How to Keep an Avocado from Turning Brown

Posted: August 26, 2014 | Author: Millie Barnes | Filed under: In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's | Leave a comment

Avocados are packed with healthy fats and potassium—but who hasn’t put an unused avocado half in the fridge, only to find the fruit turned a totally unappetizing brown the next day? It’s one of the most frustrating things about loading up on avocadoes—here the solution.

Just cut a red onion into fairly large chunks, throw the pieces an airtight container, and place the avocado half—with the pit—on top. (The skin should be touching the onion chunks.) Put the lid on the container, throw it in the fridge, and brown avocadoes will be a thing of past. How does the trick work? The onion emits sulfur gases, which help stop the oxidation process that turns avocadoes brown.

How Toxic is your Mattress…and Your House?

Posted: August 23, 2014 | Author: Millie Barnes | Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices | Leave a comment

I sleep on an organic cotton and wool futon, with a thick feather mattress on top…not only is it completely non-toxic, but is as soft as a cloud. My sheets are organic cotton, my blankets are organic cotton, my pillows and comforter are down and cotton. My rug is 100% wool. my floors are wood, my walls are stucco. not sheet rock.

When I woke up with hives and began going into shock 15 years ago, it took a lot of detective work to figure out that I had developed a latex allergy. Up til then I thought I had been living a fairly non-toxic lifestyle; organic veg diet, all natural “products”, all natural clothing. It took me two years of living on double doses of prescription Zertec and monthly rounds of steroids to figure it out. I got a break when I went sailing of of the coast of Venezuela for 10 days, not wearing clothes, running out of fresh fruit since we were buoyed near a tiny island. My symptoms went away. I came home, went to yoga class, broke out in hives. 3 days later I ate a banana, same thing. Then the light bulb went off! Bananas and latex are related! Aha! I’d figured it out! I moved into a house with no carpets, threw away and replaces a LOT of products, all the ones that had latex! Bathmat, toothbrush, stretch sheets, bras, underwear, yoga clothing, roller blading equipment, my bed, my couch…the list went on and on. Car seats had to be covered, I couldn’t drive in traffic because of the rubber particulates in the air. Then there were the foods that cross reacted; wheat, soy, tropical fruit…

I’m happy to say that over the next few years I healed, I am now only mildly reactive to latex, but I am careful about exposure. My home is non-toxic. The saturated fats in my diet have allowed me to heal, along with a lot of healthy grass fed meats, plenty of veggies, juicing. Over exposure to all of the toxins are part of what is making us ill. Change the things you can; in your home, personal care products, clothing, food.

So start with your bedroom, slowly make it all natural, start with the mattress, it the most important step.

Here’s everything you never wanted to know (but need to) about the dangerous toxic chemicals used in your mattress.

Follow the Link and find out! How Toxic is your Mattress?

Here a Great article- How I found a Non-Toxic Mattress

How Your Cell Phone & 1 Simple Tip Will Save You 100s of Headaches | Apartment Therapy

Posted: August 20, 2014 | Author: Millie Barnes | Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health | Leave a comment

http://goo.gl/oyDUiE

Amazing Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted: August 19, 2014 | Author: Millie Barnes | Filed under: Recipes | 1 Comment

20 years ago I thought I had found the perfect peanut butter cookie. I’ve used Mary Estella’s recipe from her Natural Foods Cookbook since.

But, since I have been cooking a Traditional Human Diet for about 10 years now, I have been playing around with different recipes; I wanted one with more fat and less sweetener. So I’ve tried about 10 different recipes since…all were good, but not great. I want melt in your mouth, like a shortbread cookie, texture. But, I want some crunch on the outside, and lots of peanut butter flavor.

Finally I turned to Cook’s Illustrated, my holy grail of cooking websites how to’s. In case you haven’t discovered it yet, it is the ONLY website I pay to join, year after year! Their recipes from America’s Test kitchen are always spot on, and they explain the science of why they work. Their product and kitchen equipment reviews are absolute perfection. You could spent 2 or 3 months reading everything on the site and it would be the equivalent of going to cooking school..minus the hands on instruction.

So I read their recipe, and then set to play with it. Here’s my recipe!

1/2 pound salted butter (2 sticks) at cool room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, processed in food processor for 30 seconds, or superfine sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts, dry-roasted, salted, blended in food processor with sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg plus 1 yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sweet rice flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1. Cream butter, sugar, peanut butter, and salt in workbowl of electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add yolk, beat well then add whole egg and vanilla; continue beating until well incorporated. Meanwhile, sift sweet rice flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Stir in peanuts that you have blended into a fine powder in the food processor

2. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add flour mixture; beat over low speed until flour is just mixed. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 days or double-wrapped and frozen 1 month.)

4. Form dough into desired shape. I make them about walnut size, they will puff up and spread out. Place 12 dough shapes on buttered cookie sheet. Using a fork wet in water, press each cookie flat and then go back to make a cross section. Bake, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking if necessary, until evenly golden brown, about 18 minutes. You can sprinkle either salt or sugar lightly on each cookie before baking if desired.

5. Cool to room temperature on cookie sheet.

6. Use thin-bladed spatula to transfer cookies to cooling rack. Repeat.

7. Place in airtight container (can be stored up to 3 weeks).