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Paprika Slow-Cooked Chicken and Broth

I am determined on Mondays to get dinner cooking by 6am. Sounds weird, huh? If any of ya’ll are working mothers, you may have a special relationship with the Crock Pot, too. This chicken takes 15 minutes to prep and 8 hours to cook. It is my husband’s favorite new dish and my daughter gobbles it up. Its savory juice of coconut oil and warm chicken broth produces an experience that both comforts and heals much more than the soul.

Afterwards, check out my recipe and reasons to spend 5-10 extra minutes to make your own EASY Crock Pot Chicken Broth!

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Simple, Natural, and Affordable Winter Remedies for BUSY People

“Throat Funk” is what I’m calling it. You know, that tickly, draining feeling in your throat that causes you to keep swallowing. It’s the beginning of a cold, but it doesn’t have to go any further.

There are many ailments that we suffer from in the cold winter months, not because there are just more germs, but primarily because we are indoors so much.

Lack of natural Vitamin D from the sun and reduced amounts of fresh air are culprits to our weakening immune systems.

But, trust me when I say…there is SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!

If life keeps you BUSIER than you’d like, but you want stay HEALTHY, then you NEED to read this post!

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Pink-tober….I Mean OCTOBER is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

As I am writing this blog post, the quarterbacks playing the NFL football game on my TV are both wearing pink sleeves. The rest of the team has pink shoes and pink towels. The cheerleaders have pink pom-poms. What is the occasion you wonder???

Well, you probably don’t wonder, because everyone knows that October is breast cancer awareness/ fundraising for pharmaceutical research MONTH!

What many people don’t know, is that almost 100% of the funds raised for all the PINK this month will be used to fund everything BUT alternative/ holistic cancer treatment. We just can’t do that in the United States where all cancer “treatment” must be approved by the F.D.A. and be capable of costing and making lots and lots of money for stock-holders and others invested in large pharmaceutical companies.

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Navigating Through a “Missed Miscarriage”

This post is not intended as medical advice, nor is it meant to be a persuasive piece. My husband and I experienced a “missed miscarriage” or blighted ovum in July of 2011, and since then I have been prayerfully considering whether it was appropriate to write about here on my blog.

I now know that it is very relevant and important to talk about, primarily because of our belief that health decisions should be made prayerfully and with a peaceful heart, not out of fear and desperation. My hope in this is that those with a similar diagnosis would find peace in their own decision through learning of our story.

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My Tour & Review of Hippocrates Health Institute

It didn’t take me long into my tour of the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL to say out loud to my husband, “UGH! I wish we would have known about this place when I was diagnosed!”

I was born and grew up just down the street from Hippocrates but didn’t learn of it until months after my cancer diagnosis in 2008. I am tossing it up to one of those “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be” kind of things, but if you are looking for a place to retreat to after a cancer diagnosis, this would definitely be a peaceful and helpful place to consider.

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Green Drink Commitments- April/ May

 

Life has been so EXCITING lately that I haven’t even thought about writing a commitment reflection. If you haven’t done so already, check out the movie my 4th grade class made on CommonSenseKids.org. The idea started when I learned how Apple was partnering with textbook companies to create digital textbooks for the iPad. My 4th graders and I decided to gather our facts and write persuasive papers on WHY this technology is the inevitable replacement of the paper textbook!

We took it a little further and combined the kids’ ideas to make a short presentation for the principal and their parents. It was our principal who loved it and suggested I film it and send it to Apple. My husband and I worked together to write a grant to produce a movie that would be worthy of Apple’s attention. We won the grant and over 5 days filmed the movie in my classroom. We also started the website, CommonSenseKids.org to house our video and hopefully host more “Common Sense” projects in the future. My class and I are now anxiously awaiting a response from Apple and the various textbook companies they are partnering with.

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The “Orange Blossom Special” Smoothie

Dolly Parton makes me so happy. Really it’s her music and quirky personality that I love most, but I also love that she’s petite (almost 5’2″) like me and rose from very humble beginnings to global stardom.

Listening to Dolly this afternoon as my daughter relentlessly begged me for an orange- inspired this smoothie. No, I know what some of you are thinking. It’s next ingredient isn’t melons. (:

This smoothie is sunny and sweet. And since Dolly’s live album from 2002, Live and Well opens with the classic bluegrass tune, “Orange Blossom Special,” this smoothie got its name.

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The Doobie Smoothie

Yes. That is me posing for this picture, oblivious to my daughter stuffing a giant strawberry into her mouth.

The Doobie Smoothie was birthed out of some experimentation in the kitchen, and since my daughter, Ruby-Claire absolutely loves it so much, I named it after her.

Don’t let your mind wander too much…her nickname “Doobie” resulted out of pure rhyming thematic of course! “Ruby” rhymes with what else but…”doobie.”

And, oh yes…I am completely aware of the other meaning of “doobie.” Makes me think of two things…and the latter sings “China Grove.”

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5 Essential Questions to Ask Before Starting Cancer Treatment

I hear it all the time when cancer survivors ask me about beating cancer without chemotherapy or radiation.

“I didn’t know that there were any other options, so I just followed my doctor’s recommendation.”

Sometimes this comes from caretakers who have already lost their loved ones to cancer or perhaps to the cancer treatment itself.

The 5 questions I discuss today should be pondered by EVERY individual given a cancer diagnosis. It does not matter how old or young, male or female, aggressive cancer or slow-progressing. An informed decision must be made, and these questions will help you make it.