Healthy Banana Cookies

Hello everyone;
Here is a super simple recipe I found for some delicious (and healthy!) banana cookies. I found it on http://www.familyoven.com/, so if you enjoyed this one, check some more out!

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, oil, and vanilla. Mix well, and allow to sit

3. for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.

Why Shop Local? Whats in it for you?

With the holiday season looming in your will hear chatter of "shopping local" on the streets. What does it mean and why should you care? Does shopping local really make a difference to anyone? Lets take a minute and learn a few things about shopping local. Then you can decide for yourself if shopping local is important to you.

1. Better Service and Friendly People.

When you walk into a local shop you are often greeted by the shop owner, they can tell you all about what they sell with great passion. Often they are a million times more helpful and friendlier then the help you might find in a big box store.

2. Local Economic Stimulus.

Ah yes, something everyone is worried about these days. When you shop at a locally owned business rather than a national chain more money is kept in the community. This helps grow the other businesses around and the local tax base.

3. New Jobs in the Community.

Sick of your commute? Local businesses are the most likely to offer new jobs to the marketplace in a community. They also offer great opportunities for youth to gain work experience.

4. Local Businesses Give Back where YOU need it.

Did your baseball team or organization have a raffle this year? Chances are that locally owned businesses donated the prizes for your event. Local business are owned by the people that rally to raise money when there is a family with a sick child or donate when the schools are having a fundraiser. Does your favorite big box store do that for you?

5. Unique businesses create a Unique and Prosperous town.

The Businesses that are in a town largely determine the character of the town. This adds to the overall satisfaction that you feel living there and also the value of your property and home.

6. Local Decision Making.

Local ownership means that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions.

7. Ensuring Choice and Diversity.

Retailers sift through competing goods and services to find those that appeal to their customers. Even though a single local shop may have a smaller selection than a big chain outlet, a multiplicity of independent retailers creates great diversity.

8. Shopping Local is something fun to do on a Rainy Day.

Got the rainy day blues? Go browse your local shops for unique items and for fun. You could spend a whole afternoon trying things on and checking things out. Chat with the owners and learn more about your local neighborhood.

9. Its More Environmentally Friendly to Shop local.

Walking around town shopping is easier on the environment then driving to the big box stores. Small little shops in a towns core cause less environmental impact then large sprawling malls, resulting in less habitat loss, energy use and waste.

10. Vote with your Wallet.

Your values and opinions are much more important to a small local shop then a large chain store. You can influence what products they carry and convince them to cater to YOUR needs. They will value so much more and take note of what you like!

So there you have it, 10 amazing reasons to stimulate your local economy today. When you spend $100 at a local business $73 off that will stay in your local economy. With the same $100 spent at a national chain only $43 will stay in your local economy. The rest of the money will be hard at work providing jobs for people far, far away.

Salts!

Swine flu Immunity Super Boost Juice.

Jump start your immune system with a juicy drink packed full of antioxidants and all the building blocks for super natural immunity against Swine flu and other winter time infections. All you need is a juicer and piles of organic veggies. I have found great working juicers at Thrift and secound hand stores for less than $10. You can grab a new juicer at most appliance or health food stores. If you are going to buy new then please consult an expert on juicers before you shell out big bucks. The expert I most trust is Natalia Rose, check her out at www.Detoxtheworld.com, you can also buy juicers there.

So without further ado, here is my immunity boost juice recipe.

2 organic apples
1 organic lemon
a few leaves of romaine (3-5)
handful of parsley sprigs
big ol chunk of ginger (more you can handle the better, it gives you a nice buzz)
1 stalk celery
add 20 drops of echinacea if your going to be around a lot of sneeze y swine people (ie Christmas time mall or school gathering)

you may want to add garlic, I love the taste without so I rarely do. I would add garlic if I definitely felt something coming on....

Tip: If you can't buy all organic produce, make sure that your leafy greens are your priorty to get organic. They get the most spray, root veggies get less spray on the edible part. Non organic lemons can be peeled before juicing. Juicing is definitly the time you want to go organic if you can though.

Enjoy a happy healthy winter! Be sure to check out Natalia's site and books.

With Love,
Jenny

The Endless Benefits of Green Tea

I am sure that you have all read countless articles and blogs on this subject, so I apologize in advance for any dull repetitions! Personally, I can't learn enough about this amazing drink...it's truly miraculous, and I wanted to share some facts that I've recently read.

1. Studies show that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

2. Research [at University of Purdue] has shown that green tea contains a compound which inhibits the growth of cancer cells, without harming healthy tissue!

3. It is very high in catechin polyphenols, namely epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is a powerful anti-oxidant.

4. It has proven effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

5. Green, oolong, and black tea are from the same plant, called Camellia Sinensis. Green tea is different due to it's processing, which consists of boiling the leaves, instead of fermenting them. The boiling process allows the EGCG to oxidize, whereas the fermenting process converts the EGCG into other compounds which have proven considerably less useful.

6. The only harmful side effect is possible insomnia due to caffeine levels. However, green tea contains contains 20mg of caffeine (per 8 oz), whereas coffee contains 60-120 mg.

Deliciously Simple "Incredible Vegetable Soup"

I adore sipping a cup of heartwarming soup on a cool day. Actually, this makes me welcome and look forward to the cooler weather! Here is a recipe that is so incredibly simple, and it sounds so yummy! Why not try it out?

Ingredients:
1 yellow zucchini, chopped
3-4 large carrots, chopped
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1/2 small cauliflower, chopped
1/2 cup diced onions
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 49 1/2 ounce can chicken broth
1-2 tsp oregano
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning

Method
Saute garlic and onion in oil in saucepan. Add and lightly saute carrots, zucchini, and cauliflower. Add broth, rice, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer 35 minutes or until rice is soft. Add seasoning.

Power to the Pants!

We all wear pants, so why not wear an environmentaly friendly pair? This company, "Pants for Poverty", has been producing fairtrade, organic, sweatshop free underpants for four years now! They are grown and sewn in India and are beautiful from "grain to groin." They work with a company in India called Zameen Organic, which is the world’s first farmer-owned marketing company for Fairtrade and organic cotton. If you are interesting in joining this pants revolution, visit the link below, or stop by Salts Organic to pick up a pair!

Learn more about Pants to Poverty here.

Dress For you Body Type. 5 Tips for a Flattering you.

Whenever I am designing a new item I like to take into account what its going to do for the person that puts it on. We all have had an item that hugs us in all the wrong places and makes us feel like we are on the way to Frumpville. Then we have also had the great luck in finding a piece that shows off our best and highlights what makes us beautiful. Those are the items that we keep for years and wear until there is nothing left to them. My favorite moment is when I manage to come up with something that looks great and flatters all the right places on a lot of different women.

The most common complaint that I get from women is that clothing hugs their tummies and backs. Another concern of course is the thigh area. I have compiled some of my best advice for diverting attention (yours mostly, no one else thinks much about your tummy and thighs by the way) away from the areas you don't totally love into areas that you adore.

1. Determine your best feature and build your look around it. Love your eye color? Compliment it with color and tone. A great tip is to find a color wheel and then find the color of you eyes. Bring it out by finding the color on the opposite side and wearing that. For example orange colors bring out blue eyes. Wearing colors that match your eyes also tend to bring them out more.

2. Style lines, Style lines, Style lines. A well placed style line is a woman's best friend. Want to whittle your waist? Grab an item with an hour glass style line on the front. Slim your thighs? Look for length wise lines down the legs of your bottoms. Avoid cargo pockets on pants if you want to slim down your legs. Our classic Candy hoodie (shown above on Leah Oke) in Organic Cotton and hemp has a great cut, toning your midsection with out all those boring sit-ups.

3. Color and Darks. Wear your dark colors on area that you want to minimize and lighter brighter colors on areas you want to draw attention to. Large on top and small on bottom? Pair a black top with a bright colored bottom. This will balance your figure more evenly.

4. Ruching is the bomb. Runching is deep gathers on a garment used to create folds. They are great for covering bumpy areas that you want to keep to yourself. Gathering also works great to add volume if your very petite. Our Wave Check EcoFriendly Hoodie has Ruching along the front with a waist whittling style line to give you a double whammy of flattering effects. Check out our Zen Jacket if you want to add some bulk to your figure.

5. Draw the attention of your admirers where you want it to go. This works terrifically in all areas of your life. The obvious example if the mighty bare cleavage but there are subtler and classier ways to pull the technique off. Use brighter colors and interesting details to draw admiring glances where you want them. Try a great necklace to enhance your beautiful neck or a hair pin to draw attention to your luxurious mane. Grab some great jeans if you like your bottom half better than your top and wear a plain dark shirt minimize your top. Then put on a smile to show off your pretty soul.

Hope these tips help you to look and feel your best. If you want some more tips come stop by Salts Clothing at 2052 Otter Point Road in Beautiful Sooke, BC on Vancouver Island and speak to one of our stylists. Of course your can always shop for Salts Organic Clothing online.

With Love,
Jenny

Designer, Salts