beware of the avocado monster

sounds scary, doesn't it? you may picture a big green hairy creature with guacamole dripping from its month and massive paws covered in green goo....or you could picture a 20 month old covered in avocado pudding and smiling ear to ear. yup, the second image is right on.

we cannot resist avocados in our household. we chow down on that creamy green fruit daily and have found ways to make it sweet, savory, spicy and even in our smoothies. it is all good in our book. as for our munchkin, she devours an avocado almost daily. since before she was a year old she noshed on that irresistible green goodness and we must gloat that she would beg for an avocado before touching what most toddlers consume daily.

today's avocado consumption began with one our favorite concoctions that we call 'pudding'. our raw banacado pudding is way better than any dairy based pudding out there. i'd say that it reigns in the pudding hall of fame. ahhh, it is so scrumptdiliumptious. you want the recipe? ok, just be careful, it may be habit forming and healthy. so, here goes....

2 nice and ripe avocados
1/2 banana
2 tbsp. agave or raw honey
2 tbsp. carob powder

blend all ingredients in food processor until super smooth, like pudding. serve with a myriad of toppings...chia seeds, ground flax seeds, coconut flakes, banana slices, blueberries, strawberries, wheat germ and on and on. this also makes a great 'pie' filling.

well folks, there you have it. don't say that we didn't warn you. just let us say that the picture is only a warning of may happen when this is consumed. smiles, messy lunchtime chaos and happy raw kids are just a few of the side effects of chowing down on bowls of this stuff. oh, make sure that you get some to. enjoy!

hey sprout, what do ya say?

oh yes, the dreaded sprout. that fuzzy, squiggly thing that people pile on their burgers, sandwiches and salads. i cannot tell you how many people have a sproutaphobia. how can you be afraid of such a cute little thing? i know, i know, they come by the thousands and they are green. so what, they are amazing little buggers.

i remember eating sprouts as a little one. back in the day my mom would pile them on salads and us kids would devour them. i know that i was a strange kid, but who could resist the appeal of a sprout or few? all considering that the 'all you can eat' salad bar was my fav spot to chow down at the age of eight, you were looking at a sprout junkie back then.

twenty some years later and i am still digging those great green goodies. why not? they are super nutritious, super cheap to grow and i can eat fresh goods all winter long right out of the kitchen. plus, you aren't limited to alfalfa sprouts any longer. there are a myriad of sprouting seeds out there. onion, garlic, fenugreek, lentils, radish, broccoli...and on and on. the flavor is out of this world and they add zing to any dish.

how do you do it, you ask? well, there are folks out there like The Sprout People out of San Francisco that do an amazing job of supplying sprout addicts with seeds and sprouting supplies. they have everything you need to get the job done. if you are just starting out, they have a kit for $55 that includes a seed sampler and sprouting containers. if you think about it, that's the cost of about fourteen store bought sprouts, which have been sitting on the shelf for weeks, come from who knows where and have been handled over and over again. yuck! these folks have a ton of info, FAQs and resources on their site...don't fear, The Sprout People are here. if you grow your own, it takes a little lovin' from you and about 6 days to get a fresh batch of sprouts fresh from your kitchen. yup, no transporting those little guys and no waiting for days on a shelf in the produce section for you to buy them. can't get any closer to home than that. new meaning to 'local'.

as winter creeps in on us, think of how nice it would be to have fresh green goodness grown by you. cold days and nights doesn't mean going without fresh local goodies, it means that you need to take two minutes every day to rinse your sprouts and no effort munching on them with every meal. embrace the power of the sprout and go for it...check out The Sprout People to get started.

oh, as for sprout therapy, maybe you should bring

it up to your therapist. it isn't HEALTHY to have

a fear of sprouts.

battle of the household cleaning products

upon looking under the sink today, i realized what it takes to keep a home clean, healthy and smelling good. not too much! i must say that i cannot imagine what other people use in their homes and how much of it they use.

on a daily basis, we use minimal cleaning products. a spray to clean up after a messy little one, something for those finger prints left behind on virtually everything in the kitchen and the weekly cleaners for the bathroom, etc.

so, what is under your sink and what does it do for you? besides being tested on animals and laden with chemicals, does the effects on your family and the environment outweigh the shiny, perfumed facade in your home? hum, a tricky one.

this is what we have used for years. tried and proven. they all smell great, are non-toxic, safe around the little one and don't impact our eco-home.

earth friendly products: parsley plus (this all surface cleaner smells absolutely wonderful and is perfect for tabletops, counter tops and cleaning up the fridge)
earth friendly products

citra-solve (this concentrated cleaner can be used almost anywhere. we use it on the stove, to remove anything sticky or greasy, the floors, and to clean up in the bathroom. concentrated formula allows you to dilute it in a spray bottle with water or use it full strength on those tough jobs. a little bit goes a long way)
citra-solve

dr. bronner's: sal suds (one of the oldest formulas that i can think of and another wonderful addition to your cleaning repetriore. great smelling pine formula is concentrated and can be used in almost any outlet of a home. great for washing floors, cleaning toilets, laundry and many more. a bottle can last a long long time. plus, this product has some good folk behind it. people with good vibes, good agendas and a really great line of products. we also use the liquid castile soaps for bathing. nothing like a blast of peppermint soap to wake you up in the morning. they even sell the stuff by the gallon. yup, they are the real deal. you gotta dig a company that has been rockin' that vibe for 60 years.)
dr. bronner's

so, three basic things to keep a clean home. add in some natural detergents for clothes and dishes and you are set. it isn't rocket science and not to mention, it isn't expensive. clean with less and live with more.

ps (that kooky scientist above is none other than ole dr. bronner himself. we are up to support any dude that chills like that)

the quest for a great veggie burger

it is safe to say that most people have at least tasted a veggie burger, if not consumed them weekly for the past few years, like some of us. i remember chowing down on them in college, when they were chunky, laden with peas and carrots and tasted like mush. then we moved on the better finds like the sunshine burger and okara burgers in my later veggies years. when you think about it, you find them everywhere now and the options are endless.

our only gripe is that most of them are just too much. too much? too much junk. not enough real food, too much salt and actually taste a lot like meat, which kind of defeats the purpose of our diet at times.

every company had great beginnings. a quest to create something new, something that fits a lifestyle and something that will ultimately appeal to the masses. well, we are working on manufacturing a new line of veggie burgers. yes, from our itsy bitsy home by the sea we are grinding, mixing and baking up some serious batches of veggie burgers. and yes, we have left out the junk.

before we tell you what we are using, we'd like to know what people like and dislike in veggie burgers. i must say that our daughter, non veg heads and veg heads alike have given us rave reviews, but we'd like to know more. we'll give you a hint at the goods...seed and grain based, vegan, no legumes and packed with fresh herbs and greens. sound good?

please take a moment to answer a few questions and maybe, just maybe we'll invite you to a tasting in the near future.

1. what flavors do you enjoy in a veggie burger?
2. what is your favorite veggie burger (brand and flavor)?
3. is cost an issue? if so, what is a reasonable cost per burger? ($1.00, $1.25, $1.50)
4. organic or not organic? which would you prefer?
5. what do you like about most veggie burgers? what don't you like?

please cut and paste these into an email and email us at phytomama@gmail.com

thanks foodies!

my toothbrush is 8 years old, how about yours?

by now it is obvious that we attempt to waste nothing and reuse everything. one may ask themselves why on earth would we use the same toothbrush for 8 years, easy...we have the best toothbrushes on earth. 8 years ago we bought his and hers matching, blue and pink, Fuchs Ekotec toothbrushes. not only are the super enviro, with their replaceable heads, it is fun to tell people about your old toothbrush.

we joke around about where our toothbrushes have been...up and down the east coast, out west, and tons of camping and surf trips. bet you can't say that about yours!

Fuchs Ekotec toothbrushes are an eco option to replacing the whole shebang every few months. all we do is pop out the replaceable head and pop in a new one. the only thing that we are tossing AWAY is the worn out head.

we figure at this point, we have saved about 24 toothbrushes each if we followed the ole replace your toothbrush every 3 months suggestion. imagine what that is over a lifetime, well as long as you have teeth. the statistics say that americans toss 50 million pounds of toothbrushes in landfill every year.

being hygienic and enviro doesn't come with a high price tag from Fuchs. both toothbrush and replacement heads run about $5.00. we bought ours at our local health food store and you can find them from a slew of mainstream online sources.

start a trend, save a toothbrush and form a relationship with a new one. why not celebrate your toothbrush's birthday, it is saving space in our landfills.

water folk and the enviroment

when you care about where things come from and where they are going, it isn't always easy to find what you are looking for. from food to clothing to a surfboard bag, there IS someone out there doing the right thing.

one of our favorite companies is Patagonia. everything about them tells you how much they care. we have been involved with these guys for many years. from having buddies in the company, to wearing their gear, to chowing down on some organic grub in the private cafe in Ventura, Ca, we absolutely love these guys. if you aren't familiar with the company, take a peek at:

http://patagonia.com/

everything that they make has a purpose, a history, and a future. things are meant to last, they strive for organic, fair trade and for function. it isn't about fashion seasons or to keep up with others, it is for making tracks and for saving what we have.

we recently read Yvon Chouinard's, the founder and creator of Patagonia, book, 'Let My People Go Surfing.' if you want to see how people should live, play and work, this is a good read. he isn't your normal business man. in fact, he is a huMAN with a business. this book only makes you admire what Patagonia stands for even more than the products alone. it is a tale of his journeys from a young man climbing, starting a business, watching his prints and caring for the folks who have helped him build an amazing conscious company. their misson statement:

"Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis."

we were on the hunt for new surfboard bags and have been disappointed with what we were finding out there. alas, we remembered that Patagonia introduced board bags. not only do we know that we are supporting a good company, we also know that they support 1% for the planet, meaning that Patagonia gives 1% of it's sales to worldwide environmental efforts.

so, two big ole 10 footer board bags arrived the other day and we couldn't have been more excited. just in time for a roadie to Rhode Island and Maryland, these bags come with an ironclad guarantee, another one of Patagonia's efforts to stand behind their products. we shall put them to the test and see if they are just as wonderful as everything else that we have bought from them.

so, make what you buy worth it. put some thought into your money and don't buy disposable garbage. use what you got until it falls about beyond belief and when you are ready for something new, DO THE RIGHT THING. as waterfolk, we know that what you what you dispose of ultimately ends up in the wrong place. nothing ever goes AWAY.

homebirths and 'the business of being born'

when you begin to live a simpler life, there seems to be a trend toward home-everything. homemade. homeschool. homegrown. homebirth. it isn't a coincidence, it is the greater force of growing from within, from our homes and from our souls.

when we found out that we were going to have a baby, we immediately looked at our homebirthing options. it all seemed so new to us, but what wouldn't, it was our first baby. if we were mainstream, we would've scheduled an appointment with our doctor before even conceiving for a pre-pregnancy interview, then we would have gotten the go ahead from the doc and then we would've tried to get pregnant. once most couples think that they are pregnant, they need a doctor to tell them for sure. huh??????? women are losing what we have been gifted with and that is intuition. pregnancy and birth have become so mechanical that most people have no intuition when it comes to one of the most beautiful and natural acts that a woman's body is equipped to deal with.

our decision to have a homebirth was an easy one. i was a low risk pregnancy and the thought of bringing life into this world in a hospital was out of the question. we chose to birth in our own home. when the day came, we were already where we needed to be and we waited for the midwives to come to us. what a wonderful way to introduce our baby into the world.

she was born within 4 hours and all went well. there was nobody there to whisk her away before we got to hold her in our arms. it was all so blessed and so slow that it felt like a lifetime. we shared hours together, alone with our new life, quiet and peaceful. she was surrounded by love and bliss. no monitors, no needles, no bright lights and no noise, just love.

this is so not true for the majority of children born into this country. the experiences are generally not happy nor blissful and it shows in the children. how we are conceived and how we are born set the stage for how we are. we truly believe that conscious conception and homebirths make loving and more centered children.

we aren't alone in our beliefs though we are a minority in the states. we recently came across a documentary, "the business of being born". it is a wonderful story of many homebirths and many conventional hospital births. they speak to midwives, doctors, health professionals, educators and families on their views of birth. it is beautiful, it is saddening and it is showing how the medical community is failing to support women in birth. take a peek and share this with others.

the business of being born trailer

for anyone who is pregnant or thinking of childbearing, remember, pregnancy and birth are not medical conditions, they are a gift, one of the most beautiful acts that a woman's body can perform.

homemade spelt bread

In our quest to leave as little behind as possible, we have started making our own bread on a weekly basis. It really isn't that time consuming nore tricky. I must admit that we have an old bread machine at our disposal, but I have made countless batches sans machine.

When you think about how many loaves your family eats in a year and then think about all of those plastic bags and plastic ties, then you'll understand how much waste goes into such a simple staple. Plus, it is significantly cheaper to make your own bread. Two loaves of Organic Spelt bread costs us less then $5.00 and it is fresh and ready within 2 1/2 hours.

This is what you'll need:

4 tsp yeast or 2 envelopes

2 C warm water

1/4 C honey, agave or desired sweetener

3 tbsp melted butter (we used vegan Earth Balance, which is absolutely yummy)

1 tsp butter for coating your pans and rising bowls

1-2 tsp salt

6-7 C Spelt flour

Combine the yeast, water, sweetener and melted butter in a bowl or your bread machine pan. Let foam for 10 minutes. Add the flour and salt and knead for 10 minutes or set your bread machine on the dough setting and hit start. If making this by hand, you'll let it rise for 30 minutes in the bowl and then knead until smooth and form into 2 loaves and place in greased bread pans and let rise for another 30 minutes (or until doubled in size). If using the bread machine, your time will vary, but after it is done in the machine, remove and smooth out into 2 loaves and place in greased bread pans and let rise for another 30 minutes (or until doubled in size) Preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Once the loaves are ready and the oven is at 400 degrees, bake for 35-45 minutes. They are done when you can tap them with a butter knife and they sound hollow.

We usually freeze one loaf and keep the other in the fridge. This recipe slices well and holds up great. Enjoy with some Earth Balance spread, sunflower butter or some hummus and sprouts. We are sure that you'll find your own favorite combo.

a washing machine? yup, we finally got one!

for all of those who know us, you know that we haven't had a washing machine in many many moons. the laundromat has been our laundering refuge for a long time. i cannot say how excited i am to finally have a high energy efficient front loading washing machine. we did our homework and we came up with a Fridgidare Affinity. this mama is amazing. the clothing comes out close to dry and it only uses around 10 gallons of water, which brings me to another point.

we are going to be 'reclaiming' that gray water from each load. just think about how much water you waste with each load. i have done my homework and realized that every housewife from the 60's and back ran that gray water back out into the gardens. why pay for more water when we are paying to dipose of what we are using. only problemo is what detergent you wash your clothes in. we are using Bio-Kleen. it works great, it is biodegradeable and better yet, we can use our graywater and not kill the soil and all of the plant life.

some other tidbits:

white vinegar is a great fabric softener. just fill the fabric softener well with it and no worries of your clothing coming out smelling like a salad!

wash your clothes in cold water. why pay to heat up the water, when cold water works really well. Bio-Kleen even has a cold water formula detergent.

bleach??? hang those whites out to dry in the sun and let mother nature go to work.

so, we are just trying to relearn what all mamas have done many years ago. why it has been lost is beyond me, but i'd love to learn more if you have any pointers.

who would have thought that a washing machine would make me so happy! oh, no dryer, but we got that covered with a constant seabreeze!

a washing machine! yup, we finally got one!

for all of those who know us, you know that we haven't had a washing machine in many many moons. the laundromat has been our laundering refuge for a long time. i cannot say how excited i am to finally have a high energy efficient front loading washing machine. we did our homework and we came up with a Fridgidare Affinity. this mama is amazing. the clothing comes out close to dry and it only uses around 10 gallons of water, which brings me to another point.

we are going to be 'reclaiming' that gray water from each load. just think about how much water you waste with each load. i have done my homework and realized that every housewife from the 60's and back ran that gray water back out into the gardens. why pay for more water when we are paying to dipose of what we are using. only problemo is what detergent you wash your clothes in.

we are using Bio-Kleen. it works great, it is biodegradeable and better yet, we can use our graywater and not kill the soil and all of the plant life.

some other tidbits:

white vinegar is a great fabric softener. just fill the fabric softener well with it and no worries of your clothing coming out smelling like a salad!

wash your clothes in cold water. why pay to heat up the water, when cold water works really well. Bio-Kleen even has a cold water formula detergent.

bleach??? hang those whites out to dry in the sun and let mother nature go to work.

so, we are just trying to relearn what all mamas have done many years ago. why it has been lost is beyond me, but i'd love to learn more if you have any pointers.

who would have thought that a washing machine would make me so happy! oh, no dryer, but we got that covered with a constant seabreeze!

the beginning

today is the beginning of what i dreamt to be a sharing of not so common common knowledge. i have always wanted to share my passion of living simple, living well and lovin' life with others and here we go.

just to let you know who we are and what we are doing, we'll start with a bit about us. we are a veggie couple with a blessed little veggie baby livin' at the beach, gardening, surfing, leavin' no print, but trying to make an impression. our quest of living WITHout started 10 years ago and it is only getting better and bigger. upon the birth of our daughter we were really hit with what it means to live greener. no paper diapers, no formula and none of that commercial junk that the rest of society believes you need to raise a child. just some cloth diapers, a sling, a mama and papa and a warm home is all we need to not keep up with the jones's.

with that said, we hope to share all that we have learned over the years with those who find yourselves here. we have learned a lot from our journies, our families, our friends and those unknown strangers who passed on a valuable tidbit along the way.

so, enjoy, ask questions and keep an eye on us. who knows what we'll be up to next.