Marlo-Contributor

I really have no idea why I am about to post this picture- I just know it made me laugh and I hope it makes you laugh too.

My name is Marlo.

I have been a weird, hippy, witch doctor person for a long time- I was green when green wasn't even cool yet, before green was the new black, before Al Gore imagined up global warming, before carbon footprints, before...... just kidding.

I really should not be writing right now I am feeling way to hyper!

Nice deep breath. Get grounded. Get Zen. Hahaha!!

OK. I think I am ready now.

I am shockingly single.

Mother of one.

Sister to 5.

Mormon.

Aries.

Occasionally obnoxious.

I am a massage therapist and a doula.

I want to visit Greece.

I love pizza.

I want to live on my own little farm someday. I want horses, goats, chickens and a pig. Horses to ride, goats to milk, chickens for eggs, and a pig just because they are funny looking.

I do not love blogging.

I am trying to learn Spanish.

Right now my hamstring is bothering me.

I am not good at team sports.

My favorite movie is Braveheart.

I think Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream is the best flavor ever invented!

I believe that all diseases can be cured by natural medicine and faith.

I love my friends.

I love guns.

I love trees.

I love 80's music and country.

My ideal outfit would be a fifties house dress with an apron and muck boots.

I wish I was a more creative cook.

I wish I had a man to cook for.

I wish I had a man who was a creative cook!!

I love to read.

Crocs are ugly but I wear them anyway.

My secret shame is that I love watching The Bachelor/Bachelorette.

I think it would be so cool to play the harmonica.

I like homeschooling, cloth diapers and home made jam.

I respect women who stay home with their children, make dinner for their man and breastfeed their babies.

I like men who drive trucks, use good language, and love this country.

I think dental health is crucial!! Brush the teeth people. Brush the teeth!

For some reason Jill thinks I have the time and talent to contribute to her fabulous blog- I will try to give some 2 cents every now and then.

And now I need to go to bed.

Homemade deodorant

I sweat...I don't mind being sweaty as long as I don't stink.  So, I found this idea on How About Orange and decided to give it a try. I love this deodorant, it only has one downfall; here in Arizona it melts so I have to keep it in the fridge.  I just chop it into little bits and it melts in my pits when I apply it.  I would give this two thumbs up, it works great.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
4 tablespoons coconut oil
10 drops/shakes grapefruit essential oil

-Mix together and store in a container (they suggest metal)

Recipe and photo from How About Orange

Baked Ziti with Eggplant and Spinach

I made this and we liked it. The kids totally ate it. I threw in some mushrooms and more spinach.

Click HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL RECIPE BY THE DAINTY VEGETARIAN

Baked Ziti

This recipe serves 4 (you can easily double and bake in a 9x12 dish)

1/2 lb. of ziti

1/2 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

tomato sauce, yours or my recipe

1 cup ricotta cheese

a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, roughly chopped

a few leaves of fresh basil, roughly sliced

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

a handful of grated parmesan cheese

a sprinkle of dried oregano

What you'll do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Make your tomato sauce. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box until very al dente (chewy) The noodle will cook more in the oven and you don't want them to get too limp. When the noodles are done, toss them in some tomato sauce to coat. (this will prevent sticking) Lightly saute the eggplant cubes in some olive oil with a pinch of salt till they just begin to turn golden.

Now for assembly. Spread some tomato sauce at the bottom of the baking dish. (so the pasta doesn't stick) then put a couple spoonfuls of pasta down, the eggplant, the roughly chopped spinach, some chopped basil and the ricotta cheese. (for an extra surprise, sprinkle in some toasted pine nuts) Add another layer of ziti, then a little more sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and sprinkle with just a little dried oregano. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble and turn golden. Serve with some extra tomato sauce for people like me who love tons of sauce!

Ratatouille Polenta Bake

I had been wanting to make Ratatouille ever since I saw the movie. I found this recipe and I loved it! My husband loved it too, my kids . . hmmm ... not so much, but they'll have to deal.

Calli would say to nix the polenta, which I believe would make it more authentic anyway.

But it's delish how it is.

**My husband requested that we switch the portions of zucchini and eggplant.

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE FROM EAT BETTER AMERICA

Ratatouille Polenta Bake

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1 small unpeeled eggplant, (1 pound), diced (2 cups)
1 medium zucchini, diced (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 tube (16 ounces) refrigerated plain polenta (or any flavor)
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook onion and bell pepper in skillet 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, breaking up with spoon; reduce heat to low. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Spray rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray. Cut polenta into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange slices on bottom of dish, overlapping and cutting to fit where necessary. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Spoon vegetable mixture evenly over top.

3. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Calories 260 (Calories from Fat 65 ); Total Fat 7 g (Saturated Fat 3 g); Cholesterol 10 mg; Sodium 830 mg; Total Carbohydrate 45 g (Dietary Fiber 6 g); Protein 10 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 18 %; Vitamin C 26 %; Calcium 24 %; Iron 16 % Exchanges: 2 Starch; 3 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Stir-Fried Broccoli and Mushrooms with Tofu

I tried this recipe and it was good. I didn't add the tofu because I can't stand the texture of Tofu. My husband and two of my kids liked it.

I will definitely make this again.

**I doubled the recipe and it was just enough for our family (all of the kids are under age 8). But I will be tripling the recipe next time.

LINK HERE FOR THE RECIPE FROM EAT BETTER AMERICA

Stir-Fried Broccoli and Mushrooms with Tofu

1/3 cup Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton) or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon apricot all-fruit spread
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large bunch broccoli, cut into small florets
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup halved cherry and/or yellow pear tomatoes
8 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/4” cubes

1.In a cup, whisk together the broth, all-fruit spread, soy sauce, sherry, and cornstarch. Set aside.

2.Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until tender-crisp and lightly browned.

3.Add the tomatoes and tofu and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to collapse.

4.Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the mixture boils and thickens.

Jill-Contributor/Administrator

Hello people.

I'm Jill.

I started this blog.

I live in Arizona.

I have a husband and 4 kids.

My recent favorite color is purple.

I'm only 5 feet tall.

I'm originally from a small town in Arizona called Heber.

I dye my hair to cover the gray.

I live in Converse and flip flops.

I dream of having enough money to shop at Anthropologie full price.

I visit the blogs how about orange and decor8 daily.

I'm trying to be vegetarian 5 days a week.

I'm trying to eat fish and chicken the other two.

I do still love beef but now I'm limiting myself to the grass fed expensive kind you can only purchase at places like Sprouts and Trader Joes.

I've recently taught myself to like mushrooms.

I don't fear heights nor public speaking.

I have a B.S. from ASU.

I'm super annoyed at the terms "Go Green" and "Carbon Footprint".

I stay at home with my kids.

I have a current obsession with mangoes and Indian cuisine.

I don't have cable TV or a cell phone.

I suck at crafts.

I'm Mormon.

I'm trying to produce less trash and be less of a consumer of crap at the dollar store and McDonald's toys.


I'm going natural because:

I fear cancer
I get constipated when I eat too much meat
I watched Food Inc.
I need to better live my religion by following the Word of Wisdom
I possibly have Diabetes in my future
I think the earth is pissed at how we treat it
I want my kids to think eating healthy is normal
I want to learn more about holistic medicine, and prevention

Welcome

Why is this blog here? Well I recently became obsessed with going natural. I want to eat more vegetables, use home made deodorant and have less chemicals in my home. So I have looking all over the internet for resources and talking to friends about what they do. I realized that my friends have a lot to say, and that I could link people from here to eternity. I didn't want to post the in my normal life blog, I wanted it to be separate. So I sent an e-mail out to my friends to see if they would join in. And lucky me, the coolest people ever said they would contribute whenever they found anything. So here we are.

I titled it SLOWLY going natural so as to not focus on those parts where I am full hypocrite--like dyeing my hair with chemicals and my love of Native New Yorker's honey-hot chicken wings. It's a process. We can all start small and slowly transition into a better lifestyle.

I've thought and thought about the categories I wanted to cover, so here they are:

Our Food--this includes recipes, nutrition, gardening, restaurants. Anything having to do with food

Our Home--Cleaning products, candles, bug control. Anything having to do with our daily home life.

Our Bodies--this includes deodorants, shampoos, clothes, facial products, lotions. Anything we may use on or next to our bodies.

Our Habits--Changing the stuff we know have become accustomed to. Reduce Reuse Recycle, Re-useable bags, crafts made from re-using stuff, etc. etc. You know--reducing, reusing, recycling.




We'd love your input. Do you have a good website you use? A product you recommend? A recipe for some sort of laundry soap? Whatever. Leave us a comment on the most recent post (we won't be checking old ones) and we'll check it out. Also, if you have some tip or something to add to a particular post, make sure to put it in the comments of that particular post, so others can benefit.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hope you like it here.

xoxo Jill