Malleable Reality

Kale chips are a delicious anytime snack and healthy alternative to junk food & store bought chips. 

It took me a long time of hearing about Kale Chips before I actually took the plunge and made my own.  A leafy green as a chip?  It just didn’t make much sense to me, but I knew it was definitely a healthy snack… and for that reason alone, I wanted to try it.

So I did!  And here’s how:

First, grab a bunch of organic kale:

Wash the kale thoroughly.  Dirt is usually trapped within the leaves/close to stem, so make sure you remove all of the dirt.  Then, rip or cut the leaves from the stem.  After you wash the leaves, it is important to thoroughly dry them! — spin in a salad spinner and pat dry with paper towels.  If you don’t have a salad spinner, toss the leaves and dry well with paper towels.  Your kale should be mostly dry/as dry as you can get it.  If it’s wet, it will not become crispy like it should when you bake it.

After your kale is washed and dried, toss kale with approx 2 tablespoons of olive oil (depending on how much kale you’re using…use your own judgement. You don’t want your leaves to be saturated with oil, just lightly coated).

*somewhere in here, preheat oven to 350 degrees*

Sprinkle salt over leaves to taste.  Don’t go crazy with the salt!  Once the kale bakes, it will shrink and the salt will be more concentrated. You can always add more at the end).  Toss leaves.

Next, cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread leaves in a single layer.  It is best to not allow leaves to overlap.  You’ll probably end up using multiple baking sheets, depending on how much kale was used.

Finally, put the kale in preheated oven for approx. 12 minutes (at 350 degrees, although you can get the same results by playing around with different times & temperatures).  I usually bake let it go for about 8 minutes, then flip the leaves and finish up baking for another 4 minutes.  The leaves should be crisp and dried out.

The kale will be shriveled and darker, as pictured above.  Watch the leaves closely while in the oven and don’t let them burn!

Done!!  Seal in a large, ziplock bag.

Making Homemade Kale Chips is soo easy and literally takes about 15-20 minutes in total.  DO IT!

Here are the homemade toothpaste/tooth powder recipes I’ve promised from last week’s Back to Basics post, regarding why store-bought toothpaste is not as beneficial as you may think it is.

Remember, you want to steer clear of harmful store-bought toothpastes that contain: Fluoride, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Saccharin, glycerin, and any artificial colors (such as: FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Red 3, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Red 33, and Yellow 10 Lake), and any other chemical ingredient. Research the ingredients in your hygiene products! 

First, let’s look at the ingredients I choose to use to make homemade toothpaste & why:

• Baking soda:  Cleans teeth, whitens teeth, and freshens breath. Going “back to basics”, baking soda has been used as a teeth cleaning agent for years, and is still used in today’s commercial toothpastes.  Baking soda is also alkaline and will neutralize the acids that are lingering in your mouth & on your teeth from consuming acidic foods/drinks.  Acidity can erode enamel & causes cavities.
• Sea Salt: Natural anti-septic, used for years.  Kills bacteria that cause plaque, and cleanses teeth & gums.
• Xylitol:  A natural, non-fermentable sugar that not only sweetens the toothpaste, but protects against cavities as well. Xylitol has the opposite effect of traditional sugar.  While sugar helps bacteria grow & thrive by creating an acidic environment, Xylitol cannot be fermented, and therefore protects against the growth of bacteria and helps to prevent cavities, helps with the re-mineralization of teeth, & eliminates plaque.
• White Kaolin Clay: Earth’s clay has been used for years by our ancestors for various cosmetic and healing purposes.  Clay has been known to cleanse & purify the skin by pulling toxins and pollutants from the skin when used as a mask, and have also been used in toothpastes and mouthwashes for the same purpose.  When clay is used in the mouth, it purifies, cleanses and rids the mouth of bad bacteria. Kaolin clay is also known to polish the tooth’s surface, while gently removing surface stains and plaque.
• Eggshells: Probably the best natural source of calcium, since eggshells are calcium & other trace minerals.  The composition of eggshells are very similar to our bones & teeth.  Eggshells are easily absorbable.  Finely ground eggshells make calcium powder.  However, only use organic, pastured-eggs, not store bought (factory farmed) eggs.  Factory farmed/store bought eggs are not very nutritious…if the chicken does not get proper nutrients, the eggshells will not be filled with all of the nutrients we need, and instead will be weak & easily breakable (therefore, have less calcium).  If you don’t have healthy eggshells available, use calcium powder instead.
• Coconut oil: Great for the gums and is anti-bacterial.  Coconut oil kills bacteria that causes tooth decay and gum disease.
• Aloe Vera gel (in it’s pure, liquid form): Aloe has been used for centuries as a home remedy.  For toothpaste purpose, it cleanses and soothes teeth and gums, as it is also anti-bacterial.
• Myrrh Essential Oil:  Great for the mouth & gums!  This oil has been used for cleaning and purifying since ancient times and is known to keep gums healthy & eliminate mouth sores/infections. It is antiseptic by nature, and also stimulates circulation, which is great for the mouth and gums.
• Peppermint Essential Oil:  Anti-bacterial and provides a minty fresh scent to breath, and a minty taste to homemade toothpaste.

After much research and thought, here is the toothpaste recipe I like to use: (you can feel free to add or remove ingredients based off of your own research, and change measurements as you see fit.  I use measurements of my own based off of research and personal wants/needs, and personal opinion).

1/2 cup baking soda (finely ground*)
1/4 cup finely ground* sea salt
1/4 cup finely ground* xylitol
2 tablespoons Kaolin clay
2 tbs finely ground* eggshells (organic, pastured-eggs from a farm.  I wouldn’t do this with factory farmed, store bought eggs.  You can replace the eggshells with calcium powder if necessary).
Essential oils (I use myrrh & peppermint)

To use as a toothpowder, use recipe above and sprinkle onto toothbrush & brush gently.  If you’d rather have more of a paste consistency like I do, use the following:
A few tablespoons coconut oil (I used 2 tbs)
1-2 tsp aloe vera (pure aloe vera, in it’s liquid form/aloe vera juice)

Store in small glass jar or bowl if you made paste (the wet Kaolin clay CANNOT be stored in plastic, as it will absorb the toxins from the plastic.  As a tooth powder (in dry form), it can be stored in plastic).

*For ingredients marked “finely ground”, I literally grind these ingredients (in small portions) into a fine powder in a small coffee grinder (Krups Electric Coffee Grinder, $19.00).  It works fabulously.  The reason for grinding these ingredients is simple:  They’d be too abrasive on the tooth’s enamel otherwise.  Although some people do use baking soda whole and brush strictly with baking soda alone, I feel that it is too abrasive to use on a daily basis (in it’s whole, un-ground form).  Some dentists say it’s fine and good for your teeth, others say it’s okay to use, but maybe only once a week instead of daily, while other’s disagree completely and say it is too abrasive. Well, to be safe, I grind all of my “too abrasive” ingredients, including baking soda, to a fine grind.

I make this recipe, which allows me to have more than I need for one small jar (think baby-food jar), which is probably about 2-3 tablespoons of the tooth powder (dry) mixture.  Then I mix about equal amounts of coconut oil, and 1-2 teaspoons of aloe vera to form a paste.  I store the extra dry ingredients that are already mixed together in a zip lock bag so when I run out of toothpaste in the future, I just have to mix together a few tablespoons or so the dry ingredients with the coconut oil and aloe vera, and I’ll have a new jar of toothpaste.  Quick & easy.  I could also always use the dry ingredients as a powder, of course, but for now, I’m sticking with the paste.

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*I obviously am not a dentist or a professional of any kind, & all of the information I have is based off of my own research & opinion and is not meant for treating or curing any hygiene disease.  I simply make homemade products for my own personal use, and I’m offering the recipe for my homemade toothpaste for those who would like to make and use their own all natural toothpaste.  That doesn’t mean you will be cavity-free!

In ancient times, toothpastes varied depending on the culture, although many cultures used crushed shells (including eggshells) and bones, and powdered ingredients such as ashes, bark, charcoal, herbs, and salt.  When toothpaste was developed in the 1800’s, many toothpastes were made of soap and chalk.  It wasn’t until after the 1850’s when toothpaste actually became made as paste.  Before then, “toothpaste” was actually a powder that would turn into a paste substance after mixing with the saliva of the user. 

Nowadays, toothpastes contain artificial foaming agents, detergents, artificial flavors, artificial colors, sweeteners, and humectants, such as glycerin.  Some commercial toothpastes even include Triclosan (a registered pesticide according to the EPA, and an antimicrobial agent that is known to create super-bugs).  Triclosan has been shown to cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics, and when mixed with chlorine found in drinking water, can form Chloroform (a probable human carcinogen according to the EPA).

Let’s look at some other common ingredients in your tube of toothpaste:

Fluoride: A neurotoxin that was often used as a poison and insecticide in the past. (See my post on water fluoridation here, and a link about dental fluorosis here).

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS):  An chemical foaming agent used to create the foam and suds in toothpaste, soap, and shampoo. I posted about the dangers of SLS & why you should go SLS-free here.  Remember, foam, bubbles and suds do not = clean!  We are conditioned to think that way and feel that a product not foaming may not be working as well, but the foam really is all smoke & mirrors.  It’s just a chemical added to your products to purposely create foam.

Saccharin: An artificial sweetener that has been linked to cancer.

Artificial colors, such as FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Red 3, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Red 33, and Yellow 10 Lake:  These colors are lab-created dyes that have either been banned in other countries, or banned by the FDA for other uses (such as some eye cosmetics, etc.), and many of these dyes have been linked to toxicity and various tumors. For some reason though, these artificial colors are still allowed in our toothpastes & mouthwashes (which are absorbed through our gums and often minimally swallowed).

Glycerin:  A humectant used to keep the paste moist & smooth.  Although a natural ingredient that is safe for use, glycerin forms a sticky layer on teeth that has been shown to take 27 rinses to wash off of the surface of teeth.  I don’t know anyone who rinses 27 times.  The film formed on the teeth due to the glycerin content in toothpastes blocks saliva from coming in contact with teeth, & therefore, blocks the ability for teeth to remineralize.

Any of the ingredients in our toothpastes are easily absorbed through our gums and enter into our bloodstream.  But how often have you stopped to think about your toothpaste, the ingredients in it and how it’s effecting your teeth and your health?  We tend to buy what’s on a shelf and assume that it’s safe.  Why would anything sold in a store be toxic to my health?  Plus, my toothpaste is FDA approved, so it must be safe.  Well, that’s what you’d think, but the truth is, many of the ingredients in commercial hygiene products are horrible for your heath.  Look into these ingredients yourself instead of trusting that the FDA or your favorite store or brand will keep you safe, because, well…they won’t. 

Ingredients are often approved based off of the amount of that specific ingredient that is allowed into the product.  This doesn’t take into consideration that the ingredients/chemicals in products that we use every day, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, lotion, etc., accumulate in our bodies.  This causes a toxic, chemical build up overtime from the constant use of these ingredients.  Ingredients that maybe have been determined “toxic, but safe in low doses” is now a high dose ingredient in your body. Not to mention that the ingredients SLS and SLES allow your body to absorb more of whatever it is that’s in the product to begin with.  Basically, it enhances absorb-ability. So now, not only is the SLS itself harmful, but it’s allowing the other harmful ingredients in the product you are using to be more easily absorbed by your body. Great.

And you also cannot just assume that because something is a known “all natural” product, that it really, truely, is!  A great example of this is Tom’s of Maine, a well-known “all natural” brand. Although they sell a fluoride-free version of toothpaste, their toothpastes list SLS as an ingredient.  They are able to get away with this as an ingredient in their “all natural” product by stating that it is “derived from coconut and/or palm kernal oil”.  Although Burt’s Bees, another popular “all natural” brand, does not use SLS in their fluoride-free toothpaste, it does use glycerin (described above).  And as we know, glycerin is an all-natural ingredient, however, in this specific application (toothpaste), it is bad for us (since it prevents our teeth to naturally re-mineralize themselves, the way nature intended).

The best way to steer clear of unnecessary ingredients in your toothpaste is to research and read labels!  Read the ingredients on your tube of toothpaste and find out what each ingredient does, why it’s used, and any harmful effects associated with it.  Even with all natural products, read labels to ensure the ingredients truly are all natural and will benefit your teeth/gums in some way.  Another way to avoid unnecessary ingredients and uncertainty is to make your own toothpaste or tooth powder.  I will end this weeks post on that note and will post a few homemade recipes for toothpaste and tooth powder for next Sunday’s Back to Basics post.  Stay tuned!

This weeks Back to Basics post is a homemade, no-bake granola bar recipe.  I’ve previously posted a homemade granola bar recipe here, along with a short explanation on why it’s important to make your own rather than continue to eat store bought granola bars.  Also, it’s important to remember to soak and dry all of your ingredients beforehand (I mentioned how I do this at the end of my previous granola bar recipe post).  I always soak my ingredients in large batches so that I can have already soaked ingredients on hand for whenever I need to make another batch of granola bars (we need to have a constant supply of granola bars at all times in our house). 

I decided to post a new granola bar recipe for this week’s post since I’ve been making different kinds of granola bars, and this one has become one of our favorites:

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 cups rolled oats  (soaked & dried)

1.5 cups nuts and/or seeds (I used equal amounts of sunflower & pumpkin seeds - soaked & dried)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup raisins

6 tablespoons salted butter (organic, grass-fed!)

1/2 cup sugar (I use Sucanat or Rapadura)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons honey (I use raw honey)

2 tablespoon molasses

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix oats, raisins, coconut, and nuts/seeds in large bowl.

2. Heat butter, sugar, cinnamon, honey and molasses in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until everything is heated evenly (slightly bubbling)  and all ingredients are well incorporated.

3. Remove from heat and stir into oat mixture until evenly coated with large spoon. press and fold until all dry ingredients are covered in liquid mixture.  Mixture will be sticky, keep folding ingredients until everything is moist.  Let sit just until cool enough to handle

4. In the meantime, line a 9×11 (or 7x11) inch pan with plastic wrap/wax paper. Spoon mixture into pan, pressing down with spoon to compact. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm granola. Remove from pan, peel away plastic wrap/wax paper and slice into bars. Wrap individually in plastic wrap or wax paper, if desired.

I store mine in the refrigerator, but these can be stored at room temperature as well.  As you can see from the picture above, I choose to wrap this batch in small plastic sandwich bags for convenience since we use them as snacks on the go.

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***NOTE:  FUTURE BACK TO BASICS POSTS WILL BE ON SUNDAYS, STARTING THIS UPCOMING WEEK!!  I WILL TEST SUNDAYS OUT FOR THE TIME BEING, BUT MOST LIKELY WILL STICK WITH SUNDAYS.  I WILL MAKE A NOTE OF ANY CHANGES, IF FOR SOME REASON I DECIDE TO CHANGE THE DAY AGAIN IN THE FUTURE (UNLIKELY).  I will post a reminder about this again when I make a post tomorrow (the day of my Tumblr anniversary!) ***

Have you ever read the ingredients list on the back of your store bought ketchup bottle?  High fructose corn syrup is often one of the main ingredients (yuck!)

Ever since we finished using our favorite store bought ketchup, I decided to no longer buy ketchup, and that the ketchup we use in our house would only be homemade.  Of course, there’s always the all natural, organic ketchup that can be purchased at Whole Foods in case of condiment emergency. But organic store bought ketchup, even in it’s “all natural” state, is still not as healthy as homemade lacto-fermented ketchup.

So here is a healthy, all natural, organic, enzyme & probiotic filled (via lacto-fermentation) recipe.  This recipe is SO simple, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making ketchup yourself all along  (at least I did!)

Ingredients:

3 cups organic tomato paste (I used 4 cans of 6oz Muir Glen organic cans — in the future I will most likely use Bionaturae brand since they come in glass jars instead of cans)

1/4 cup liquid whey (homemade only…click the link to learn how to make your own).

1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup

2-3 organic black peppercorns (crushed)

1 Tbs sea salt

3 cloves organic garlic, mashed

1/2 cup fish sauce (try to only use fish sauce that has only anchovies and salt as the listed ingredients…I tried to find it, but the only one I could get at the time also had sugar.  Next time I will go to an Asian supermarket since they have a vast selection of fish sauce, but for now, I used Thai Kitchen - which has anchovies, salt, and sugar)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix on low with a hand mixer (you could also just whisk this mixture together yourself, but I prefer the hand mixer to make sure everything is mixed well).  Pour into a 1 quart jar or container.  Make sure there is approx 1 inch at the top of the jar/container to allow for expansion during fermentation.  Leave the jar/container out on the kitchen counter for 2 days to ferment, then store in the refrigerator.  Mark the container with the date to keep track of how long you’ve had it for.  Will keep for up to 6 months.

I adapted this recipe from Sarah, at The Healthy Home Economist, who adapted recipe from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon Morell.

**NOTE: After the new year (my anniversary with Tumblr), I will most likely be moving Back to Basic posts to SUNDAYS!  It will be “Back to Basics Sundays” instead of “Back to Basics Fridays”.   I will post this note again before the change is made for sure.

It’s Friday, Friday…  and beginning next week, I will be posting a “Back to Basics” post every Friday! 

Back to Basics stems from the idea that we, as a society, have lost touch with our most essential and basic needs (and desires).  If you think back to how our ancestors lived: fruits and vegetables were grown locally, oftentimes in their own backyard, and food was made from scratch, using fresh ingredients.  The thought of chemical ridden, processed foods would have been appalling to any of our ancestors, as well ancient cultures.  And the same goes for toxic skin care products.  Half of the products out there today we don’t need… we’ve just grown accustomed to them. 

For quite some time now, I’ve been slowly but surely changing the foods I eat/cook, the beverages I drink, and the cosmetics and skin care products I apply. 
This all began from when I spent 60 hours a week working at a store that was known for their pet fashions and supplies, carrying only the most nutritious dog (and cat) foods.  While I was there, I realized that many people cared more about what they were feeding their pets and applying to their coats, than what they were feeding themselves and applying on their own skin.  With a large selection of all natural grooming products including shampoos, conditioners, and coat sprays, I knew that there was something wrong with what we, as humans, use on our own skin every single day. 

I began looking into all of the skincare products that I owned, reading every label and researching the ingredients.  The first place I started was the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.  You can search by product name, brand, company, or ingredient. — This database is an awesome way to get to know what you’re really putting on your skin each day.  Don’t forget, your skin is your largest organ and everything you put on your skin can/will be absorbed into your bloodstream.  When I realized how awful the products I was using were, I wanted change and I wanted it fast.  I quickly looked into a bunch of all natural brands/products, and even began making my own homemade skin care recipes with ingredients I already had in my kitchen (recipes to come in future “Back to Basic” posts). The same eureka happened with the cleaning products I’ve been using when I realized, ‘duh! For something that lingers in the house and is inhaled while cleaning and for a long time after, cleaning products should definitely be all natural’!  It was then when I switched and never turned back.  I first began by buying all natural cleaning products from the grocery store, but soon realized I wasn’t as satisfied not knowing exactly what was going into the product, plus it was much more cost effective to make my own (recipes for this also coming soon).

More recently, I’ve moved onto the food aspect of things.  All natural is obviously the direction I was moving in, so I felt that the foods I eat should be “all natural” as well.  Since I’m still in the process of making a complete transfer, I’ve got to say that the food part of this is definitely the hardest, and is taking the longest.  With patience though, I can already tell it’s worth it.  Less processed, pre-packaged foods, less junk as snacking food, and more fruits, vegetables, “good” fats, and essential nutrients.  This means, more cooking, baking, and whipping together meals and desserts from scratch, rather than the store bought versions that are filled with chemicals, preservatives, and generically modified ingredients.

And that’s the point of future Friday’s Back to Basics posts — to provide just a little bit of information regarding how to get started going “Back to Basics”. I will provide recipes for at home skin care, and from scratch food/drink recipes, as well as information regarding the “healthier” way to go.

Follow Back to Basics every Friday to keep up with the new things I have been learning, the latest recipes I’ve been using, and my thought process through it all.