Sick Children & Chicken Noodle Soup!

So I made my pot of Chicken Soup for my sick children.  I have always believed that Chicken soup helps relieve your cold symptoms.  Here is a link that discusses why!

I always make an extra large pot so I can freeze some for future emergencies.  I cook my noodles on the side and add them to the bowl as I serve.  Otherwise, the noodles get mushy in the freezer.  Plus, once my family doesn't want any more soup (which is pretty much by the second bowl!) I can make Chicken & Bisciuts! Yeah!

Maybe I should give you my Chicken Soup recipe first? I do tend to get ahead of myself...

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup:

1 Whole, Organic, Free Range Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. Organic Baby Carrots, sliced

1 lb. Organic Celery, Sliced & Diced

1 Lg. Organic Onion, Sliced & Diced

Couple dashes of Salt & Pepper

Chicken Bullion, to your taste specifications

Noodles, Rice, Pasta, whatever you have/want to add at the end!

Boil your chicken gently in a very large pot until the chicken is cooked & easily pulled off the bone.  My pot has a strainer in it, if your lucky enough to have one use that!  Once the chicken is cooked you want to remove the chicken and all the bones from your pot so it may cool.  

Once you have removed all the chicken parts from your pot of chicken stock, gently add the vegetables. Yes, you have actually made your own chicken stock! Let them simmer until tender.   Please feel free to get creative with your veggies here.  There are so many veggies you can add to mix up the recipe!  I added half a bag of chopped Kale to this batch.  Not bad, my son wasn't so very fond, but that is nothing new! (click on this link to discover why Kale  is considered the "Queen of Greens")

In the meantime, let your chicken cool a bit.  It helps to pull sections of the chicken apart.  This will help it cool faster.  You really don't want to try breaking up the chicken with your fingers.  It Hurts!

Pull all of your chicken meat off of the bones.  Save some of the mushy/yucky looking stuff for your dog if you have one.  If your like me, he/she will be standing at your feet waiting for something to drop!  Makes our Sunshine so happy!  Cut up the chicken meat into bite size pieces and add to your pot of simmering veggies.

Start taste testing your broth to determine how much Chicken Bullion you like in your soup. Start with a couple tablespoons, and stir.  Then taste it. Repeat if you want more.   We like ours pretty salty, so I add almost a full container of the powdered  stuff!  Enjoy!

New to Blogging - Uuugh!

So here I am trying to figure out this whole blogging thing.  I spent the whole morning researching. Don't get me wrong, I love finding new stuff on the internet! But, there are so many things I really should be doing.
  It has been awhile since I have added anything to this blog, oops!

I had gotten pretty discouraged wondering how/why I can't get any followers!  Not that I thought the Magical Blogging Fairy would come along & make this successful.  But shouldn't Somebody?, Anybody? want to hear my magical rantings (lol) ?

Time they say.  It all takes time.  Uuugh!  I want to start contributing to this financially sinking ship now, NOT IN TIME!

Fortunately, there are a lot of bloggers out there who offer support and say just keep plugging away!

So I stopped for a moment to start my pot of Chicken Soup.  I am no Julia Child, but I was taught that when your sick there is nothing better than homemade chicken soup.  I have a sick child at home, time to make some soup! I guess I should have started it before I sat down at the computer.  I do tend to get stuck!

I am really trying to use only organic, free-range chickens.  If I'm going to take the time to cook something homemade (which, Good Lord, is time consuming!) I don't want to give my family food with chemicals! It is a little more expensive, but the price is going down

Of course, as I was cutting up my bag of baby carrots, I remembered hearing how they are rinsed in Chlorine! Oh Poop!

So I headed over to Snoopes.com to find the answer.  I'm not sure if I trust that it is totally safe, but we sure do eat an awful lot of them in our house!  So for now, I guess they're better than eating Potato Chips! (Oh, how I love a bag of Salty Chips!)

We have a number of issues in my little family (physical, sensory, emotional....) anyhow, all the talk out there says that it is all those awful chemicals that are contributing/causing/making worse so many of our problems!

So for now I'm going to try to be more organic as long as it isn't too difficult!  I will not be starting any alfalfa sprouts!

But back to my rantings...I will keep trying.  I believe there are others (hello...) out there like me who want easier, more healthful ways to raise our families!

My Kitchen Escapades: Lunchbox Icepacks

I just found the link to this in one of my favorite emails - Living Rich With Coupons!  Yeah! What a wonderfully inexpensive solution to all those expensive lunch box freezer ice blocks! My Kitchen Escapades: Lunchbox Icepacks !

We go thru so many of these especially in the summer when we take numerous salads to picnics & parties, and if we happen to leave it there, oh well!  I will be buying the larger sponges with the big zip tight freezes bags for that purpose of course!

 But, I can only imagine the $ I'll save!  How many of those fancy lunchbox ice blocks end up in the school's cafeteria garbage?  Once my daughter even threw her change purse full of money into the garbage!  Actually, I think she did it more than that.  Obviously, we quit sending money in with her for lunch after that.  It is so much easier to just refill their lunch $ accounts with a monthly check!  If only school lunches tasted better.  The new Federal Laws are helping to make them healthier, but not that much!  All those foods made with canned & preservative filled foods! YUCK!

As I was reading this blog, I immediately thought of my Mother.  She recently injured her foot and needed to purchase an Ice Pack, to ice her foot throughout the day to reduce the swelling.  Unfortunately, she lives on a very tight budget.  So when she went to the store to buy one, she couldn't imagine spending so much money.  It was way beyond her budget!  I recommended to her something my Girl Scout Troop learned while earning their Safety Badge.  Using a zip tight bag with water and placing it in the freezer to have handy for emergency uses.  My Mother was concerned about how hard & un-conforming this would be.  This would solve that problem!  I am sure that within a couple of minutes the sponges would defrost to a point that would allow it to be wrapped in a dish towel and place on your swollen appendage!  I can't wait to share this with our local Fire Department Safety Instructor & my Girl Scout Troop!  Of course my Mother too!

This was my first time visiting this blog site, but it looks like a good one!  It is amazing how many bloggers are out there with incredibly great ideas.  I'll keep sharing the great ones as I find them!

Choosing Snacks - Which is Healthier?

I ran across this article on iVillage today. Boy was I surprised by some of the unhealthy choices in snacks I had been making for my kids!  You think your making good choices, but how do we really know?  Some of the choices didn't surprise me at all.  Others just blew me away! Check it out for yourself and see what you think.  "Which is Worse? Healthy and Unhealthy Choices! could be a great resource for me while I am in the snack aisle of the grocery store. Thank goodness for smart phones!

How to Reduce Spider & Varicose Veins with Essential Oils...

I seriously have to try this!  I have had my veins stripped in my right leg, I don't recommend it! Of course the day after I had mine done my 2 year old son came down with the flu.  The only place he wanted to be was cuddled up on Mommy's lap, moving all my stitches around.  Made the scars even worse! Uuugh!  I was planning on looking into a vein treatment center, but if this works....Yay!  I'll let you know! Thanks Rebecca at Camp Wander!

Camp Wander: How to Reduce Spider & Varicose Veins with Essenti...: By a show of hands , how many wear long pants all summer  to avoid showing your legs because of unsightly spider veins or varicose vei...

Chia Seeds Update!

Well, I haven't had a chance to try making the Apricot Chia Bars.  But I did go out and get some nutrition packed Chia Seeds.  Major Anti-Oxidants & Omega 3's!  I sprinkle a couple spoonfuls in my plain Greek yogurt with some cut up fruit and a couple spoonfuls of local honey.  Yum, Yum!  This I can eat.  Plus it's quick & easy!  I bought the plain Greek Yogurt for the extra punch of protein and added the local honey to help combat my seasonal allergies.  So far, so good!

The Chia Seeds really don't have a flavor.  I wouldn't know they were there except for all the little black specks in my yogurt.  My husband did complain about the calories as he is on a diet.  60 calories per tablespoon.  I may just try throwing them in a smoothie!  should be an easy way to add them to my diet!

I, on the other hand, am watching my health as opposed to my waistline.  I have spinal issues, with the added bonus of Fibromyalgia!  Woo Hoo!  So I am constantly trying new, healthful ways to take care of my body, as well as my family's!  I haven't noticed any dramatic changes in my pain levels, but I guess it will take more than one thing to get this body functioning better as a whole!

Better Sex through Yoga?

Better Sex through Yoga?  Just 5 Minutes a day? Here is a video by Dr. Frank Lampman and Tara Stiles that discusses the benefits. Not just better sex, but more energy, less stress, better sleep, better digestion, etc...... I am a firm believer that exercise, getting your blood flowing, is always good for you!  A cousin of mine has become a Yoga Guru and has been touting the benefits that the practice of yoga can bring to your life.  They say this in the video, but my cousin has also recommended that I take a class.  She says that the best way to learn the pose's is to have a teacher correcting your incorrect positioning, & most importantly reminding you to Breathe!

I am going to try to make this a habit in my life. Not an easy thing to do with my family's busy schedule, but I want to start feeling better and have more energy!  I am going to do it!