Spice kit essentials
Over the past few months I’ve become increasingly interested in learning how to work with spices in the kitchen. I’ve always been intimidated by their pep and intricacies, so it’s only recently that I’ve started to appreciate how much depth they can add to a dish. My fascination started after becoming a regular at Sitka & Spruce and only continued to gain momentum as my guy started experimenting with some of his own blends at home.
Far beyond the initial intimidation you can feel when working with spices are the endless health benefits. Spices like Turmeric paired with black pepper can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Paprika, an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant can lower the risk of cancer. Cinnamon used daily can help to lower blood pressure and overall cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes.
With just those few spices promising (yes, promising) healing properties like that it’s no wonder eating a spice-y meal can leave me feeling energized and sometimes even tingly. Seriously! I noticed that quarterly detoxing over the past few years has helped me become more aware of the effects of food on my body. Call me crazy if you want, but it’s a wonderful thing to feel your body being nurtured as you eat.
In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing some of our favorite recipes so you can give it a go too, but in the meantime I wanted to show you my favorite place to stock up, and I’ll likely be referring back to it here and there. Check out World Spice Merchants.
World Spice Merchants is located just “below” the Pike Place Market on Western Ave.
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It’s a killer shop filled with the freshest teas, herbs, and spices from all ends of the earth. They’ve also got some great custom blends so be on the look-out for anything that sounds good to you.
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Walk in, browse, smell, ask questions. The spice guru’s are really helpful, and they know their stuff. Who knew there were so many different varieties of a single spice. I had no clue, but it was great to learn about the different types and flavor profiles of cinnamon the last time I was there.
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When you’re ready just grab a clipboard and start writing your order. Pass it along to a spice guru and they’ll start filling your order. It’s a sweet set up!
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I can’t wait to share our early favorites, and while I’m still in the novice stages I like the idea of sharing as I’m learning. In the meantime, check out World Spice, even if it’s just to poke around. It’s a great addition to a weekend out and about.
PS- I should also note that if you’re not Seattle-based you can always order online or call and have them help you place an order to be shipped anywhere.
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Josie Maran’s Cream Blush
I was so over pressed powder blushes. Even with the lightest of dustings I just felt like the powder looked cakey and dry, so the natural blushy glow I wanted was just not going to happen. I swear every morning I had flashbacks to the severe blushlines of the 80′s.
I knew I needed a cream blush, but also knew that it couldn’t be shimmery…another decade-specific cosmetic downfall, but this time from the 90′s (glitter anyone?). So really with very little effort I came across my new-absolute-favorite blush from Josie Maran Cosmetics.
It’s so lovely and effortless looking it’s precisely what blush is intended to look like: creamy with a light, natural glow (NOT shimmery). For me it’s really long-lasting but I feel like this is one of those features that differs from skin type to skin type. I only ever wear tinted moisturizer on my face so the Argan oil in the blush pairs perfectly with my oil-free Tarte tinted moisturizer. I’m wearing all of these in the picture I shared before. It really is just a nice spring/summer look.
In addition to the perfect blush, Josie’s line has some other really great and important features:
- Organic oils
- No Parabens
- No Sulfates
- No Synthetic Fragrance
- No Petrochemicals
- No Phthalates
- Biodegradable compact
Give it a go and let me know what you think!
Josie Maran Cream Blush in Sun Kissed $22.
(Check back tomorrow for food porn pics from my getaway last weekend!)
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Bellwether Farms Sheep Milk Yogurt
I used to see commercials for yogurt and shake my head when they’d try to sell it as a dessert. Seriously, who closes their eyes and slowly licks the lid and then continues to make out with each subsequent spoonful? It has the same amount of sugar and calories as a candy bar, but come on, no one actually ever enjoyed yogurt in lieu of anything with chocolate. In fact, let’s be honest and talk about how overwhelming the yogurt section is: filled over-processed sugar bombs and dozens of different brands. No thanks.
I’d pretty much given up on yogurt as a desperate snack let alone a dessert substitute. That is…until I had Bellwether Farms sheep milk yogurt. This my friends is the best yogurt out there. I crave it. And when I’m on a health kick this is the best dessert ever. The texture is silky and rich with the perfect amount of sweet (sugar, not high fructose corn syrup) and fruit to balance the tang from the milk.
Sheep’s milk is naturally thicker than cow’s milk, so there are no added stabilizers. It also has twice the amount of calcium and is also often digestible by people who are lactose intolerant. And yes, I do make out with the lid and make sure to get every bit of the cream that’s risen to the top. Promise me you’ll do the same when you give this a go.
Tip: Use the plain instead of mayo or sour cream in salad dressings and dips.
Like this:
Ok, so…to be honest…I was feeling kinda pretty yesterday….
Ugh! That’s really hard to say out loud! But do you ever have those days where you just feel content? God knows it doesn’t happen often enough for most women; in fact, every other day I feel quite the opposite. When it does happen though, doesn’t it feel great? So I’m not looking forward to the flip side of this with the inevitable event that knocks me on my ass, BUT STILL…how often I wish there was a way to bottle that voodoo and create more of these days. The funny thing is that while my jeans are the tightest they’ve been in a while (love pounds, hee hee), it meant a lot that I was able to let all of that go and appreciate what I am just right now.
I don’t know what the trick is to bottling this feeling, but I figured a start might be to give ourselves a break. I don’t want to measure up to the images I see in the glossies or on TV, and I hope you don’t either.
Kiss!
[My new favorite orange lipstick & nail polish. Vegas Volt - MAC lipstick, Lasting Sensation - MAC lip liner, Tart Deco - Essie nail polish]
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To keep me sane and help deal with all of the changes in my life I have started listening to guided meditations from Bodhipaksa, Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness, and Love. I’m still only a few days in, but I was genuinely stunned at how effective and euphoric meditation is. I’ve always had a hard time turning my brain off at night, and I thought I lacked the discipline to make meditation worth trying, but listening to Bodhipaksa’s soothing voice and instructions made it so easy and relaxing. As a former skeptic (on my part, not on the practice overall) I just thought I’d share with you in case you were looking to feel centered.
[Available on iTunes and Amazon. Image via Amazon.]
I get a lot of questions about natural alternatives for skincare, and while I’m not a product junkie I have spent a lot of time researching natural remedies (with a lot of help from mom, too).
It doesn’t come in fancy packaging (although I do wish it was glass), and it doesn’t have a pretty French-sounding name, but Witch Hazel is one of my favorite products! It’s a cheap and easy way to add a natural alternative in place of conventional astringents and toners.
After cleansing, the purpose of a toner is to remove excess oil and dirt, but also to close the pores and restore pH balance. Witch Hazel is a natural antiseptic, so if you make sure the product you’re getting is alcohol free, it can perform all the functions of a conventional toner, but without the added preservatives and chemicals. To apply it I don’t even use a cotton ball (it’s just one other organic item to add to the list, and really it’s just not worth it), so I just pour a tiny bit into my cupped palm and splash it on my face. After that you’re free and clear to lotion it up.
Bottom line: it’s natural, it works, it’s cheap, and it will last you quite a long time.
Many different varieties here for about $6.
I love the thought of organizing first aid supplies in this retro-style tin box, especially since I often find myself yearning for days of old where tin and glass were the container standards. This little guy is wall mountable for ease-of-use, but really, it’s pretty darn stylish too. Available here for $23.
[images via ModCloth]
Dr. Bronner’s family of soaps
I adore my Dr. Bronner’s soaps, they make me happy. Yes, washing my hands with his soaps actually makes me happy. And reading the label is always interesting. All of the soaps are vegetable-based, completely biodegradable, made from organic and fair trade oils, and have no synthetics or preservatives. You can actually recognize all nine of the ingredients on the label, and checking in at the Cosmetics Database shows it’s ranking as a wonderful 1-2 (which is not always easy to find). The scents come only from the essential oils, so no fragrance has been added. I’ve admitted it before: I am a perfume/fragrance brat. I’ll have none of it, thankyouverymuch. I use almond in both the liquid and bar soaps and it smells heavenly; nothing artificial or overpowering, just a soft natural almond scent that reminds me of cookies for some strange reason.
Aside from the lovely smell and all the benefits of organic and natural ingredients, converting to a natural soap is an easy way to make the transition toward a cleaner house, and here’s why: last April the FDA announced that there may suddenly be a concern with the commonly used antibacterial chemical triclosan. Found in everything from toothpaste to deodorant and liquid soaps and hand sanitizers, the chemical is so prevalent that it is found in 75% of the population’s urine. Recent studies have found that triclosan disrupts normal endocrine functions (by mimicking hormones produced by the thyroid), while other studies have shown it to affect sea life, even preventing photosynthesis in diatom algae. In short: a chemical employed since the early seventies, presumed to be completely safe (by the FDA in spite of mounting evidence) until last spring, is currently being investigated, but still exists in nearly every health and cleaning product available.
Triclosan
Switching soaps is an easy and fairly inexpensive way to remove a few more chemicals from your home. Compared to many conventional soaps it may be more expensive, but seeing as how some countries and politicians domestically are asking that triclosan be banned from children’s products, it is definitely worth making the switch.
Very easy to find, and liquid soaps are often available in bulk-size. Check your local natural food store or buy online here.
At the end of this year there will meet and then exceed 7 billion people living on our planet. This three-minute, no nonsense typography video from National Geographic kick starts a seven part, year-long series on global population.
In this time of resolutions and crash diet beginnings it seems we often forget to think about the world outside of ourselves. If you take a second to think about it, I mean really think about it, the New Year is a very selfish time. Just on the heels of time when we’re all guilty of overindulging, it seems the meaning of resolutions has gone right out the window with the true holiday spirit. As much of a humbug as that makes me sound I really hope to use this time to think about my place in this world as 1 out of 7 billion and think about the message of balance.
Filed under: Clean, Farmer's Market, Food, Green, Health, Movies, Nature
As much as I love and often refer to Food Inc. it was a really heavy movie; all the things I had already suspected were not only confirmed but the stories and images, though not as gruesome I had anticipated, had resonated in a strong way. I was mad and angry and I sort of carried it with me for a while; it wasn’t a terrible thing, just not the kind of feeling I want to handle often.
On the flip side of Food Inc. there’s a new, seemingly more joyful and uplifting movie that’s out called Fresh. My awesome co-worker passed it along yesterday and I’m already trying to see if I can get into a screening next week. I can’t find much more info than what’s listed on their site, but it looks as if it’s been making the rounds at small screenings here and there (since 2009!). It would be great to see it go nation-wide.
My favorite farmer Joel Salatin is back from Food Inc. too!
