Eating a whole foods diet can be a bit tricky sometimes, especially when you’re on the go, or without a refrigerator at work. One of my biggest downfalls is that I’ll leave for the day and not bring any food with me, leaving me hungry and apt to buy food at *gasp* a restaurant that makes their food quickly. And the times that I have brought food with me, I find that it doesn’t stay cold enough, long enough. Lasting just a few hours. Todd seems to have the same issue when he brings a cooler to work. And somehow the ice packs never come home with him…..

I recently came across these PackIt lunch boxes that looks promising. Not only is it the lunch pack, but it’s the ice pack as well, so no extra bulk inside taking space from a full lunch. When empty and folded it’s only 8″x5″x2″, easy to store in the freezer without taking up a ton of space, so it’s always ready for use. The best part is, it stays cold for 10 hours!

That’s long enough for me when I spend a day in town running errands,because due to high gas prices and living in the middle of nowhere (or at least close to the middle of nowhere) I tend to take one day and do all of my business and shopping at once. That means I need to bring snacks for the littles and lunch for us all. I definitely could have used it when visiting my sister a couple weekends ago and having to drive three hours each way, plus stopping at the outlet malls on the way there. I ended up eating out instead of eating good food. Even Todd could use this to bring to work and it would last through the day.

Right now you can even check out the PackIt lunch boxes website where you can purchase one and get one free. So you get two lunch boxes for just $19.95. A great way for me to always have at least one in the freezer ready to go. Or send one to work with Todd, and still have one ready for me when I need it.

How would you use a system like this? I can easily see myself packing it with hard boiled eggs, quality cheese, fruit, and cut veggies. And with it’s long lasting ice pack, I can even add in some yogurt or a small jar of milk.

For everyone else, remember – “Real Food on a Real Budget” is currently on sale for $18.97!

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

I’m just now getting to announcing the giveaway winners for both my own eCourse giveaway and the iHerb $50.00 gift card giveaway.

The winner for the iHerb card was selected by random.org to be….

Shelley!

The Winner of the eCourse…..

Katherine

E-mails have been sent and I await your information!

To everyone else, you can use the coupon code: BUY123 at iHerb to recieve $5.00 off your first order.

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

A couple months ago I bought two new measuring spoons at Katie’s (from Kitchen Stewardship) Pampered Chef party.

I never knew I could love a measuring spoon!

See that slider? This one spoon measures from 1 teaspoon to 1 full tablespoon.

The other one I have measures from 1/8 teaspoon to 1 full teaspoon. Having these in my kitchen has made cleanup so much easier! And the fact that one little thing could simplify my life just a bit, ahhhh. It’s truly priceless.

Anyone else find so much joy in something so simple?

This post is links to: Things I Love Thursday

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Congrats Susan, and e-mail should be on it’s way to you!

The Survey

So I prepared a very short survey and would love for you all to give me some input. Because this blog is nothing without you all and I want to make sure whatever I offer is based on what you like! The survey is anonymous as well.

Thanks guys – you’re the best!!

The answer is……..(drumroll please)

Ritz Crackers!!

Congrats to our 2 winners! E-mails will be on the way soon!!

Here are your random numbers:

2	 Tessa

Timestamp: 2009-10-07 12:01:52 UTC

Here are your random numbers:

3	Abby

Timestamp: 2009-10-07 12:03:00 UTC

And if you just can’t figure out why those ingredients are bad for you, here you go

• enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate,{vitamin B1} riboflavin {vitamin B2} folic acid) – refined flours are a large contributor to insulin spikes as well as causing our bodies to lose nutrients we need in order to digest them.
• soybean oil – soy has been linked to hormone disruption due to the levels of phytoestrogens in it.
• sugar – robs our body of nutrients while we try to digest it as well as causes insulin spikes.
• partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil -can suppress the activity in cell receptors that are involved in inflammation, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity.
• salt
• leavening (baking soda and/or calcium phosphate)
• high fructose corn syrup – the fructose travels to the liver almost completely intact, not broken down at all. The liver must then work even harder to digest and get rid of it. And our livers, which also expel old hormones that helps our entire hormonal system to function better, are then overworked and not able to function as well as they could.
• soy lecithin (emulsifier) – again with the soy!
• natural flavor – Hmmm, wonder what’s in this?
• cornstarch

Thanks for playing along and you’ll get another chance to guess this Friday!!

#2 was Dana from Control Freak in Chaos. Congrats and thanks for participating!

And speaking of his birthday, a couple of weeks ago I found some Melissa and Doug puzzles on Craislist for a few dollars a piece and Todd found a bunch of Cars movie cars at another garage sale. These will be put aside for his birthday as well. No need to go out and buy brand new toys when we have so many almost new toys that we’ve found!

• Take extra vitamin C at the first sign! Sometimes this actually keeps it at bay for me, other times it just lessons the pain and stuffy-ness I feel.
• Hot soups and stews – Chop up some extra garlic and add it in while cooking. Not only do the ingredients in a bone broth soup promote healing, it’s a wonderful, soothing way to help clear congestion!
• Sinus cleansing – Whether you use a nettie pot or a bulb syringe, this actually helps! Mix up about 8 oz of warm water with 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of baking soda. Lean over the sink with your head tilted to the side and down (don’t try and look in the mirror – you’ll feel like you’re drowning when the water goes down the back of your throat!) Tip the pot or slowly empty the bulb syringe into the nostril. Feels funny, but it will loosen things up a bit! Try and do this 3-4 times a day, especially in the morning and right before bed.
• Blow gently – Especially when pregnant, your sinus cavities are kinda fragile and all the extra blood you have to support baby will make it so your nose bleeds more than normal. Blow with both nostrils open and only when you really need to.
• A tablespoon of raw honey (less for a little one) helps sooth the throat along with it’s healing properties. Also helps as a cough suppressant! Add some cayenne pepper to it for an added effect. (personally this did not work well for me as the specific virus I had attacked my throat and it was majorly inflammed. But it worked wonders for my little guy who was just a bit scratchy from coughing!)
• Drink “hot lemonade” – Use the juice of a lemon, along with some raw honey and add to hot water. Adding in some powdered ginger helps “sweat” out the virus as well. (My advice would be to be careful if you’re already dealing with a high fever though, because it does have quite the warming effect) But drink a cup while wrapped up in a warm blanket and stay there. This gave me a very mild fever for a night while sleeping under heavy blankets, but I did feel much better in the morning.
• Drink lots of hot liquids, especially hot herbal teas. Any warm liquid will help loosen up all that mucous and get things draining. Especially soothing for a sore throat.
• Sleep – as much as you can! Hard to do with a little one at home, but I did get in some extra sleep everytime he took a nap. A well rested body can heal much faster than a worn out one.
• Gargle with warm salt water – Especially helpful in the morning to rid yourself of accumulation in the back of your throat and sinuss.
• Hot showers can work wonders on relieving congestion. And while standing in there, take a wash cloth and hold it over your throat and chest to help break up congestion. This also works well for little ones in the tub. Apply the warm cloth a few times in a row to the front (until it cools) and then to the back.
• Use either a warm mist humidifier or a vaporizer in the room you spend the most time in as well as your bedroom. Not only does this help keep things moisturized, but it also aids in keeping the “dust” down so as not to irritate your sinuss and throat.
• Ice water – works wonders for a sore throat. Do what you can with warm liquids and such to help with congestion and drainage, but go for the ice water when it hurts to swallow.
• Popsicles (and ice cream) are also another wonderful treat to a sore throat.(use as a last resort though – sugar isn’t good for an already compromised immune system!)

Now these are all things to help alliviate symptoms, they are not a cure. Unfortunately the virus does need to run it’s course first, but they do help you feel just a bit better while suffering through them!

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.