Eating Oranges? Save the peels and treat yourself to a yummy body and face scrub! (and more!)

I've been eating a ton of cutie clementines and oranges lately. (Literally ate about 20 of them for breakfast the other day!) I'm also pretty into DIY everything right now, so I figured there was something I could do with the mass of orange peels I had left from my feast! There totally is! (Buy organic if you can :)

First, I peeled the clementines (and oranges.) Then I ate the clementines. Then I placed the clementine peels on top of our wood-burning, soapstone stove (fireplace) to dry them out and create a sensational aromatherapy effect in our house. The peels released their amazing oils into the air as they dried; our home smelled redickolos. a.k.a. divine, amazing, stupid awesome! Something about citrus, fire, and coldness outside just clicks! Hear that snow? It's time for you to fall! Anyways ..





If you don't have a sweet wood burning stove like we do, consider getting one because they are beautiful, fun if you're a pyro, and will save you a ton of money on gas or electric because (especially a soap-stone one like this) will heat a majority of your house (depending on the size of course) using wood. The Amish have even invented a device that turns old newspapers into bricks that you can burn instead of wood! Click HERE to see this crazy tool!  If you still aren't convinced, come over and feel the amazing flames licking your cold toes and bum until you are :) Or.. Use your oven on a low setting to toast/dry the orange peels until they are hard, but not cooked. (If they are turning brown or black, they are done. Too done. Remove from heat and let cool!) The color should remain relatively similar to the raw peels, they will now just be hard. There are several things I plan to use these dry peels for now ...

Here is how I made a delicious facial and body scrub:



I made the dried orange peels into a powder using an electric coffee grinder ( A mortar and pestle will work too :) I added ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves (about a pinch of each) to the orange peel powder. Next, I "wet" the mixture with almond oil (that had a hint of vanilla essential oil in it). You can use any type of neutral oil: coconut oil or butter, olive oil, hemp seed oil, grapeseed oil, even vegetable oil if that's all you've got on hand! I only added enough oil so that all the mixture got wet, but not soupy. As you can see from the photo, the scrub stays formed into a heap on a spoon, and isn't runny. Use this to scrub your face and body ( do it in a dry tub ) to exfoliate your winter skin all while receiving aroma blasts of citrus and spice .. amazing.

 
  Scrub Scrub Scrub! Scrub Scrub Scrub! Scrub your boooty! Scrub your booooty!

 Other ways to use the orange peels:



As a spice :) Add whole dry peels or a powder to rice or quinoa with a jasmine tea bag while cooking or steaming for a beautiful citrus hint. The photo is above is tonight's "rich poor girl dinner ;)" I boiled organic short grain brown rice and organic quinoa, 1/2 tbs orange peel powder (could have added 1 tbs.), a tbs. miso paste, and sea salt in a rice cooker until done. Simple. Filling. Tasty!

Roast root vegetables like beets, potatoes, and carrots with it.

 Add the powder or whole dry peel to green, black,or earl grey tea while steeping to add a unique flavor.

 Boil some dry orange peels in water to freshen the air in your home and use for aromatherapy .. "The oils of orange peels can be used as aroma therapy to treat the conditions of depression and anxiety."

 Aging olive oil with orange peels (fresh) will add a zesty flavor to the oil which you can then use on pastas, salads, breads, etc.

 Add dry orange peel powder to your bath water for a luxurious aroma while you cleanse!

 Apparently.."Herbalists recommend consumption of orange peels as an effective method of lowering your blood pressure. The Chinese have used the peels of bitter oranges as herbal medicine for thousands of years."

Eat up! While mixing the orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove combo I mentioned above (for the scrub) I realized how tasty some raw "cookies" would taste with the exact same spices! I will make them and get back to you about that!

Much love and oranges,

Sofie K! 

Juice Recipes!

I'm always interested in knowing what tasty fresh raw juice concoctions people have come up with. Here's a website with some yummy-sounding ideas!

http://www.wholefigured.com/component/k2/item/37-my-favorite-juicing-recipes

Love and Juice Power!
Sofie K

Low-Fat Vegan Java-Chocolate-Pumpkin Seed "Brownies Bites" Recipe!

Here is a photo tutorial on how to makes these yummy, vegan, semi-raw Java-Choco-Pumpkin Seed Brownies for a healthy dessert or a sweet snack!

These treats are: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Baking-Free, all-Natural, Energy-Giving and delicious!

You will need:

A food processor and small coffee bean grinder

Ingredients:




About 20 pitted dates
5-10 dried apricots
Dash of: cinnamon, nutmeg, dry ginger, and 1-2 small pieces of dry clove
About 1-2 tsp. ground coffee beans (if you have whole coffee beans, use your coffee grinder to grind into a     fine powder.)
About 3-5 tsp. ground raw cacao nibs
Agave nectar
Pumpkin Seeds (Raw)

Grind about 1/2 a cup of pumpkin seeds into a fine powder with your coffee grinder, place on plate and leave on the side. (We will use this powder to roll our brownies in. You can also use walnuts, almonds, shredded coconut, or some more of the cacao/coffee powder if you do not have pumpkin seeds!)
















 Combine dates, apricots, ground cacao and coffee, spices, and about just enough agave nectar to get the ingredients "wet" (about 2-3 tbs.) in food processor. Pulse with "S" blade until your ingredients look something like this:

Roll mixture into little brownie bites (ball-shaped). I like to use a bit of water on my hands while rolling them because it binds them better and gives the surface a smoother texture :) Plus it makes them nice and sticky for the next step!













Roll the brownie bite in the pumpkin seed powder to fully cover it with pumpkiny yumminess :)

Last Step: Enjoy your delicious, healthy, creations ! (Store in the fridge or freezer in an air-tight container :)





Have fun! In-Joy! Bon-Apetit!

Sofie K :)

Home-made Lip Balm !

Check out THIS awesome website about how to create your own lip balms!

Sofie K

Quick & Simple Quinoa Dinner :)

You know what I LOVE? Good food, simply and fast! Sometimes I like to spend a few hours in the kitchen making an elaborate 4 course meal, but when I come home from work or a day out, I just want to feed myself something nourishing and yummy with minimal effort.

So that's what I did today!

Pictured is a wonderful dish of cooked quinoa with veggies and a side of salad.

Gluten-Free, Salt-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian  Organic, Fresh!






Here's the recipe:

Cook quinoa until tender and "salt" with Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids. (For those who have never tried liquid amino's, it comes as a "spritz" bottle and tastes like soy sauce, but with a lot less sodium, no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, and they are non-GMO.) I cooked about 4 cups of quinoa to have some for leftovers.

Add 3-4 cups of mixed greens to steam for 1-2 minutes until wilted, and 1 cup of chopped bell peppers of all colors. Cook for 1-2 minutes and mix into quinoa.

Add a teaspoon of hummus to the mixture, some more Bragg's to taste and enjoy!

For the salad I just used mixed greens and balsamic vinegar with a tiny bit of walnut oil for dressing.

//edit//

Although I love how cooked food tastes, and my mind sure does still crave it still, I notice what a decrease in energy and increase in digestion time I experience after eating it. Pretty wild since this was a very healthy meal according to most people's "standards." I did eat a lot of food and that (I know) has something to do with it, but I have been eating mostly raw (some conventional juices) during the day: fruit, smoothies, salads, juices, veggies, and in the afternoon/night having some cooked food. Wild.

Bon Apetit!

Sofie K

Latin Night Dinner Recipes - Spanish Rice with Tilapia

A photo of Spanish rice I found on the internet .. ours also had corn and blackbeans :) Yum!

I cooked an amazing meal last night! I think this dinner turned out the best that I have ever cooked for several reasons - I was in the mood to cook and was inspired to try something different, I was cooking for people, and I actually looked up and based the dishes on recipes instead of just "winging" it ;)

Not our house, but it was just as beautiful :) 

Everyone was hungry by the time dinner was ready, and a candle-lit room with a salsa lounge soundtrack added to the lovely ambiance in which this food was enjoyed.



Dairy Free, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free

The Main Dish: Spanish Rice and Orange Zesty Tilapia

Fish: Marinade Tilapia (We had about 4 big pieces) in : 1/4 c. oil (I used veggie oil, but coconut oil, olive, or canola would work here), zest of 1 orange, juice of 1 orange, 1 tsp. oregano, 1/2 a jalapeno, and one bunch fresh cilantro finely chopped. I marinaded the fish in the fridge for about 2 hours and the flavores came through in an amazing way ! Cook in a skillet by placing all the fish and all the marinade and cooking on medium heat on both sides until fish is flakey and cooked fully through. Although I enjoyed this recipe, next time I will use lemon zest and lemon juice instead of orange because I didn't love the orange-ey flavor it gave to the fish, and think I would prefer lemon instead. To serve: Squirt with fresh lime juice.

Rice: I began by boiling the brown rice in a separate pot (I was making a lot so I knew the rice would need at least 1-1.5 hours to cook at this high altitude, and since the recipe called for cooking the rice with rest of the ingredients for 30-35 minutes, I thought it was a good idea to start ahead of time.) In a large pot I sauteed 3/4 of a large white onion in veggie oil until golden brown. (The recipe called for 1-3 cloves of garlic here too, but I had none so I skipped it.) Next I added 1 tbs ground dry ginger, 2 tbs ground black pepper, 1/2 tbs ground cloves, 1/2 tbs of chili powder, and 1 tbs. cumin to to the onions and stirred well. (Again, I was making a HUGE pot, the recipe called for half the amount of these spices to make about 4 cups of rice .. we  .. we ended up with about 6-8 cups of rice.) Next, I added the half cooked brown rice (in water) to the onions and spices, as well as 4 cups of yellow cherry tomatoes, halved, as well as about 2 tsb. sea salt. and a generous few squirts of Valencia hot sauce, half a jalapeno with seeds from the whole jalapeno, and 2 bay leaves. I cooked this combination of things until the rice was done and then added a can of organic black beans and a package of organic frozen corn to the mix, and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. (Other optional ingredients could include: peas and chopped bell peppers.) To serve: Top with freshly chopped cilantro and a squirt of lime juice.

The Sides: Steamed Veggies, Mushrooms, and Avocado

Veggies: I steamed zuchinni, broccoli, red and yellow bell peppers (all chopped) in a bit of water, salt, and valencia hot sauce. I enjoyed the light flavor of the veggies (not too-seasoned) paired with the rich flavors of the main dishes.

Mushrooms: I sauteed the mushrooms in a bit of oil, salt, and a lot of black ground pepper until tender. Yum! I love shrooms!

Avocado: The avocado would have been fabulous on its own, but after I chopped it and layed it out on the plate I sprinkled a tiny bit of sea salt with a squirt of lime juice on it for a little extra love :)

I chopped up 1/4 of the fresh raw white onion so people could spoon it in with their rice if they wanted, and also put some fresh cilantro on the table for extra seasoning.

I was so happy with these dishes!! They where fresh and delicious, and I cooked so much that I was able to freeze 3 portions of the rice and still have leftovers in the fridge for the next few days ! ( I live with 3 roommates, so we'll see about that last part! ;)

I am definitely going to make Spanish rice again, and am even interested to try the fish marinade (with lemon this time) on tofu in the spirit of total veganism which I have not yet embraced ;) Enjoy!

And for desert: Why not have some delicious dates (deglet noor or medjool) sprinkled in a bit of almond butter and whole sunflower seeds :)

Love, Peace, Prosperity and Healthy Happy Eating!
Sofie