Teeccino.....a coffee alternative

In November's concious box I recieved 3 samples of Teeccino. Teeccino is a caffeine free herbal coffee. The main ingredients in Teeccino are all certified organic and are carob pods, barley and chicory root.  These ingredients are all naturally caffeine free and low in acidity making teeccino a safe alternative for  drinking during pregnancy as well or for those with reflux.

I drink coffee or tea nearly all day when I am at work. The office is very cold and I feel that I always need a warm drink to keep warm. I don't like the amount of caffine I take in so....  when I recieved my samples and they came in  "tea bag" form and noticed that they were caffeine free I quickly realized that if the samples tasted yummy Teeccino could be the answer to my dilema.

Being a self proclaimed coffee addict I was a bit skeptical of  the taste of this "caffeine free herbal coffee." However I was pleasantly surprised!!  It doesn't taste just like coffee but it does taste fantastic.  I ended up ordering a box of the Maya Chocolate which  I am very much enjoying.. the chocolate flavor is very pleasant...not too overwhelming or sweet! I am now addicted =)

5 Festive & Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap Ideas for this Christmas

1. Gift Card Snow globes... 

reuse empty Jars from your kitchen to present gift cards in this adorable way!

diy @ One Charming Party

from: The Creative Mama

2. Wrap it up with the news...

Recycle the news by wrapping up gifts with your old newspapers...Don't forget to get creative with the bows

from: Country Living

3. Use a scarf...

A beautiful scarf can become a lovely & reusable way to wrap a small present or bottle of wine with this Japanese inspired gift wrap idea. You could use a scarf you already have or purchase one from the Bobo Wrapping Scarf site...

from: BoboWrap.com

4. Inside Out Potato Chip Bag...

  Wash, dry,  and cut open the left over potato chip bags  to reveal the silver lining before wrapping up a gift with this up-cycled idea....

from: Martha Stewart Living

5. Cereal Box Gift Boxes...

Up-cycle an old Cereal Box into one of these gorgeous gift boxes anyone would be delighted to get a gift in!

diy @ Creative Jewish Mom

 

Earring ornaments & The Craft Fair!

Rock Affair Jewelry Display...

  Even though it rained we still had a blast at the Redwood City Hometown Holidays fair this weekend.  Sales suffered a bit as people stayed inside with the stormy weather, but this was a great first craft fair & a wonderful learning experience =)

Myself & Lila the lovely owner of Lingering Day dreams who I asked to share the booth with me

Holiday earrings in ornaments!

My very first "Real" Craft Fair this weeked!

http://instagr.am/p/Sg1xnlsveZ/

I am getting very excited for this weekend. It will be my first street fair that I will be participating in as a vendor selling my jewelry!

www.RockAffairJewelry.com

Cutting down our Christmas tree!

http://instagr.am/p/SdyctSsvci/

I am a real tree person. I just adore the smells & textures of a real Christmas tree in our living room. Which begs the question.... what is more eco friendly ?

The real tree Considerations:

• Environmental Cost to farm the tree
• Gas to get driven to store (if you don't go cut yours down)
• Most real trees are farmed here in the US creating jobs
• Mess from dropped needles
• Need to water the tree
• Potential for allergies
• Until it is time to cut down the trees they will recycle the air, purify groundwater, and  stabilize the soil 
• Trees are a renewable resource and biodegradable
• Trees can be recycled and re-used. For example New York City has them chipped and used as mulch in city flower beds.
• Can purchase organically farmed or live trees

The fake tree Considerations:

• Environmental Impact to make plastics such as PVC (and potential of high lead & other chemicals)
• Eventually end up in a landfill when discarded & are not biodegradable. Sure you used if for the last 20 years but will that fake tree last another 100 yrs?  It is estimated that the average family only uses theirs for 5 years
• An estimated 80% of artificial trees come from China which incurs a environmental cost to transport those across seas and their packaging.
• No needle mess
• No potential allergens

An American Christmas Tree Assoication Report found that the choice of either natural or  artifical has a negligible affect on the environment.......  However National Geographics Standpoint in this great article is that the debate is OVER.. Natural trees are the way to go.

So the take home message is pick which you feel is better for the environment, but if you go natural don't drive to far, cut it down if possible, buy organic, and be sure to recycle when done. Or if you go artificial make sure you plan to use that tree for MANY MANY years to come.

Perhaps the most eco friendly solution is to purchase a live tree. These trees have the root ball still attached so that they can be planted after the holidays.

Whole Wheat Maple Oatmeal Muffin Recipe

My fiance has been asking me for muffins for a while so last night I had a bit of extra free time & decided to whip up a batch of these maple oatmeal muffins for him. These whole wheat muffins are delicious and good for you too! This recipe creates a hearty, slightly sweet brown muffin that will leave you feeling good about having it for breakfast. Its like a bowl of oatmeal in a muffin =)

Fresh out of the oven!!!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/4 cup buttermilk **
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 & 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 & 1/2 cups rolled oats + an extra 3 tablesppons for sprinkling on top of muffins
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 400 & line muffin pan with paper cups ( I highly reccomend that you get the unbleached parchment paper baking cups.. If You Care makes the ones that I use & you can usually buy them at whole foods)
2.  In mixing bowl whisk together brown sugar & eggs.  Add buttermilk & maple syrup and set aside.
3.  In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking soda, baking poweder and salt) Mix with a fork
4. Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture and stir until evenly moistened.  The batter will be rather runny at first but will thicken up after a minute or two.
5. Spoon in to muffin cups. ( I got about 2 tablespoons per muffin cup)
6. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of remaining oats onto top of muffins.
7. Bake 20 minutes or until browned and toothpick comes out clean.


**Because I really only use buttermilk for baking and I like to bake on a whim  it is rare that I have it in my fridge. What I recommend is keeping powdered buttermilk on hand and just mixing up what you need for what you are cooking. Bob's Red Mill makes the one that I use (I love all this all natural & organic line. I actually use their whole wheat flour in this recipe as well! They have a wonderful selection of gluten free baking products also.)

What to buy at the Farmers Market

With the arrival of summer and warmer days one thing that I love to do is peruse the local farmers market.  It is important to me to buy organic & locally grown whenever possible. 

Avoiding pesitcides is of key importance because they can have severe lingering effects on your body and on the earth. Pesticides are essentially toxins,  can disrupt endocrine function, and possibly cause cancers.  Through choosing organic fruits and vegetables you can reduce the amount of pesticide residues that build up in your body and reduce your chances of having side effects of pesticide build up.  You can read more about pesticide build up in the body here or here.

So what fruits and vegitables are the most important to purchase as organics? Below is a list that the Environmental Working Group has put together on which fruits and vegitables have the greatest amount of pesticides on them "dirty dozen" and which ones have lower levels of pesticides "clean 15."

Enviromental Working Groups List of foods with most and least pesticides

Environmental Working Groups list of fruits and vegetable with highest & lowest amounts of pesticides.