Detox Bath

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Georgina

Detox Bath

Hi Hi Hi! This post is something a little different than the regular foodie post but still I really wanted to share this with all of you!

I had heard about detox baths for so long, but never had tried them. I honestly didn’t understand them or comprehend that it was more than just a regular hot relaxing bath. I thought it was totally just a mental/relaxation thing (that IS part of it) but had no idea what a detox bath could actualllllyyy do for your body. Until recently….

I have been detoxing internally for about 3 weeks now. That involves an elimination diet of caffeine, alcohol, gluten, dairy, soy as well as eating as whole and natural as possible (i.e. just because a cracker is gluten free- I still shouldn’t be eating it). The detox program I’m doing is through Arbonne (more on that later) but really it involves sticking to the above guidelines, having one of their protein shakes for breakfast and or lunch followed by a healthy dinner. This is my second detox program (they last 28 days) and the first one I did I lost 14 pounds! So I’m excited to report back after I complete this second one. Anyway, somehow the idea of a detox bath popped into my head and that I should try one. Seriously I don’t know where the idea came from other than I knew I had a Friday night to myself and thought- hey why not. I looked up several “recipes” and combined several to make the version I used.

First before I get into my experience- lets just talk about what the hell a detox bath is in the first place. Our bodies naturally detoxify themselves on a constant basis. As humans we are exposed to toxins at high levels and particularly in this day and age each of us are exposed to more toxins than ever before. We are exposed the second we wake up. We breath in polluted air, we take showers with water that is full of residual pollutants and toxins, we use shampoo and beauty care products full of chemicals, we brush our teeth with toothpaste that most likely contains fluoride, then we move on to eating breakfast. Breakfast probably consists of food that has been exposed to harsh chemicals and pesticides or genetically modified . We don’t even have to leave the house to put excessive strain on our bodies natural detoxification abilities. Then just imagine what happens when you leave your house and are out and about in our dirty, albeit beautiful, world. Our bodies can’t keep up with all the stuff we keep exposing it to. It would be virtually impossible to eliminate all toxins from our body but there are ways we can encourage our body and promote it’s natural ability to boost our health, strengthen our immune system and prevent illnesses.

Our bodies have several ways in which it detoxifies. One is through the liver which removes harmful toxins and metabolic waste, converts them to water soluble compounds and excretes them from our body through our urine. For toxins that cannot be converted to water soluble or aren’t water soluble, our livers excrete this through bile which then travels through our intestinal tract and is removed by going #2 🙂 There are still some toxins yet, that can not be or aren’t removed through these two methods and usually we end up sweating those out through our skin.

In a world where:

2,100 chemicals, including pesticides, herbicides, medications such as antidepressants and recreational drugs are in our water supply
80,000 metric tons of carcinogens are released into the air annually in North America
Over 80% of foods have genetically modified ingredients
The EPA estimates that the average U.S. citizen has residues from over 400 toxic compounds in their body
82,000 chemicals are in use today in the United States, but only a fourth have ever been tested for toxicity ∗

You can see why it’s important to aid our bodies all that we can. I’m not sure who thought of a detox bath but I’m glad they did! For centuries people have been using Mineral Salts (Epsom, dead sea) to aid in healing various illnesses and improving overall health and well being. Most detox baths do have empsom salt(also known as Magnesium Sulfate) in them. Due to it’s properties to help with easing stress, regulate activity of 300+ enzymes, reduce inflammation and relieve sore muscles, flush toxins, and improve circulation. Good stuff!!

Now as I said I sort of combined several “recipes” that I had found and created my own. I’ll briefly go over what and why for each ingredient.

– Epsom Salt – see above 🙂

– Sea Salt– see above 🙂

– Baking Soda– this will not only help help neutralize your water (if you don’t have filtered water) but also improve mineral absorption.

– Bentonite Clay – this is a unique healing natural clay that has electrical components that assist in the ability to absorb toxins specifically heavy metals and chemicals. If you are having troubles finding this you can order online or try looking at your local coop or health foods store. For my fellow Madisonians- Willy Street Coop has a great selection of natural clay powders.

– Ginger– Not only does ginger smell great but it has anti inflammatory properties and for some reason or another it is supposed to really make you sweat. Which is why I added it to my bath- to aid in sweating out all the bad! 🙂

– Raw Apple Cider Vinegar – Not only do I love AC Vinegar for it’s fermentation and all around rock star healthy living awesomeness (I should do a whole post on this stuff) but this is also specifically used in this bath to help remove and flush Uric Acid from your body. But I recommend using raw with the “mother” as this is the most pure and natural form of it and most likely will do a better job. THIS is an amazing brand to use.

– Essential Oils– really meant to help with the mind and relaxation part of this bath. When it smells good you can close your eyes and pretend you are on an island with the water crashing around you…..oh I mean that’s what I did anyway. You can use anything you want (that is safe for topical use) I used a mix of Lavender oil and Tee Tree Oil but you could use whatever you wanted. Make sure you are using pure oils. Unfortunately a lot on the market today have many fillers in them. Young Living is a great brand and my personal favorite but doTerra is another good option. Here is a great source for some ideas on which oils to use for different symptoms.

So now that you know the ‘why’, I’ll tell you how!

Seriously- I’m not kidding when I say, STAY HYDRATED!! On a normal day I drink about 100 oz of water. The day I did this bath, I had already drank about 120 oz by 4 pm and then drank another 32 oz while in the bath, and then another 32 oz when I got out. And I was still suuuuuppper light headed when I got out of the bath. I realize I that drink more water than the average person so please take care of yourself and drink lots of water!!

I was amazed how much I sweat when I was in the bath- seriously my face was dripping in it, even by the end of my 40 minutes in the tub, I was still hot hot hot. And I continued to sweat for about 30 minutes after getting out. It was amazing. Also, without going into took gory of details, my sweat smelled FUNKY! Like I don’t even know how to explain it. But I usually sweat a lot (like I would say more than the average person) and it never smells but this sweat was a little funky smelling. Also when I was done with the bath I noticed it had a beige grey brown tone to it. Way more so than at the beginning of the bath. I mean I know I put ginger and AC Vinegar in there but it was definitely a different color at the end than it was at the beginning.

I was so tired when I was done. My body was exhausted and my muscles were really sore! Almost as if I’d just done a really good workout. Not the sore where it “hurt” but the good sore feeling. You know what I’m talking about, right? 🙂 I couldn’t believe how good I felt afterwards and all of the signs that the bath actually worked and it wasn’t all in my head. Seriously, I’m sold. I’ll be doing these on the regular from here on out.

Hope you learned something today and I hope that you give a detox bath a try! As always that you for stopping by and checking out the blog!

xoxo

∗Some of this information (and specifically the stats cited above) were pulled from http://www.healthylivinghowto.com on September 14th 2014.

∗These opinions are my own. Please do not use as medical advice and consult a doctor if you have questions or concerns before starting a detox regime.

Homemade Ice Cream

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Georgina

Homemade Ice Cream

(No Machine!)

Heyoooo! Happy Friday!

So I love ice cream- but it doesn’t love me or my intestinal tract. If you catch my drift……. so it’s definitely a once in a while treat. And Custard it pretty much a no go. Butttt I came across this recipe for home made ice cream with no machine needed?!? whaaaat? of course I needed to try that. And I’m so glad that I did. This is virtually limitless with possibilities I you could put so many different flavors into this!! My favorite ice cream of all time is Chunky Monkey by Ben and Jerry’s. TO. DIE. FOR. This sort of reminded me of it but even better since it contains peanut butter 🙂 I can’t wait to come up with the next concoction for this recipe.

I couldn’t believe how much like regular real ice cream this was! Jake literally didn’t believe me that I made it. You need to give this a try and let me know what you think! Also please share your flavor ideas with me in the comments below! Here are some of my original thoughts:

Cookie Dough with caramel swirl
Coffee Ice cream with chunks of chocolate truffle
Peanut Butter Caramel Pretzel
Brown Sugar & Brandy
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Pumpkin Pie
Creme Brulee
Cannoli

Clearly you can tell it’s taking a LOT of self control to have only made this recipe once. Take peek and let me know what you think!

Banana Pudding Ice Cream with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Fudge Swirls

Ingredients:

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg (3.4 oz) banana cream instant pudding mix
1 banana, sliced
2 graham crackers, broken into small pieces
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping

Instructions:

1. Put peanut butter into a bowl, and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up. Meanwhile, whisk pudding mix into sweetened condensed milk. Stir in sliced banana and graham cracker pieces.

2. In a large bowl beat heavy cream until it resembles whipped cream(you may need an electric or stand mixer for this). Fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Retrieve peanut butter from the freezer and pinch off teaspoon-sized dollops and drop into the ice cream. Next squeeze teaspoon-sized dollops of room temperature hot fudge topping into the ice cream. Gently fold it all together.

3. Store in a two-quart container and freeze overnight. Serve the next day, topped with whatever your little heart desires!

Here is a picture of it in it’s container ready for the freezer!!

Thanks for checking out eat laugh craft. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, Twitter page, and find us on Pinterest! (Links on Contact page)

xoxo

Malted Milk Ball Creme Brulee

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Georgina

Malted Milk Ball Creme Brulee

Hi All!

I can’t believe that today is AUGUST 1ST! I mean I love August as it’s my birthday month ❤ 🙂 but holy crap! Summer flew by.

So today I wanted to share a seriously delicious (although not quite what I’d call low fat/healthy) special dessert. Who doesn’t love a good creme brulee? Actually I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t. Buttttt from time to time it is a great treat. And of course who doesn’t love to use a mini blow torch in the kitchen 🙂 Seriously it makes you feel like a bad assssss.

These require a little bit of work and are pretty rich but they are great and an impressive dessert for a special occasion!

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream (you must use heavy cream)
2 1/2 ounces milk (or dark if you prefer) chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons malted-milk powder
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
Salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chocolate and malted-milk powder; stir until chocolate melts and powder dissolves. Whisk together yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Strain into a large measuring cup.
Arrange four 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan. Divide custard evenly among ramekins, leaving 1/4 inch at the top.
Place roasting pan in oven, and fill halfway with boiling water. Bake until custards are set, 60 to 70 minutes. Remove from oven and from water bath. Let cool. Refrigerate until cooled, about 2 hours.
Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon sugar onto each custard. Hold a small handheld kitchen torch(like this one) at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of each custard, and move flame back and forth until sugar caramelizes and is deep golden brown, or you can broil until sugar caramelizes.
The plain baked custards(no caramelized sugar) can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Just take out of the fridge and follow step 5 to caramelize tops just before serving.

How freaking fun is that, right?!? It’s fun to do, fun to eat, and fun to look at too! This is more work than my average posted recipe but I hope you give it a try and come back to let me know how yours turned out!

Thanks for stopping by the blog!

xoxo

Goat Cheese, Sausage, and Arugula Stuffed Peppers

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Georgina

Goat Cheese, Sausage, and Arugula Stuffed Peppers

Wowza you guys. This recipe is sooooo freaking good. simple. delicious. fresh. healthy. did I already say delicious? Because it is.

It probably doesn’t hurt that I am OBSESSED with Arugula. Something about that taste just gets my every time. Spicy. Nutty. A tiny bit bitter. Loveeee it.

This dish does a great job highlighting those flavors. And it has goat cheese. So, what’s not to like?

Ingredients:

3 medium bell peppers of any color, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 links sausage of your choice, casings removed (I used spicy italian)

1 onion, diced

4 ounces goat cheese, softened or just buy the pre-crumbled stuff

2 large handfuls of arugula (about 1½ ounces) *Rocket for all you non USA folks 🙂

Salt, pepper and/or red pepper flakes, to taste

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (or mozzarella)

Instructions:

Turn on oven to 400º. Place the prepped peppers in a baking dish and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until it browns, crumbling with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain the sausage and return to heat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Reduce heat to low and stir in the arugula and goat cheese until the cheese has melted and the arugula is wilted. Taste and add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Spoon the filling into the peppers and sprinkle each half with Parmesan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the peppers have softened slightly. Hit with the broiler for about a minute to get the golden cheese on top and serve!

I tried some with and without cheese on top

So I tried baking both with cheese on top and without. Honestly, the cheese sort of helped hold everything together but it’s one million percent possible to make this without the extra cheese on top. Just as delicious, just slightly messier.

so pretty too!

Hmmmmmmm seriously sooo delicious. This meal was so quick to make and the flavors were aaaaaammmazing. I could have eaten the pepper “stuffing” by the spoonful out of the bowl.

Ok, I did that.

Don’t judge. It was soooooo good. You could serve this as a side or meal by itself! You need to make this pronto!

Also I just wanted to share that I’ve created some social media pages dedicated to the blog, check us out on Twitter and Facebook!

Thanks!

xoxo

Beef Bourguignon Soup

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Georgina

Beef Bourguignon Soup

A little overkill on the parsley. Don’t care. Still delicious!

Happy Sunday! Hope your weekends were all great and relaxing and fun! This is totally a winter comfort food- which I’m posting, not in winter. I’m not that organized. Get over it 🙂

I love a good Beef Bourguignon and when I saw a soup rendition, I was all for it. Most are kind of stew-like anyway, so why not go all in?!

I served this with my great grandmothers Homemade German Potato Dumplings and it was to. die.for.

This is actually a pretty rich and decadent version of a beef bourguignon. It takes a little but more time that more recipes I feature on here, but I promise that it will be worth it! 🙂

Ingredients:
3-4 thick cut slices of bacon
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds stew beef meat, cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups red wine
6 cups beef stock
4 medium fresh thyme sprigs
1 large bay leaf
5 tablespoons pesto, prepared or homemade (Costco has the BEST pre-made pesto on the planet)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 stalks celery, diced
8 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Instructions:
1. Cook bacon over medium low heat until golden brown and crisp, but not hard. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove half of the bacon drippings and set aside.

2. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add beef and toss with your hands to coat.

3. In a large Dutch oven or heavy duty pot, heat bacon fat over medium high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add ½ of the beef and spread out to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook until the beef is golden brown on the underside, about 5-7 minutes. Don’t mess with it too much. Let it get a good golden brown coat. With a large metal spatula, flip beef to uncooked side and cook until second side is golden brown too. Remove with a slotted spoon to a clean plate. Add the rest of the bacon fat to pot. Heat until hot, add remaining beef and repeat cooking process as directed above.

4. Once second batch of beef is browned, return first half of beef to pan. Add onion and garlic, tomato paste and 1 of cup wine. Bring to a boil then lower heat to maintain a low simmer. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally. Simmer until most of the wine is absorbed, about 20 minutes then add the remainder of the wine and simmer until almost completely absorbed .

5. Add the beef stock, thyme, bay leaf, pesto and brown sugar and return to a boil. Reduce to a low constant simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour or until beef is tender. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs (if you used real thyme)

6. Add celery, carrots and potatoes, cover loosely and cook till tender, about 20-25 more minutes.

7. While vegetables are cooking, melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When butter is bubbly, add mushrooms and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Add mushrooms to soup and stir. If soup is too thick add a bit more stock or water.

8. Serve it up. Like I said, I served over some German Potato Dumplings, but served by itself or with some good crusty french bread would be amazing too!