Cold, Flu and Allergy Care

So today I set out on some DIY health recipes (From Pinterest of course!) So I stumbled upon a couple of keepers, "Vick's" inspired shower steamers and ginger/lemon syrup for colds/allergies/sore throat. I'm ON it!

"Vick's" shower steamers:

Got the Idea from here

I took the original post and changed it to fit what I had at home. I used

1 cup Baking Soda

1 cup corn starch

15 drops peppermint oil

20 drops eucalyptus oil

 enough water to make a thick paste

Super easy: Add all ingredients mix well and pour into paper cupcake liners. I baked mine so they'd be done faster it took 1 hour in a 200 degree oven. Let cool for 1 hour and pop out of liners into a storage container. Tada! Done!

Ginger/Lemon Syrup:

 So Ginger is a natural pain reducer and anti-inflammatory while lemons are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Great combo right?? Right! So off I went to the pantry to fix up this little gem that I saw on anther great blog. I made a half recipe because I only had a little chunk of ginger left.

1 cup  water

2 large lemons, juice and grated zest

1 stalk grated ginger

1 cup sugar

 Bring the water to a boil. Add the sugar, ginger and grated lemon zest.

Cook for 15 minutes and stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the juice of 2 lemons then strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the guts to get all the yummy goodness! 

Keep in the fridge and add 1-2 tablespoons per 8oz water serve hot or cold! I made this for me and a half dose of the syrup with a dropper of children's echinacea and ice to a sippy cup for my Sam! He drank it happily! :) It's tasty, and hopefully will help my family feel better quickly!

Hope this spring find your family healthy and happy! But if you have the sniffles, I hope you try these and tell me what you think! :) Enjoy!

Monday, Monday!

Happy Monday Fit Mommas!

Day 3!

This morning I actually woke up and got in the shower! Yahoo!!! That's a major accomplishment in my world! The morning was off to a great start and I managed to feed, bathe and dress all my children before hurrying my little chicks to the car for school and a hundred errands. Sadly, I forgot to feed myself. So, as I'm running out the door, I grab a dove chocolate from my secret stash, and I pop it in my mouth and reach for 3 more for the road when suddenly I remember "Crap, I'm going to have to blog this.....Put the chocolate down and walk away!" (It worked I actually stepped away from the chocolate!!!!) Accomplishment #2!!!! YES! I returned to the kitchen and grabbed a low fat string cheese and a small handful of raw almonds.

Off  to run errands with the little kids and then home to make some lunch for them. I realized that I tend to not eat and then when I'm staving I eat junk food, so while I'm waiting for water to boil I cut up some apple and celery and peanut butter for myself to munch while the kids eat. Today I also blended up a carrot orange smoothie (recipe to follow). I am happy to announce that I managed to make it through the kids lunch and I only had two bites of mac and cheese (Hey, stop judging me! I had to be sure it wasn't poisoned! )

For dinner tonight, chicken tortilla soup served with chips and salsa! (I choose to save my daily calories for a family dinner)

Orange Carrot Smoothie

Hardware: Magic Bullet type blender

4 oz Carrot Juice ( I get mine from Trader Joe's)

2 Tablespoons Orange Juice Concentrate

3 pieces of Ice

water to "Top Off"

Blend till ice is crushed, add straw and be impressed that your drinking veggies! If you want to add a banana it adds a bit of a creaminess to the drink. This recipe is a knock off of my favorite Jamba Juice smoothie. Enjoy!