath Salts

Autumn is here and winter is on the way. It is time to make sure that we take care of our skin and body. Bath salts are a great way to do just that. You will be getting two recipes for a refreshing, relaxing bath soak. The first recipe is for Lavender bath salts that will refresh you and melt away any stress that you have been feeling. I don’t always get a chance to soak in a tub, but when I do I love the scent and feel of lavender on my skin.

Here is what you will need to get started:

• 2 cups of Epsom Salts
• 1 cup of baking soda
• ½ cup of dried lavender buds (or 10 extra drops of lavender oil)
• 2 Tbsp of glycerin
• 10 drops of lavender fragrance oil
• 5 drops of rose fragrance oil
• 5 drops of red liquid colorant
• 3 drops of blue liquid colorant

Mix all of the ingredients together and put in a pretty container. Shake the container daily for about a week to mix the ingredients.

Shimmering Body Soak Crystals

Here is what you will need for this bath soak:

• 2 cups of Epsom Salt
• 2 tbsp of glycerin
• 1 tbsp white pearl mica powder
• 10 drops of tangerine fragrance oil
• 5 drops of lime fragrance oil
• 5 drops of peppermint fragrance oil
• 5 drops of grapefruit or citrus fragrance oil

Mix all of the ingredients and place in a wide mouth container. Just use a scoop in a tubful of warm water for a relaxing soak. One more thing, leave the world and all of it’s stress outside the bathroom door.

These two recipes are just what you need for a restful soak at this stressful time of year. So, be good to your body and it will be good to you. Enjoy!

Cool-Weather Wonders of Chestnuts

Chestnuts aren’t only great roasted over an open fire as you sip a hot beverage, but they’re also good in homemade soup. And December is one of the best times to find fresh chestnuts in stores.

After you buy chestnuts, use them within one week or freeze. Otherwise, they may dry out. Store fresh chestnuts in a cool, dry place, not next to the fire!

Have you tried making chestnut soup? It first requires roasting some chestnuts, but directions are included below. Really, what can get you more in the holiday spirit than cooking with chestnuts? The reward is a tasty dish, sure to impress guests.

The Chestnut Soup Recipe by Chef Craig von Foerster of Post Ranch Inn, home of the highly acclaimed Sierra Mar Restaurant

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Canola Oil
• 8 ounces Yellow Onion diced
• 1 teaspoon Garlic minced
• 2 pounds Chestnuts
• 2 Parsnips peeled and chopped
• 2 1/2 quarts Vegetable or Chicken stock
• 2 cups Heavy Cream
• to taste Salt and White Pepper
• 1/4 cup Butter (optional)

makes about 16 servings

Instructions

Prepare chestnuts:

• I use Italian chestnuts that I roast and peel here. Just cut a crises cross through the peel of the chestnut on the flat side.
• Place on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
• Peel off outer shell and inner brown skin while chestnuts are still warm. You can use frozen or steamed chestnuts with great results.

Making the soup:

• Sweat the onions on medium heat until translucent (about 5 minutes) add the garlic and sauté 1 more minute.
• Add chestnuts and parsnips, and cover with chicken stock, or substitute water or vegetable stock.
• Simmer for 1/2 hour or until parsnips and chestnuts are soft.
• Add the heavy cream and return to a simmer for 1 minute.
• Process in a blender until smooth. For a creamier, richer soup, you can add 1/4 cup sweet butter to the soup while blending.
• Season with salt and white pepper to taste. To garnish, reduce 1 cup of sweet Marsala wine to a syrup consistency and drizzle over soup.

More about the chef:

Chef von Foerster wrote the Sierra Mar Cook Book,  and he’s also a contributor in Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook and the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Cookbook.

(Chef Craig von Foerster image via Post Ranch Inn; Chestnut image via stock.xchng)

Fat Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Registered dietitian Brenda Ponichtera’s award winning cookbooks, Quick & Healthy Cookbooks have been featured in such publications as “O” The Oprah Magazine, USA Today, the Miami Herald and Shape.

She is world renowned for her delicious yet fast and above all else, healthy recipes.  Her ideas are smart and easy to follow and her recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake is no different.

Perfect for the holidays, this dessert puts a spin on an old favorite, while being fat free.  But most importantly, remains tasty.

Fat Free Pumpkin Cheesecake
This recipe is for a 9″ pie pan. The top will crack when cooking, so serve with a dollop of fat-free whipped topping.

• 24 ounces fat-free cream cheese (bar type) at room temperature
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup egg substitute (equal to 3 eggs)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons packaged cornflake crumbs (optional)
• fat-free whipped topping, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat at high speed until blended. On low speed, beat in egg substitute and spices. Increase speed to high, and continue until well blended.

Spray a 9″ pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add cornflake crumbs (optional) to the pan and shake lightly to coat bottom and sides. Pour in cream cheese mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until center is set but not firm. Cool on wire rack.

Store in refrigerator for several hours. Serve with whipped topping.

Makes 12 servings of 1/12 cheesecake
Carb Servings
1
Exchanges
1 carbohydrate
Nutrient Analysis
calories 86
total fat 0g
saturated fat 0g
cholesterol 10mg
sodium 362mg
total carbohydrate 12g
dietary fiber 0g
sugars 8g
protein 9g

Source: Quick & Healthy Volume II, 2nd Edition, © 2009 Brenda J. Ponichtera, R.D.(www.QuickandHealthy.net), Published by Small Steps Press, publishing health conscious books for the general population, a division of the American Diabetes Association; Available at local and online bookstores.

Cheap Cupcake Decorating Ideas

I love making cupcakes, so it’s nice to see that they’ve made kind of a “comeback” of sorts in the baking world. They are in fashion now. Besides, there is something about eating them that is just really fun.

But now that they are a stylish thing to make, I have noticed that a lot of baking and craft supply places offer cupcake decorations. It’s a great idea to put a design or decoration on top of cupcakes, but the prices these people charge are pretty outrageous. And most of the time, the decoration you use will just get thrown away. So here are a few ideas for adding decorations that won’t break the bank.

The Dollar Store
Check out your local dollar store for things like plastic toy soldiers, bugs, army men, or princess rings. These all make great toppers and you can usually get a bag of 20 of them for $1.

Craft Paper
Use your computer to print off small designs that can be stuck onto a toothpick. These are usually sold in craft stores for several dollars a bag. But if you make them at home, you can personalize them with your child’s name and save a lot more money in the process. For example, print off a picture of a spider, cut it out in a round shape and cut another piece of paper the same size. Glue them together and put a toothpick in the middle. Instant cupcake decoration!

Cookies
Even if you purchase small cookies to use as a decoration on top of your cupcakes, it will still be cheaper than purchasing actual cake decorating supplies. (And will probably be tastier besides.)

Candy
Get creative with candy, like putting licorice in a cupcake to make it a “handle” for Easter cupcakes, or using candy to create a face on top of your cupcake.

Coconut
Dried and colored coconut has lots of possibilities for cupcake toppers. Green coconut can become the basis for a mini football or soccer field, brown coconut can become a bird’s nest, and yellow can be the body or face of a duckling.

Paperclips
Clean paperclips can be used to place a small paper message or even photo on top of a cupcake.

Swizzel Sticks
I don’t know about you, but I always end up with too many swizzle sticks or drink toppers. I get them here and there at places like the $1 Target bin, and think that they are so cute. The trouble is, we tend not to serve that many drinks! So I’ve used them as markers for cupcakes, and gotten some use out of them.

Stencils
They make stencils especially for cupcakes, but if you have small ones that haven’t been used yet, you might want to consider using them to help make a cupcake decoration. I got some in a scrapbooking kit years ago and could never figure out a use for them until one day when I decided to make some decorations for my cupcakes. Just sprinkle powdered sugar or cocoa across the stencil, and viola! Instant decoration.

We Are Making Our Children Fat

Many posts around the net and even in magazines have been focusing on the “Fat America” and even on how we are gaining so much weight and blaming it all on our children. I am about to be as honest as I can be with you all, but hoping it does not alienate anyone. I’d love some conversation with this post as well, so please feel free to respond for or against with the reasons why. Here goes….I feel that WE (as the parents) are making our children FAT.

I know that women gain up to 40 pounds while being pregnant, it is true that sometimes they don’t lose it all when the baby is born too (I went back to before weight after my first two children, not after baby 3 or 4). With that being stated it is also true many moms, myself included, will probably snack off whatever our children eat. Am I right? Okay, so now that we have all that clear, how much weight can we gain from that?

Truth is no one can really say, not unless they know what you do during the day. Are you working out after you snack on your child’s food? If so, how much? Or are you just sitting on the couch watching soap operas or getting online?  Now whose fault is it that YOU have got that way?

Tips:
- Stop eating after your child
- Eat smaller meals, a few times a day
- Eat healthier snacks such as veggie sticks instead of cupcakes.

Now to show you how we as parents are adding the weight onto our children.  I keep reading parents say they give their children chicken nuggets, french fries, etc. To me it sounds like fast food, if this is really the issue maybe you should eat at home. If you must eat out, order from the healthier side of the menu. Sure I know a chicken nugget meal with french fries and a soda sounds like the perfect meal for your young one, especially since it means you don’t have to make them a meal. Did you know you can get a healthier kids’ meal? Yep you can replace those french fries with apple slices, the soda with juice, milk or chocolate milk.

Here’s some facts for you on that McDonald’s Meal:

small french fries: 230 calories 11.0 g of fat
small kids soda: 410 calories
chicken nuggets: 190 calories 12.0 g of fat

Now if your child actually ate everything they just consumed: 830 calories and 23 g of fat. That’s just one meal, now if you ate some of that it still adds up for you. Yes, eating your child’s meal will not mean you don’t get the calories too.  If you replaced the drink and fries with apple dippers (35 calories) and a milk (100 calories) they would get: 325 calories.  Keep in mind fast food joints may sound yummy, but it may be best to grab one of their salads, yogurts or something with less calories. This will also set an example for your child.

Now let’s head home, what’s in those cabinets? Do you have them stocked full of veggies and fruits? Unfortunately many of us probably have shelves of cans of vegetables (which is good), maybe a few cans of fruits (another good), tons of pasta noodles, boxed meals, cereals, oatmeal and a shelf full of snacks for school. By snacks I’m talking Little Debbie cakes, Hostess Twinkies or Cupcakes, etc. Does any of this sound familiar? Now what does your refrigerator and freezer look like? I believe by now you are starting to see the drift.

At home do we snack in front of the television or just once each person gets home to tide them over until dinner?  I will not lie, we do not have as healthy eating habits as I wish we did and until recently I thought we were doing great as I did make sure everyone ate tons of fruit, pasta, sometimes salads and no candy. But after looking at myself and slowly recognizing a growing belly in one of my children I learned the eating out is gaining on us and it is time to live up to what I have done and start changing that. I realize it is not my children that have made me fat, but it me (as the parent that is making my child fat).
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