The Healthier Flavored Water

For those who are accustomed to sweet drinks, but are trying to drink water instead, commercially flavored water and vitamin water can be enticing.  So, what are these liquid water enhancers made of?  I researched the most visible brand of water flavoring by visiting their website, where I discovered that each flavor contains two artificial sweeteners, at least one preservative, and several artificial colors, depending on the flavor.  In addition, nearly all of the flavors list propylene glycol as the second or third ingredient.  

I have been trying to avoid propylene glycol in my family’s food and cosmetic products for years (not an easy task―it’s everywhere) since a friend told me it is a possible carcinogen.  According to my old copy of The Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, propylene glycol is used in food industry and RV anti-freezes.  It’s also widely used in processed foods, over the counter children’s medicines, and cosmetic products.  Don’t believe me?  Go check a sampling of products that your family uses; I’ll wait.

According to this article, the main function of propylene glycol, besides providing moisture and acting as a solvent, is to penetrate the skin so other chemicals can reach the bloodstream.  Even though most studies suggest it is safe in small quantities, I’m not a fan of putting chemicals on or into my body, so I try to avoid propylene glycol.  The article linked above also suggests avoiding it, and if you consider that the artificial colors and preservatives in most foods that contain propylene glycol (such as water flavors) can interfere with children’s sleep, this makes sense.

I avoid sweet drinks, so I drink a lot of water, but sometimes I want a little something to flavor it.  My children are learning to drink plain water, but they are not always cooperative.  Homemade lemonade is wonderful, but sometimes I want to avoid the sugar in the lemonade, and I definitely don’t want my children drinking the sugar, artificial colors, and artificial flavors of other drinks.  Sometimes, I just squeeze some lemon or lime into our water.  Other times, I splash some juice into it.

Recently, I ran across Fork’s post about Sassy Water on her blog Fork fabrications (via Karri’s My Favorite Things Link up).  I have tried a similar water flavoring before, using only a cucumber, so I just had to try this recipe.  As Fork explains, you just slice up your citrus and cucumber, toss it with mint into the water and let it sit in the fridge a few hours.  She found this recipe at Prevention Magazine, and when I clicked over there I learned that their recipe uses grated ginger.  I used a few thin slices of ginger root instead.  I pulled the mint right out of our garden.

This beverage is indeed a yummy sugar free homemade flavored water.  Even my kids liked drinking it.  They especially liked putting slices of cucumber and orange in their glasses, and they liked the yellow tint the orange gave to the water.  You can tell by their excitement over over such a pale color that we don’t drink artificially colored stuff that often!  We will definitely be drinking this regularly!

Because I have made flavored water before with just a cucumber (you can try that too), I know you can refill the pitcher and get a second batch, although the flavor is not as strong. Also, you can vary the citrus and the type of mint, and leave the ginger in or out, creating different flavors.

By the way, the glass pitcher in my photo belonged to my parents; they received it as a wedding gift.  I also have all eight of the matching goblets.  I just love the heavy green glass look of the set; it’s so 1960s!  

I also have bowls and other kitchen items that belonged to my grandparents.  I am overjoyed to have a direct connection to the women who taught me how to cook; using these items reminds me of the many hours I spent with these two women, along with many other aunts and cousins, in the kitchen preparing daily meals and food for family gatherings.

Linked with Catholic Bloggers Network, Welcome Home, Farm Fresh Friday, Making it Count, Your Green Resource, Food on Fridays, Better Mom Mondays, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, and Healthy 2Day Wednesday.

7 Quick Takes Friday

As part of my effort to participate in more link ups, I’m connecting with Jennifer at Conversion Diary, for her very popular weekly link up known as 7 Quick Takes.  Welcome to those who have hopped over for a visit.  I hope you will explore a little, and I hope you like what you find here.

Jennifer encourages her readers not to worry about having a theme for their takes, so here goes my effort.

--- 1 ---

We are very happy with our new sprinkler hose watering system for the garden.  We have tried soaker hoses before, but the last one did not distribute the water everywhere it needed to go.  This new one does the job, and it is so easy to turn on and then forget to turn off that our plants may be in danger of drowning!  Also, the newspaper weed control worked well enough that I am trying it again on the open areas of the garden, using rocks and sticks to keep it from blowing away this time.  Here is a picture of the sprinkler hose and newspapers surrounding one of our blueberry bushes.

 

--- 2 ---

We are harvesting!  So far, we have picked a few blueberries, some cherry tomatoes, green onions, and peaches.  

I will be busy for a week or more “putting up” our peach harvest, so look for a future post with the new recipes I’m planning to try.  You can read about the nutritional benefits of peaches and the recipes I made last year here.  Also, we are cutting herbs regularly: oregano, rosemary, parsley, and cilantro.

--- 3 ---

My almost-eight-year-old learned how to ride her bike this week!  She has been trying to do it off and on for a while now and two days ago she wanted to try again immediately after school, since there was no homework this week.  After a few minutes, she was gliding along.  She is still rather wobbly and stops often, but she is so excited that she can pedal and balance at the same time.  I think our summer is going to be full of bike rides.

--- 4 ---

In between watering, harvesting, and bike riding, we are making a large 550 piece puzzle together, bit by bit.  My daughters have always liked puzzles, and when my in-laws gave us a puzzle they no longer wanted, my girls decided to tackle it.  Even my three year old contributes; we give her all the pieces of a fish, animal, or flower and she puts them together.  The image is of the prehistoric Amazon, so there are plenty of colors and lines to try to match up.  Now I’m wondering if the easy kid puzzles we have will continue to entertain them.  However, I now know how to keep us all busy when it becomes too hot to go outside or it rains.

--- 5 ---

Summer has not yet officially started at our house.  Our school district may be the only one in the country to finish next week instead of last week or this week.  We are looking forward to a busy summer schedule of swimming lessons, nature camp, gymnastics, library programs, and activities with our Catholic Moms group.  While we are very busy Monday – Wednesday, especially in June while dance classes are still in session, I have kept most Thursdays and Fridays unscheduled so we can relax, clean house, and use our imaginations.  Check back to see the art projects and other activities we come up with.

--- 6 ---

Our back porch is getting a facelift with a new coat of paint.  My father-in-law and nephew (he finished school yesterday) cleaned and primed the ceiling, trim, and poles today.  Tomorrow, my husband will join them to repair a few boards, seal some cracks, and paint everything Antique Cream.  Then we will sort and purge the toys, gardening implements, and empty pots that have accumulated back there so we can reorganize.  Our porch can feel comfortably cool even on hot days, so we are looking forward to enjoying some family time together in that space.

--- 7 ---

I’m hosting my first linkup, for The Most Holy Trinity!  

There are fifteen links so far; please visit them.  Also, can you add your posts about the Trinity to help me get to twenty or twenty five links?  The link up will be open through Wednesday.  I look forward to your contributions.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

This post is also linked to the Catholic Bloggers Network Round up.  Remember to go visit the other links there and vote with your mouse for this month’s Big Clicks Award.

Tabletop Shrine for Mary

During this month dedicated to Our Lady, consider making a small shrine or altar on a tabletop to honor Mary.  We made ours on a side table in the living room.

You can easily make a tabletop shrine with items you have on hand.  Here is what you need:

• a small statue of Mary
• plastic, crocheted, sewn, or painted flowers
• live flowers, herb cuttings, or a small potted plant
• a small vase
• a votive or tea light candle holder
• a way to display the artificial flowers, such as a plate or bowl to place them on, a picture of flowers in a frame or a board to glue them on, a branch to hang them from, etc.

For the flowers, traditional symbols and adornments for Mary, we cut pink blossoms from a large ornamental plastic branch.  If you have small branches, you could place them in a small vase without cutting the flowers off.  We also have a set of crocheted roses that we use to pray the rosary, and my daughters wanted to place some of those on the table also. 

I suggested they place the statue with some of the flowers on an ornamental plate we keep in our display cabinet, but you could spread yours on the table, place them in a bowl (floating in water, perhaps), or hang them from a branch.  The hanging idea came to me when I saw Jennifer’s post about a Flowering Mary Tree on Crafolic.  Let your children get creative with how they organize and place the elements of your shrine.

Mary is often associated with living plants and a bountiful harvest, so we used herbs cut from our garden, a combination of oregano, rosemary, and parsley.  My children decided what they wanted to cut, and how much.

You can see that we had plenty of herbs left over, since we only needed a few sprigs for our small blue vase (Mary’s traditional color).  I have placed the others in larger vases to have handy in the kitchen.  You can read about the health benefits of herb bouquets at this post.

We completed our shrine with a small religious tea light holder I bought at a dollar store a couple of months ago.  See how easy it is to organize a display for Mary out of things you already have?

The table where we placed our shrine is in the center of our house, next to a path we walk many times a day from the bedrooms to the living and kitchen area.  I like the spirituality it adds to this space, and the constant reminders to pray to Our Lady that we receive when we pass by.  Recently, that same table has been a dumping ground for toys, half colored pages, hair bands and bows, etc.  I am glad we have made better use of the space, and I like the new elegance of our shrine, so I think we may keep it, or a version of it, as long as possible.

In fact, my children have already rearranged the flowers and other items a couple of times, so we will probably change things up now and again.  Every time I’m tempted to place something else on that table or I find something there that doesn’t belong, I remember to keep that space dedicated to Mary.  This way, we can keep Mary in our thoughts, our hearts, and our prayers in the months to come.  See our shrine for the month of June (Sacred and Immaculate Heart of Mary) here.

If you don’t have a small table to dedicate to a shrine, you can make one for a smaller space by using a round fish bowl.  Scatter some pebbles, shells, or glass beads on the bottom, and place your statue, cut herbs, and artificial flowers inside.  Your herbs will dry up, but you can leave them as they are or refresh with new ones.  This would be perfect for a desktop or windowsill at home or at the office.  Or, to keep statues, flowers, and plants away from tiny hands that may want to try eating them! 

The fishbowl shrine was inspired by two ideas.  Last year, Lacy posted on Catholic Icing about Mary Terrariums.  Go see her interesting idea, especially if you are inclined to plant something this spring.  Also, last fall I saw something when visiting one of my aunts.

I really like the display my aunt made with a small angel statue in a fishbowl with shells.  Ceramic flowers like hers would make a nice addition to a tabletop shrine too.  When I saw her display, I knew that I wanted to do something similar.  You can be sure I’ll post about it when we do.

In case you haven’t seen them, you can read about my other Mary projects at these links.

How to Make a Plaque for Mary

How to Make Mary Spoon Puppets for Dramatizing

I’m linking this post with Equipping Catholic Families.  Monica hosts a Saints Cele-linky organized by month.

I have also added this post to the Catholic Bloggers Round Up at the new Catholic Bloggers Network.  They are currently hosting a Big Clicker Contest; the linked posts with the most clicks will win a button to hang on their blog.  Go see what people have linked up for May.

Jennifer at Crafolic is hosting a Month of Mary Craft and Décor Link up, so I have linked there also.  She has several wonderful ideas for celebrating Mary and the link up is sure to have many more.

Holly at A Life-Size Catholic Blog hosts a monthly Pay It Forward Link Up, so I am connecting there in May also.  Her link up is a great forum for sharing the ideas you have found on other blogs, as I have shared my inspiration for the tabletop shrine with you.  Go see what others are sharing this month.

The Garden is Planted

Last week, the girls and I started clearing out the weeds from our garden plot so we could plant for the season.  In the process, we discovered that some of our crops from last year had sprouted from seed, including two romaine lettuces, a lot of parsley, and some mint.  

romaine lettuce

mint crowded by parsley

Our oregano and rosemary survived the winter, as they usually do, and we even found a tiny bell pepper on one of last year’s plants!  Also, the eggplant is still green; I actually harvested an eggplant from it last month!  Even our grape vine has come back unexpectedly (it looked quite sad over the winter).

eggplant

In fact, most of our produce trees are fruiting, including the peach, fig, and lemon trees.  

peaches

fig

lemons

One of the blueberry bushes is flowering, as is the orange tree and the citronella (just in time for mosquito season).

blueberry

citronella

Saturday, we spent the entire day prepping our garden plot and planting.  We began with a trip to the farmer’s market, where I conversed with the tomato farmer and bought two of his heirloom seedlings: a cherry tomato and a stripe variety.  I was pleasantly surprised to meet someone who farms tomatoes exclusively, and enjoyed hearing his methods for nurturing tomato plants.  

We then headed over to our local home improvement store where we picked up more heirloom and cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and hot peppers, all as seedlings.  After a final stop at my in-laws for a lemongrass seedling, we headed home to complete the clean up and plant our seedlings as well as the seeds we saved from last year and some we have bought the last few weeks.

In addition to the seedlings, we planted the following seeds: basil and more romaine (from seeds harvested last fall), salad bowl lettuce, kale, broccoli and carrots.  Some of these are cold weather crops, but we wanted to try them anyway.  Our weekend weather was crispy cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoons; perfect spring weather for planting.

We garden organically, so we usually spend time throughout the season weeding the plot.  This year, we are trying some preventative measures.  After planting the seedlings, we laid down newspaper and topped it with dried leaves.  You can barely see some of the tomato seedlings poking out above all that in the picture below. 

 

Here’s hoping for a bountiful season!  What are you planting this year?

Neighbors, if you want to start an herb garden, I have parsley, oregano, and rosemary seedlings.  If the basil comes up, I should have plenty of that, too.  Come on by to get some!