New Snack Recipe...Yay!

So those of us who have kids I know are always on the look out for yummy, healthy snacks! It's very nice to find one that will subside our children's hunger without causing them to a) ask for something else in 5 minutes or to b) be difficult to put together. I find the following recipe to be neither, and quite a winner.

Almond-Oat Energy Bites

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries (non sweetened preferably)
2 Tbsp raw sunflower seeds or raw pumpkin seeds(I use more)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raw almond or peanut butter
1/2 cup raw honey or organic grade b maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla powder

Grind 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds in food processor until powdery. Transfer to medium bowl and set aside.

Combine remaining 2 cups oats, remaining 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, cranberries, sunflower seeds and cinnamon in large bowl.

Stir in almond butter, honey and vanilla powder.

Moisten hands (have a bowl of warm water and dip hands after making a few balls at a time) and roll dough into 1 inch balls. (I used a cookie scoop then molded into balls then I coated balls in oat-pumpkin seed powder.

Place on a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Put in freezer 20 minutes to set, then store in an air tight container in the fridge. Done!

Exciting! Make Your Own Natural Latex Mattress!

I really wanted to share this video from The Renegade Health show. For a while now I've been personally concerned with what I've been sleeping on, specifically my mattress. It's fairly common knowledge how nasty mattresses can get between dust, dirt, and sweat. Something you might not have thought about is all of the chemicals that we sleep on daily. The mattresses are sprayed with and put together with a ton of toxic poisons.

Don't know about you, but I am all about limiting my toxic chemical intake :) My logic is if I can avoid it, then I will. We certainly can't live our lives in a bubble. When we leave our homes, and even inside of our homes, especially with what things are built with and made, you are going to be hard pressed to avoid everything that may be harmful to you.

You might as well never go out, and hide yourself in a closet if you never want to take in or inhale anything harmful. On the other side why would you constantly subject yourself to toxins, especially in your home, if you can feasibly avoid them? We need to be discerning folks, and consider the facts involved. We just need to ask ourselves if something is worth it or not, and what makes a certain factor worth it.

For me personally, in this particular capacity, here are the questions I've asked myself and maybe they'd apply to you too:

*Do I need a new mattress right now?
*Can I afford to upgrade to a natural mattress right now?
*Is this mattress cost effect or will it break my bank?
*Is my quality of sleep important?
*Will I sleep better on this mattress?
*Will sleeping on a natural mattress really improve my health and quality of life?

Click on video link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMRrMImqf6c