Weekly Links

Links for your enjoyment!

Healthy eating is hard but not impossible for low-income Americans- Grist

IKEA to go 100 percent renewable, starting with 67 wind turbines - Grist

The Deal With $8 Eggs - Mother Jones

The Non-Consumer Advocate

5 Documentaries That Could Change Your Outlook on Life- New Urban Habitat 

 

CCosner

 

Eve Ensler: Suddenly, My Body

Honey Face Wash

 Exciting news! I have decided to wash my face with honey for the rest of the month. I have been working to find an alternative for my current face wash. I have used St. Ives for quite some time as well as a few other name brands and they have all worked relatively well. But as with most facial products they can be rather expensive and are loaded with chemicals. I am working to make a switch to as natural of personal care products as possible and I have access to an abundance of good honey.  

Why honey? It sounds weird but honey is a natural antibacterial. It has both cleaning and moisturizing properties which means it can clean skin without over drying it. Deep cleaning is something I need because of my acne-prone skin but commercial cleaners can dry out my skin too much. Honey has a nice balance. All you have to do for honey face wash is wet your face with warm water, massage the honey into your skin, allow to sit for a moment, rinse off and pat dry.

I am currently four days in to this experiment and I have noticed that my blemishes are healing faster than normal. My skin is also soft and clean after washing.  Plus honey is probably the tastiest cleanser ever!

I will post the results at the end of the month.  :)

 

If you want more info check out the Crunchy Betty Honey Challenge!

CCosner

Blueberry Jam

I love canning. For some reason making food and putting it in a jar is so much fun to me. It is very exciting to think that you have your own little food stash that you made yourself.  When people are eating apples and nasty commercial canned fruit in the winter I love the thought of just reaching for a jar of real peaches.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to go blueberry picking earlier in July. I was than able to make my favorite blueberry jam recipe! In to the jar it went before I ate it all. I look forward to eating it this winter with homemade yogurt, whole wheat biscuits or toast. 

  

Blueberry-Lime Jam

4 ½ cups blueberries

1 package powdered pectin

5 cups of sugar

1 tablespoon grated lime peel

1/3 cup lime juice

Crush blueberries on layer at a time. Combine crushed blueberries and pectin in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime peel and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.  Makes about 6 half-pints. 

Recipe From Ball Blue Book.

Happy Canning! 

Rooting

Over the last month I have been meditating on the idea of “rooting”. I am not really sure how I would even define this word in the context in which I use it. To me, being a rooted individual is to be both strong and flexible.  To be grounded in the things that I believe but still being able to adjust and laugh at myself. It is sort of a delicate balance.

I have never been a very rooted person. I am often flighty, easily swayed by others emotions, and shy away from long term commitments for fear of making a wrong decision. This means that I rarely can accomplish something to its fullest and I rarely have friends that are deeply bound to me.

Because of my training as an actor I am able to detect this lack of rooting psychologically and become aware of how it manifests physically.  For instance, people are often lead throughout their day by a certain part of them. Some people have their knees as the part that leads them places while others have their pelvis. I am often lead around by my head and my chest (heart) while my feet and my lower body is consequently left trying to keep up. Everywhere I go I am emotionally and mentally engaged but other parts of me just are left along for the ride.

I feel like this is very symbolic of my detachment from that natural world. When I walk my mind is so full of ideas that I neglect the world around me. I do not soak in the sounds of life about me nor do I take in the sensations that could comfort me.  I simply disengage.

Those who practice yoga know the importance of grounding oneself. For perfect balance an individual must focus on what all parts of the body are doing. Even simple yoga poses can bring awareness to the feeling of the earth underneath us.  

I think one of the most beautiful examples of the importance of rooting comes from the story of the Buddha. It is said that when the Buddha was tempted by the forces evil he sat underneath a tree and remained calm. He promised to help all living and sentient beings break from the cycle of suffering.  When the evil one wanted to know who was his witness, the Buddha simply reached down and touched the earth.  Suddenly there was an earthquake and the forces of evil fled.

How beautiful to think that the earth would be our witness; to support us and care for us. We as a culture have moved far from the earth. We do not work so closely with it. We become caught up in more consuming things and before we know it we have lost our sense of self.

In effort to root myself I become more self aware and more focused on things that truly matter. I do not let little inconveniences upset me.  I forgive others more easily and I become less vulnerable. But with all things, this process takes time and patience.  I just keep working at it. I do the best I can.

Namaste.

CCosner