In A Nutshell: 5/21/13

Welcome to In A Nutshell. This is a weekly feature that will allow you to see some of the posts from other blogs that I've read and found interesting. Each Tuesday, I will highlight a few posts that I loved from the previous week. I will also do a brief summery of The Pistachio Project's post from the following week as well so that you can easily catch up if you missed reading them.

Some of my Favorite Posts from Around the Blogosphere

25 Ways to Use Coconut Butter from The Coconut Mama - I've just started to use coconut butter and am looking forward to trying out some of these recipes!

Stuffed and Roasted Onions from Gluten Free SCD and Veggie - These look amazing! If we didn't avoid nuts in our family, I'd definitely be making these!

9 Natural Remedies for Cellulite from Wellness Mama - I would imagine cellulite remedies is one of those things that most women are always on the look out for. Check out these remedies and give them a try.

The Pistachio Project's Week in Review

Garlic Potato Soup - Looking for a nice rich soup to add to your recipe rotation? Try this amazing recipe.

Skin Brightening Sugar Scrub - If you want a great refreshing sugar scrub then look no further! This scrub is packed with lemon which is not only a mood booster but also a skin brightener!

Simply Natural Saturdays - The Pistachio Project's other weekly feature which allows other bloggers to link up their natural posts. This is a great way to find amazing posts and great blogs.

Garlic Potato Soup

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post.

This last year, my family began adding soups to our dinner rotation greatly. We started this for a few reasons, first, it can be a meatless meal and this works well for us as we do not eat all that much meat. Secondly, we almost always have broth because I make tons after we cook a whole chicken. Third, it's cheap. This really has a lot to do with the fact that it can be meatless and the fact that we already have the broth. Not to mention that soup can be an incredibly nutritious meal.

I don't know about you but some people in my family do not like eating the same thing over and over again. Therefore, to appease the family, I went searching for a new recipe and came up with this lovely soup.

Garlic Potato Soup

1/2 cup butter
2 onions - chopped
1-2 Tab. minced garlic
6 red potatoes - peeled and diced (or if you prefer, you can leave unpeeled)
6 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

Place onions and butter in a large pot, cover and cook 20 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and potatoes, cover and cook for 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Pour broth into the pot along with seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool off a bit. Transfer to a blender (or use an
immersion blender) and blend till smooth. This may need to be done in batches as this does make quite a bit of soup. Once the soup has been blended you can heat it back up (if necessary) and serve.







Linked at: Fat Tuesday

Simply Natural Saturdays: 5/18/13

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Brittany at The Pistachio Project

Krystyna at Spring Mountain Living
Brittney at Brittleby's Corner
Kassie at Going Green with the Grizls

Featured Post

Are you Overdosing on Essential Herbal Oils - Weed 'em and Reap

I love essential oils but sometime too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. Read Weed 'em and Reap's take on how we should use essential oils.

Skin Brightening Sugar Scrub

Welcome to the May 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Taking Time for Mom. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. Oftentimes, Moms are so busy taking care of their families that they forget to take care of themselves. This month our carnival participants have written posts about what they do just for themselves.

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I'm a mama to four kids. I think it goes without saying that I rarely get any time for myself. I am ok with this. I know that eventually I'll have a season in my life where I'll have too much time to myself so it will all balance out eventually. That being said, I still need to find ways to do a few small things for myself so that I stay sane. 

One way I can take a little mini break and get some "me time" in is with my beauty routine. Really it's not a routine at all. I'm generally lucky to just brush my teeth before someone is begging for breakfast. However, every once in a while I have the opportunity to actually take my time getting ready. When I do find that time, I like to splurge with a nice sugar scrub.

This sugar scrub is a nice fine scrub so it's great for the body or face. The lemon in it has skin brightening properties so it will leave your face looking fresh and can even help fade blemishes over time. The sugar helps lightly scrub away dead skin while the coconut oil moisturizes your skin so it feels great.

Skin Brightening Sugar Scrub

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

2-5 drops lemon essential oil (optional)

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients and pour into a jar for storing. I like to use glass jars like mason jars but anything will work. To use, rub the scrub lightly over face or body.

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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:

In A Nutshell: 5/14/13

Welcome to In A Nutshell. This is a weekly feature that will allow you to see some of the posts from other blogs that I've read and found interesting. Each Tuesday, I will highlight a few posts that I loved from the previous week. I will also do a brief summery of The Pistachio Project's post from the following week as well so that you can easily catch up if you missed reading them.

Some of my Favorite Posts from Around the Blogosphere

15 Natural Bee Sting Remedies from Happy Mothering - The bees are starting to buzz around here and I love having this source for great bee sting remedies in case any of us show happen to be stung.

Naturally Treating Cuts And Scrapes from Modern Alternative Health - Looking for an alternative to antiseptic creams? Check out this post.

2013 SafeMama Safer Sunscreen Cheat Sheet from SafeMama - I don't really use sunscreen in our house. However, if we did need to use it, it's nice to see such a great list of safer sunscreens to choose from.

The Pistachio Project's Week in Review

Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for 2013 - Want to know the latest for which produce you should really buy organic and which you could get away buying conventional?

Call For Submissions: May Natural Living Blog Carnival - Are you a blogger? Sign up to participate in May's carnival!

Simply Natural Saturdays - The Pistachio Project's other weekly feature which allows other bloggers to link up their natural posts. This is a great way to find amazing posts and great blogs.