Whole Green Love

So there was this stain on the rug in our office area. I honestly had no idea where it came from. It was also getting darker and darker over time as we walked over the spot. Gross.

I had some carpet cleaner left over from when we had a dog and were cleaning up Max’s pee spots all. the. time, on the carpet that we used to have in our house. I wanted to try something different because I knew that carpet cleaner was loaded with chemicals. Not ideal in the home of a toddler. And I can’t stand the smell of this carpet cleaner. It’s like a fake floral “clean” scent. The bottle has no list of ingredients, which I don’t like. So, I decided to make my own carpet spot treatment for carpet.

This is so easy that I can’t believe I’m calling this a “recipe”.

Can anyone share other natural options for spot treating carpet stains? I’m also curious to know if anyone has natural options for cleaners to use in the tank of commercial carpet cleaning machines.

Happy stain removing!

I was hitting up Trader Joe’s the other week and I came across these cute little guys.

Kumquats.

I’d never had them before. They were too cute to pass up. I often come across different foods that I haven’t tried before (this usually happens at the farmers’ market) and I must buy them to experiment.

These little cutie kumquats are seriously sour though! They are not a snack food, like I was hoping they would be. I was hoping I could give them to Lyla to try something different than the clementines she’s obsessed with. Too too sour!

So when you don’t know how to eat a food, turn it into an alcoholic beverage. Duh.

Kumquat Lime Margaritas

Serves 4

1 pint of kumquats, cut in half and seeded

½ cup water (or enough water to get your blender going)

1/2 – 3/4 cup tequila

8 oz lime simple syrup (see recipe below)

8 oz club soda

Ice

Course salt for the glass rims

Combine kumquats and water in a blender (or use your immersion blender) and blend until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp. Set aside.

Combine the tequila and simple syrup in a pourable container.

Rim each glass with salt and add a small handful of ice to each glass. Scoop 3 tablespoons of kumquat puree into each glass. Divide the tequila mixture between all glasses. Pour about 2 oz of club soda into each glass. Stir to combine.

Lime simple syrup:

¼ cup water

½ cup cane sugar

The juice of 3 limes

1 tsp lime zest (optional, for a little extra zest. Ha! Get it? Zest?)

Combine water, sugar, and lime juice in a small saucepan on the stove. Heat and stir often over medium high heat until the mixture boils. Stir to dissolve the sugar and then remove from heat to cool. Add in the zest after the mixture has cooled.

This margarita recipe would be fabulous with a different fruit puree too! Kumquats may be hard to find and I’ll be honest, they aren’t the quickest fruit to prepare for a puree with the cutting and de-seeding. This margarita would be equally as delicious with strawberry or mango as well. Give some other flavors a try!

Do you have a favorite margarita recipe?

Is it weird we are talking about skin fungus today? Is it too much that I’m sharing with you guys that I even had skin fungus? Ah well.

I went to see a dermatologist a few years ago because I saw a couple of small, light pink patches of skin about 5 inches above my belly button. Not painful, not itchy, barely noticeable, but I thought I should get it checked out.

My dermatologist took one look at it, said, “I bet this is tinea versicolor” and left the room to look at the cells she had scraped off my skin under a microscope.

Rx happy dermo returns. “Yup,” she says, “That’s what it is. Just a harmless skin fungus. It’s pretty common and actually, a lot of people have it without even knowing. Some people have it on their back or in places on your skin where there is a lot of heat or the skin can’t breathe well. It bothers people because they don’t like how it looks and the affected skin won’t tan in the sun. But it’s not harmful and it’s nothing to be concerned about. I’m going to write you a prescription for an oral medication, which should get rid of it for you. You should know though, that even if it goes away it will likely come back again and you’ll need to take the medication again.”

Click here for more information on tinea versicolor.

Timeout a second here. Just to give you a little more information, these two spots on my skin were literally half the size of a dime. I’m not even sure my husband would have noticed it if I hadn’t pointed it out. But already we’re talking prescription medications?

“Is there something else I can do to get rid of it? Maybe something besides taking the medication?” I asked.

“Well I could write you a prescription for a cream, but the oral meds are just easier.”

I left the appointment with a prescription for the cream (which I never filled). I wasn’t about to load up on a bunch of antifungal pills for something that was not harmful at all to my health. C’mon.

When I got home, a quick Internet search brought up a whole bunch of solutions. The first suggestion I tried worked for me.

Like the dermatologist said, it came back and the recipe below worked like a charm again.

Anti-Fungal Skin Treatment

1 Tbsp olive oil

5-10 drops of tea tree oil

Mix olive oil and tea tree oil in a small sealable container. Apply once or twice per day to the affected area. I found the best way to apply it was to dab a Q-tip in the mixture and apply.

This recipe makes a very small amount of treatment oil, but you don’t need much. If you have larger areas of your skin that are affected, double or triple the recipe for application. Some people also apply straight tea tree oil to their skin for a more potent affect. I would suggest starting with the olive oil mixture, especially if you have sensitive skin.

First of all, sorry about my glowing white Wisconsin skin. It’s, like, translucent. Also, the after picture was taken post workout, so it looks a little red and blotchy compared the the first photo. You can see though, compared to the Before picture, the 2 red spots are gone. The Before and After was a two week time period. I was not good about putting it on twice a day and even missed a day here and there. If you follow the twice per day rule, you’ll see results fast!

Please see a dermatologist if you see something questionable on your skin. Do not use my information, descriptions, or any links I provide here to self diagnose.

What home remedies do you use to clear up skin ailments?

I made an executive decision for our family this week. Best decision I’ve ever made. Thursdays from here on out will be Mediterranean Night. What does this mean? This means we will eat things like nuts, delicious crusty bread with olive oil, cheese, red wine (not for Lyla), olives, and cut up veggies like colorful peppers and slices of tomatoes in the summertime, and fresh or dried fruit.

I should clarify. There are plenty of wonderful cooked and prepared dishes that are a part of a Mediterranean way of eating, like seafood, certain grains, meat, and cooked vegetables. I’m looking to accomplish two things with our new Thursday theme night: I want (1) unprocessed foods (2) that do not require any cooking. Plus, Thursday means it’s almost Friday, which calls for a glass of wine. HELLO! That’s why I didn’t make it Mediterranean Monday (which sounds cooler), but I don’t always feel like I’ve earned a glass of wine yet on a Monday. By Thursday, it’s easy to feel burned out and not want to cook anything.

I don’t need a bunch of research and studies to help me figure out what I like about a Mediterranean diet. It’s delicious, it’s unprocessed, it includes plenty of yummy fat, and it includes some great fruits and veggies. Many people put their focus on the olive oil as the reason people eating a Mediterranean diet are a healthy bunch, but wait a second. A New England Journal of Medicine study from 2003 found that it could be the synergy between all of the food and not just the olive oil that promotes optimal health.

I do most of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s, which is the perfect place to shop for new specialty cheeses. Plus, their wine section. Totally fab.

Here is what our Mediterranean Thursday looked like: red wine, mixed nuts, kalamata olives, crackers, bake Brie topped with homemade raspberry jam, sourdough bread, and olive oil. Such a relaxing and satisfying meal. And when I say relaxed, I mean buzzed from the red wine. Just kidding. Sort of. It was actually a great pre-workout meal. I got in a nice run after I let it all digest a bit.

Do you and your family have any type of themed foodie nights at your house?

Here is our monthly roundup of our favorite things we found in the blogosphere last month! It’s April, why do we look back to cold and dreary March? Because we found some sweet stuff last month that we want you to know about! That’s why! Also, because April has been totally cold and dreary, so what’s the big diff anyway?

• After our discovery that the unwelcome food additive, carrageenan is in the most unexpected dairy/dairy alterative products, making your own almond milk is a must!

• I love figuring out how to replace artificial or unhealthy sweeteners with the natural variety, sometimes it’s just hard to keep track of them all. Our Nourshing Roots breaks it down in the Ultimate Guide to Natural Sweeteners.

• I was just eyeing up the three bottles of laundry detergent we have left in the basement. It’s an eco-friendly option that I love, but I’m excited to make my own homemade laundry detergent!

• These Raw Honey Lemonade with Blueberry Ice Cubes from The Rising Spoon make me soooo excited for summer flavors!

• Real Food Fajitas? Yes, please! And it’s also a plus that they are freezer friendly. Nothing like pulling an already prepared meal out on a busy weeknight!

• I was at an event this week for work, sharing breakfast with some pretty cool people…but no one at the table touched the butter for their toast. Whaaaaa? No one, except for me that is. That’s why this post from Girl Meets Nourishment made me smile: The Truth about Fats: Why Butter is your Best Friend.

• Gotta love an inexpensive home spa treatment for your skin…homemade microdermabrasion! 

• Store bought granola can include some pretty scary stuff, so I appreciated this post from Homemade Mommy, Easy Healthy Homemade Honey Nut Granola.

Any cool recipes or ideas you came across recently? Please share!