Homemade Toothpaste

Mothering Life is a great page on facebook set up by Donna Marie to share her ideas about natural living and mothering. Today she shared her recipe for making your own toothpaste so you can be a 100% sure about what you are using:

"Just when I sat back satisfied that our toothpaste was Fluoride Free, I learned about Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, I searched more and wondered why artificial sweeteners make an appearance in Free from products, and then I wondered "why don't I do this myself?" discovering it's oh so easy, and far more satisfying to put the few ingredients in myself :) I used:

1 Cup of Organic Coconut Oil 

1/2 Cup Bicarbonate Soda

4 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil

Pinch of Organic Sea Salt

Coconut Oil is a Natural Teeth Whitener and prevents Teeth Decay - promoting Strong Teeth

Bicarbonate Soda , Cleans our teeth - removing plaque and freshning our breath!

Sea Salt is full of minerals and is antibacterial

Peppermint Oil i've added simply for flavour

Try it yourself and Enjoy ♥

Time

Time to write, time to dream, time to be the mother i would like to be! Things run on and as i look back i realise that although many dreams of how i wanted to be as a mother had to change due to energetic circumstances and in some ways i could say therefore fell short of my ideals, many things have by far surpassed anything i thought possible and i am proud oh so proud to be saying that. I struggled with M.E for many years before having children, struggling to function in a normal way and needing endless recovery time (as just one part of the experience) yet i didn't want to wait to 'get better' fully before having children because i felt at the time that this may never happen or it may take a looong time, i  also had no idea about what was involved...selfish probably but wow what a journey and one i would not change for the world. When i so easily became pregnant in the first month i was seriously thrilled but i also panicked about exactly how i would cope and then for sure when i had my second that i would not make it. Throughout the last 4 years i have been so stretched emotionally and physically (and especially having moved abroad when my eldest son was 4 months old taking away any support network which is so vital) that sometimes i thought it was not possible to go on, yet i've done it/am doing it and along the way i have learnt so much (wow what a serious spiritual lesson and learning about oneself and others having children is) and the boys have been such a joy. I've also had some serious opportunities to heal further namely being intuitively led into a high raw food way of eating, being the beneficiary of some incredible, infact mind blowing Life Alignment Therapy from my incredible mum  ( i love her recent blog post) and some other wonderful healers including the beautiful Alice and really recently finding that the natural approach to healing my severe Thyroid issue was as simple as the raw food diet with high doses of Dr.Vogels Kelp tablets, this has taken the edge off the raw, mind numbing dragging myself through the day exhaustion and the horrendous depression and anger that came with it. I am seriously happy and healthy right now and i have two bright happy boys, I am doing it, i am being a mum with all the energetic demands that that makes and i realise that i am well, i am coping and although there are a few things that i have had to compromise due to my energy levels i feel that is is pretty darn amazing to be here and to be coping so well. I am a full time mum right now and that is just such bliss, i feel very lucky to be doing exactly that ( i wonder what throwing work into the mix would be like) and i hope i have the courage to keep going against the Norwegian system by keeping my children at home for longer than the norm. There is a fabulous book that helps to inspire one to do just this:  "Life Without School: The Quiet Revolution" (or on amazon here)- i am slowly working my way through the whole Mother Magazine book list which is just a blissful journey as is the bi monthly magazine!Motherhood is a blissful, mind expanding, stretching and life changing experience and golly i love those boys to bits and pieces:

Theodore and Sebastian July 2011

“If you are going to doubt something, doubt your limits”.

Don Ward

Essence

This image makes me smile it gives me the feeling of waking up on a sunny morning full of bounce and zing, that utter happiness that i remember from my childhood when the holidays lasted for ever and we knew we were free to play in the fields and woods all day. It comes from the How to Raw Love blog which is also filled with images of delicious raw food.

This image also caught my eye, it's an extract from the book the owner of the blog is writing which has a little bit about raw bath time and herbal things/essential oils to treat illness. Take a peek HERE.

Super Exciting Conscious Parenting Summit

YEAH the *free* Conscious Parenting Summit hosted by Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes-Monarch of the Raw Food World has begun, but only just so there is still time to access the first interview by Ingrid Bauer on elimination communication. Click HERE to sign up and to listen to Matt and Angela explain what it's all about. It is seriously worth checking it out and signing up to access each of the main interviews (as well as all the bonus interviews and material) from the 16 inspiring speakers from around the world. They will be speaking on topics such as conscious conception, healthy pregnancy, natural birthing, vaccinations, children's nutrition, breastfeeding, cosleeping and more ....and each interview is available for 24 hours. 

Here is a look at the 16 experts on conscious parenting that are involved in this summit:

You can also read more about each one on the conscious parenting website here.

Angela Stokes Monarch with her gorgeous daughter Oria

(see her blog RawReform here.)

Go Wild

If you'd been up at 7am this morning and peeking over our hedge you would have seen my youngest son and i upended in the garden picking nettles and dandelion leaves to make our morning juice. Washed and bunged straight into the juicer with an orange and hey presto a pretty cheap and definately zinging juice. The boys actually fought over who was going to drink the last dregs from the jug.
It was after happening upon Christian Bates video about wild greens that we thought again about how much there is out there to forage for free, starting with the 'weeds' in our garden. Here in Norway it isn't too easy to find a variety of organic greens, you pretty much have to buy in bulk when they come into the shop otherwise you are left with pretty uninspiring iceberg lettuces or at best Romaine. (Helios sometimes sells bags of delicious greens, but you have to be quick when they come in as they sell out fast.) Tomorrow we're heading into the forest to see what we can find......pretty exciting and great for the boys and i to learn a bit more about nature.

There is a whole heap of information out there as to why organic wild food/raw greens is so good for you but a fabulous book which includes this information is Shazzies book "Detox your world" and her website of the same name is also worth checking out. I highly recommend the book as a brilliant resource about simplifying our lives in order to heal and become the best version of ourselves.
You can also see Megan Elizabeths recent video on 'The benefits of being raw' here.

Leftover Porridge Biscuits

Somehow there always seems to be some leftover porridge on mornings when i make it for the boys (with their green smoothies on the side) and i hate throwing it out, so today i made some yummy biscuits from the leftovers:

Oatie Porridge Biscuits (adapted from the Veggie Buntch website recipe)

Ingredients- makes 12 biscuits

Roughly 1 cup of cooked porridge (or whatever you have left)
1 egg
1/2 cup of ordinary/Gluten Free flour (you should add more if your oats are not stodgy already. If you want them to be more fluffy use self raising flour)
2-3 tablespoons of honey (or brown sugar).
2 tablespoons of raisins (or other dried fruit).
Good sprinkling of sesame seeds and dessicated coconut.
2-3 teaspoons of ginger powder or a knob of fresh ginger grated instead.

Instructions

Mix the porridge, egg and flour together. Add the dried fruit, seeds etc and the ginger. Now add the honey and taste to see if it is sweet enough for your liking. The consistency should be quite sticky, NOT runny.

Use a tablespoon to dollop onto a greased tray and press down with a fork to make each biscuit. Or you can put them in individual muffin cases. Place in the oven at 180 C until done (+/- 20 mins)


Alternative Ingredients 

Green pumpkin seeds, cranberries, grated apple, coconut, figs etc 

For Raw vegan style Oatmeal Raisin cookies see Megan Elizabeths recipe here 

Raw Beauty

I love the raw foodie Megan Elizabeth because she shows so wonderfully how transforming and healing raw food can be. She climbed out of a complete breakdown in health by eating raw foods and she looks completely radiant, energetic, happy and ultimately so comfortable with who she is as a result. I have dipped in and out of raw food eating over the last few years knowing that it had a profound affect on my energy and my mood the first time i tried it in a big way, but not staying 100% raw because ultimately for me it feels too strict a way to live my life, i want more balance and flow. More raw food in my diet does result in a big shift in mood and energy and has me convinced that eating a largely vegan raw food diet is crucial for feeling truly happy and healthy. I realise that often depression, exhaustion and feelings of stalemate/inability to see out or move forward is usually transformed by eating more raw food (and of course sleeeeeeep, running, fun/seeing friends etc etc !!) The energy flows, things open up and the feeling of joy for life just comes flooding back in, i can deal better with things that come my way, the anger/erggg feeling goes down from high to zero and needless to say the world therefore opens up with new promise and hope and my healing practice goes to another level. Yeah for greens and the rest!
There are so many inspiring raw foodies out there but i'm loving Megan's videos right now because they just make sense. (One of the first raw foodies not to rely heavily on expensive raw foods or nuts, just simple, easy and delicious). I came across her through Mila Ilina of Raw Radiance who is also an awesome Raw foodie/cheftress because of a wonderful video of Megan's that she posted on how to make your own Raw Organic Makeup (and the updated video here). I am always looking for new organic/natural products to use because my skin is so sensitive and you could not get more natural than organic fruit and vegetables. Crucially she looks wonderful with it and you know it is both kind to your wallet and your body, what could be better!

I experimented with frozen blueberries first and was suprised by how beautiful the effect was, but after a few days i've come to the conclusion that beetroot on my cheeks and lips is a better look for me, infact i think i'm completey converted. I haven't quite got the mascara look down yet but when i use a mascara brush i think things will improve and i also want to figure out how to do it while travelling, but for now at home it's easy and i'm loving it....my skin is improving too.

For weekly recipes and interesting videos see Megans site here and this is the link for the 100% Pure company that she mentions in the comments attached to the video. They sell makeup that's coloured from fruit and vegetables.