Tag Archives: Summer 2008 Catalog

Black Bean Burgers- Summer 2008 Catalog

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Black Bean Burgers

1Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 med. red pepper, chopped

4 med. cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 1/2 cups cooked or canned organic black beans, drained

1 cup cooked brown basmati rice

2 cups fresh whole wheat bread crumbs

Hot pepper sauce to taste (optional)

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until soft and onions are translucent. Stir in cumin, turmeric and cook for 1 minute. In a food processor, combine beans, rice, and onion/pepper/garlic mixture. Transfer to a large bowl. Add breadcrumbs and mix well. Season with salt and hot pepper, if desired. Flatten 1/4 cup amounts of mix into patties and grill for a more excellent taste! Cook about 3-5 minutes on each side. Makes 8 burgers.

– Lisa N.

Deviled Coconut Curry Chicken- Summer 2008 Catalog

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Deviled Coconut Curry Chicken

Chicken pieces cut into bite-sized pieces.  (I prefer to cook in a cast iron skillet until lightly browned.)

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp lemon rind

1 cup tomato sauce

1 Tbsp sucanat or organic turbinado sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1 can coconut milk

Sauté chicken until golden and then add onions and garlic to sauté. Add tomato sauce, coconut milk, lemon juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir in dry ingredients and simmer on low for 10 minutes. I serve this over brown rice (soaked and cooked according to Nourishing Traditions) with a green salad.

– Jennifer B.

Baby Steps to Better Eating- Summer 2008 Catalog

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By Nancy Webster

We were good Southerners. During my growing-up years my family ate lots of vegetables-boiled or fried near to death-and fruits and nancy_smallberries mostly in the form of pie or cobbler. But as a teenager, I was fascinated by Mrs. Brewer’s very different approach to food.

Long-time family friends, Mrs. Brewer and her husband lived on a small Tennessee farm just outside of Nashville, and every year, Mrs. Brewer grew a magnificent organic garden. She also read Prevention magazine, and-appropriately-took daily brewer’s yeast supplements. Inspired by her fine foods and the many nutritional tips she shared with me, I finally began my own quest for purer eating by asking my parents to take me to a health food store. Shelves of mysterious bottles and austere boxes overwhelmed us, and we emerged with nothing but a package of soy crackers.

Those crackers were the start of a 30-year food journey from college dining hall food and vending machine junk to meatless, soy substitutes, to proper-protein-combining, to fresh-ground, whole wheat bread, to all raw vegetarian fare. Each represented an extreme of sorts, leaving me hungry (so to speak) for a more whole way of eating. If you’re just now at the early stages of a quest for a healthier diet, please allow me to save you years of rabbit trails.

A History of Good Eating

Although it’s easy to let the busy-ness of life push you back to frozen pizza and fish sticks, it’s vital for your health and your family’s to keep taking baby steps towards the healthier way. Every little success makes it easier the next time.

I first recommend bookmarking and reading the articles on the Weston A. Price Foundation website (www.westonaprice.org). Dr. Price, a dentist, toured the world in the 1930’s, visiting people groups which had not yet been introduced to processed foods. They still prepared meals by the techniques of their ancestors. Dr. Price found these people with excellent teeth, and he also noted that they were resistant to illnesses such as tuberculosis, prevalent in that time period. He also took note of other people groups who-in just one generation of eating processed, sugary foods-had developed decayed, crooked teeth and newly succumbed to many diseases. His travels laid the groundwork for the outstanding nutritional research carried on by the foundation that bears his name.

The next thing you need to do is buy Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon. This in-depth volume contains factual information about the value-added benefits of proper food preparation as well as many, many meals’ worth of delectable recipes. Even though the book has more than 600 pages, it’s like the Bible in that you can read a bit here and there and get a lot out of it.NourishingTrad_1

Sally Fallon explains the value of fermenting vegetables instead of pickling them-it’s even better than just eating them raw! Fermenting boosts the enzyme content of vegetables and fills your digestive tract with beneficial bacteria to help your intestines get the most nutrition out of your food. Nourishing Traditions also details how to culture dairy products, a process that predigests lactose (milk sugar, to which many people are allergic) and casein (milk protein, often an allergen). The remarkable healing properties of simple bone broth are highlighted. And, politically incorrect as it may seem, you’ll discover why animal fats are good for you and can even help you lose weight!

The Fantastic Four

To jump-start your venture in traditional cooking, I’ve outlined below a few tips for four of the many important food preparation processes taught in Nourishing Traditions.

(1) Fermented vegetables. You can ferment most vegetables, but start simple, with plain sauerkraut. A spoonful of sauerkraut with your meal helps your body digest food, especially meat and beans, and eating fermented vegetables regularly will lessen sugar cravings. Try this sauerkraut for starters.

Combine:
1 tablespoon sea salt (cheap, regular salt does not contain trace minerals and is chemically processed, so using sea salt is important).
4 tablespoons whey (whey is the liquid you find at the top of an unstirred carton of plain yogurt. You can collect it by draining the yogurt through cheesecloth or a cotton dishtowel. Keep the whey for your recipes, and use the yogurt in place of cream cheese.)

Next:
Chop finely a head of cabbage, organic if possible (a food processor is a big help.)
Mix ingredients in a large bowl and pound them for about 10 minutes to get the juices out of the cabbage. (This is a fun task for small children. My six-year old son loves banging the soup ladle we use for the job.)
Toss in a tablespoon of caraway seeds if you like.
Dump the mixture into a clean 1-quart mason jar, packing it tightly and leaving a 1-inch space at the top.
Tighten the lid, and set it on the counter for three days to ferment. After that, it’s ready to eat, and you can store the leftovers in the fridge for up to two months.

(2) Kefir and cultured dairy products. Kefir is yogurt’s stronger cousin, replete with probiotic good bacteria necessary for optimal health. It’s a cinch to make-much easier than yogurt! The hardest part is finding milk kefir grains to get you started. They’re sold online (google “kefir grains”), or you may even find them free from a local Weston Price Foundation chapter (find one near you at http://www.westonaprice.org). Kefir grains look like little pieces of cauliflower but are living, lactose-loving bacteria.

To make kefir:
Dump the grains into a 1-quart jar, three-fourths full of milk.
Rubber band a paper towel or cotton handkerchief over the top, so it can get air but stay clean.
Place the jar in a kitchen cabinet for 24 to 48 hours.
Once it’s all done, use a stainless steel strainer (not aluminum!) to separate the grains from the liquid. (Dump them into another jar of milk to start your next batch.)
Store the finished product in the refrigerator.
Kefir is sour, like buttermilk, but you can sweeten it with fruit, honey, or stevia. Try it in a smoothie for a fast breakfast or snack!

(3) Bone Broth. Homemade bone broth is the real stuff you’ll want to use in place of those MSG-laden cans of soup broth and bouillon cubes sold at the grocery store. Ask your butcher or a local meat processor to save bones for you. Nourishing Traditions includes several recipes for making broth from different types of bones, and if you follow the recommended steps, you’ll have incredible broth. A great way to get started, though, is simply to cover a bunch of bones with water and simmer them for several hours. Then strain off any gunk that rises to the top. You can freeze the broth in small containers, and use it in place of water in soup or to cook rice and other grains. And with a pinch of sea salt, warm broth makes a soothing, mineral-rich drink alone or with a meal.

(4) Animal fats. You won’t hear this from popular diet articles and books, but it’s true that animal fats (and other cold-pressed, omega-rich plant oils like flax seed, olive, coconut, and palm) can help you lose weight-if you need to. It’s important to replace fake fats like margarine, hydrogenated shortening and vegetable/canola oils with these real fats. Our brains are mostly fat and require it to function optimally. And bodies need healthy fats in order to manufacture hormones which keep us balanced. Belly fat, which tends to accumulate on middle-aged women even when they watch what they eat, is often a sign of hormone imbalance. The book Eat Fat Lose Fat by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon explains this in detail and might help you overcome the brainwashing we’ve all been subjected to regarding low-fat diets.

Once you’re off and running in this new, old way of preparing foods, you’ll build your momentum and keep on learning. It gets to be a lot of fun. I only wish Mrs. Brewer was still around-now I’d have a few tips for her!

Nancy Webster is a freelance writer, homeschool mother of eight, and an avid researcher on health and nutrition. She lives with her family on their “partially working” farm in Tennessee.

Beeyoutiful Products Mentioned Here:

 

Phyll’er Up! Taking the Gag Factor Out of Green Supplements- Summer 2008 Catalog

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By Amy Leiter

I would guess my family isn’t the only one that recognizes the importance of eating greens. How many families-and women in particular-have spent much of their lives choking down a glass of green grit every morning that tastes like it was just scooped out of the ocean? You know what I’m talking about-that green stuff made from barley. Or, as my father calls it, barf-ley. The health benefits may be great, but it even used to embarrass me when my 3-year-old sister had to count “1-2-3” to get Mommy to chug it each morning.

So I say, “Why not have a green supplement with all the same benefits-if not some even better-in a drink that’s palatable?” Well, Beeyoutiful’s chlorophyll is just that. But exactly what is so marvelous about chlorophyll?

 

Cheers for the Red, White, and Green

Chlorophyll is every green plant’s blood. What’s so amazing is that it is remarkably similar to our own blood. The difference is actually only one metallic molecule. The central element in chlorophyll is magnesium while the core element in our blood is iron. And this differing component, magnesium, is one our bodies can easily convert to iron.

LiquidChlorophyllWebProBottle (1)

Chlorophyll such as Beeyoutiful’s is usually extracted from alfalfa, which has more vitamins and minerals than most any other plant. Alfalfa’s chlorophyll level is also one of the highest. Not only are you getting the chlorophyll but also a lot of calcium and trace minerals necessary for good health.

Chlorophyll helps a variety of conditions such as anemia, low energy, hypoglycemia, digestive disorders, and cleansing the body of toxins (especially the liver). It deodorizes the body naturally by stopping the growth of harmful bacteria, boosting the immune system, and promoting overall wellbeing. As if that isn’t enough, chlorophyll is rich in calcium, which makes it great for menstruating women, since we lose so much calcium through menstruation. The high calcium levels also make it good for joint and bone problems, and especially hip joint conditions.

 

Green and Bear It

Taking chlorophyll can be fun, not something you have to endure. You can mix a few drops with water to make a natural fruit and veggie wash. It’s so gentle at cleansing the system that it is good for people and children of all ages and is considered safe during pregnancy.

In my midwifery practice, I recommend chlorophyll for pregnant moms who are really tired and have low iron level. Sometimes if the hemoglobin is particularly low, I have them combine chlorophyll with Yellow Dock and a tea of Red Raspberry and Nettle to really give them a boost (in some cases, Yellow Dock causes diarrhea, so if that appens, I stick with just the chlorophyll). Chlorophyll is high in vitamin K, which helps build healthy blood that clots well.

A benefit of using natural things like herbs and chlorophyll is that our bodies can so readily assimilate the nutrients they need. Traditional iron pills, by contrast, are horrible for not absorbing and cause all kinds of problems. But when you’re taking whole herbs-the way God created them-your body can assimilate what it needs and excrete the excess.

The pleasant mint flavor of Beeyoutiful’s chlorophyll makes it easy to take straight or in a glass of water. I’ve never known anyone to mind the taste. It’s great to have on hand during labor to sip on to help boost energy. If a woman hemorrhages after delivery, chlorophyll is usually the first thing I give her to rebuild red blood cells and her overall blood volume. You can’t overdose on it, and when someone has bled a lot, chlorophyll is like giving your body a transfusion since it’s so similar to our own blood.

 

Good for Baby, Too

In addition to being good for rebuilding blood loss, chlorophyll is also great for lactating mothers. Not only should it help with the milk production, it is also believed to increase the iron levels in breast milk. I recently saw a mom for a six week post-natal checkup, and she mentioned that, since she went back on chlorophyll, she had noticed her baby wasn’t so fussy. A lot of you who have had colicky babies would give it a try for that reason alone!

I put one mother on chlorophyll while pregnant with her sixth baby because her iron level was low. It brought her count up to a much better level and also boosted her energy. She stopped taking it after her son was born, but it wasn’t long before she came to me saying how exhausted she was. I checked her hemoglobin again, and sure enough, it was low. I told her to go back on the chlorophyll and just stay on it. To her surprise, she conceived again when her baby was only eight months old and could hardly believe she was pregnant this time around because she has felt so good. She didn’t experience the usual nausea, nor was she as wiped out. Now I hear her singing the praises of chlorophyll to other tired, anemic, pregnant women.

One thing that was pointed out to me recently is that another popular chlorophyll supplement-which I used before discovering Beeyoutiful’s-contains the chemical preservative, paraben. Beeyoutiful’s all-natural chlorophyll, as you might guess, doesn’t have it.

Although for obvious reasons, I tend to focus on the benefits of chlorophyll for pregnant women, its healthfulness is good for everyone. I believe chlorophyll should be in all refrigerators. It has no known side effects or toxicity levels, delivers many great nutrients, and offers a pleasing taste and more health benefits than that glass of barf-ley.

 

Amy Leiter is a professional midwife who provides home birthing services as a donation-based ministry. An herbalist, she actively incorporates the latest research in natural prenatal products into her practice. Amy lives with her parents and six brothers and sisters in Tennessee. She welcomes email at dsleiter1@juno.com.

Beeyoutiful Products listed in this Article:

Liquid Chlorophyll

The Oil Crisis and Your – Summer 2008 Catalog

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By Summer Moeller

With the prices of gas continuing to rise, oil is a frequent topic in the news. It turns out it’s also a part of most Americans’ beauty routine.

 

What? You don’t think it’s part of yours?

A 42-gallon barrel of oil makes about 19.4 gallons of gas; the rest is used to manufacture over 6,000 household products. You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know it’s used to produce paint, ammonia, antifreeze, linoleum, trash bags, bicycle tires, etc. But you might be surprised to know it’s also used for food preservatives, deodorant, cosmetics, aspirin, dentures, toiletries, and food packaging. (See more products made at http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm .)

I don’t like the thought of using products on my face and skin that also have ingredients in them that are used in rubber cement and fishing boots. It seems like a no-brainer to look for all-natural products, but this is, in fact, a subject of great debate.

It’s estimated that the average American woman uses 9 products a day with 126 different chemicals in them. Have you ever tried deciphering the back of your lotion bottle, shampoo or lipstick tube? Would you know what methylparaben is? Do you know the effects it might have on your skin? Or Opium Graveolens? (Celery. Just having fun. :))

 

Cancer in Your Cosmetics?

I was amazed to find out that the FDA does not require cosmetics companies to perform any kind of testing to make sure their products are safe before they market them. They are also allowed to make all kinds of assertions, such as “hypoallergenic,” “good for sensitive skin,” and/or “allergy-tested,” that may have no validity to them. In fact, these products may contain ingredients that are irritating, bad for sensitive skin, and allergenic. It would be like me labeling my children “always behaves” or “lets me sleep in” or “never fights.” It looks good, but unfortunately just isn’t true.

Even the phrases “dermatologist tested” or “fragrance-free” do not necessarily mean anything. It simply could mean that a dermatologist tried out some cosmetics and liked them (or was paid to like them!). And “fragrance-free” products may actually contain fragrances; this label may just mean they have no noticeable fragrance.

Furthermore, some chemicals and ingredients used in cosmetics today in the US are banned in other countries because they are suspected carcinogens (cancer-causing agents)!

Petroleum (petrolatum, petroleum jelly) is one cosmetic ingredient that is causing a lot of heated argument. In the EU, it is banned for use in cosmetics unless it can be proven that it has been adequately refined; otherwise, it is suspected of causing cancer. In the US, there are no such regulations. Baby soaps, lotions, cosmetics, and toiletries often contain petroleum bases.

 

All Chemicals are Not Evil

While reading this article, keep in mind that even though the word “chemical” brings to mind things that are toxic, remember that everything in life is made up of chemicals. For example, water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen. Dihydrogen monoxide might seem a little scary sounding, but it’s just a scientific name for water. Similarly, some of the lists of ingredients in cosmetics and toiletries (and food for that matter!) just need a little research to find out their background. (One helpful book is A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients: Complete Information About the Harmful and Desirable Ingredients Found in Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals by Ruth Winter, M.S.)

Some manufacturers assert that there is nothing to a worry about; petroleum and other questionable chemicals have been around for decades. Others explain that there are only minute amounts of these chemicals, and that they are so diluted that they are not dangerous.

I, for a change, am skeptical of the popular cosmetic industry and more inclined to believe the claims of organic, natural-based cosmetics companies. Sixty percent of the chemicals we put on our skin are absorbed directly into our bloodstream. (That’s why some medications come in the form of patches.) It makes sense to me to scrutinize what we put on our skin.

 

Becoming the “Sherlock Holmes” of Skin Products

Finding out which companies distribute healthful, skin-friendly cosmetics and toiletries takes homework. Some companies, like Beeyoutiful, are full-disclosure companies-meaning that they will tell you everything that is put into the products they sell. Most companies are not. They will do as little as they can to inform you, and as much as they can to sell their product. High pricing does not necessarily mean it is a better or purer product.

 

vanilladreambodybutter1webI was anxious to try some of the all-natural products that Beeyoutiful sells, but I was dubious about their effectiveness. Vanilla is not my favorite scent, but when I opened up the Vanilla Dream Body Butter, I was pleasantly surprised that it was not a sickly sweet smell. It was a light and relaxing scent.

I was even more pleased at how it made my hands feel. I always wash my hands after putting on typical hand lotion. I hate how my hands feel greasy and slimy. With the Vanilla Dream Body Butter, I could feel the difference that the beeswax makes (vs. the petroleum base). There was no greasy feeling, but my hands felt softer and pampered.

 

hairshineweb

 

 

I was also pleased with the Hair Shine Conditioner. My daughter has curly hair, and I sampled it on her. I was surprised that the mixture of natural oils didn’t leave her hair looking oily. (At least her hair looked manageable; now could you please make an all-natural spray that repels dirt and peanut butter?)

 

 

 

My absolute favorite product was the Nature’s Touch Body Bar in Lemongrassnatures touch. I had been using bar soaps lately, but they always left my skin feeling tight and dry. I felt so luxurious using the lemongrass soap, and I loved the scent. It didn’t strip my skin of its natural moisturizers and left it feeling clean but smooth and soft.

After trying these and other products (did I mention that I’m hooked on Miracle Salve as a lip balm?), I was excited to find that buying all-natural products doesn’t mean sacrificing beauty or comfort for health. I’m finding that the right products actually cause your God-created natural beauty to shine by promoting health.

 

Making Your Skin Smile

Skin has a natural process of renewing that shouldn’t be inhibited. Every minute, we lose 30-40 thousand skin cells! We also sweat (cleansing our bodies of toxins and helping keep our bodies’ temperatures regulated) through our skin. It is a barrier from pathogens that would harm our body.

Not everyone will benefit from the same products. Some may have allergies that others do not. We all have different types of skin and are different ages and stages in life. In general, natural oils such as olive oil and coconut oil tend to lightly moisturize the skin while also allowing it to breathe. Heavy cleansers strip the skin of needed lipids, which keep the skin protected and moisturized.

I like being able to read a package and understand what is in it. I don’t like guessing when it comes to my health or my family’s health. For me, that will mean a lot more research and more time spent in the store scrutinizing labels.

Do your homework! Your skin will thank you for it, and so will your health!

 

Summer Burdett is a happy wife, mommy to two sweet girls, and enjoys dabbling in writing, photography and gardening-when she is not rescuing the girls from various disasters or trying to repair the house afterwards.

Beeyoutiful Products Mentioned in this Article:

–          Vanilla Dream Body Butter

–          Hair Shine Spray-In Conditioner

–          Nature’s Touch Body Bar

–          Miracle Skin Salve

Bye Bye Dirt Bars- Summer 2008 Catalog

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By Stephanie L. Tallent

A few years ago as a young single woman in fairly poor health, I became interested in better nutrition, hoping the “health” part of health food would perk up my general well-being. Clueless, my early forays into the health food section of our local grocery store netted me some organic microwave meals and assorted “meal replacement bars.”

 

Bad Things that Come in Small Packages

While the frozen organic meals were odd, they passed the edibility test, but I can’t say the same for the bars. One appetite-killing brand was so tough and chewy it was like gnawing a hunk of homemade deer jerky but without the rewarding flavor. I suspected they had used rubber cement as filler for that bar, so I moved on to Brand B. This one disintegrated into a pile of crumbs when I opened the packet. Thinking at first that this portended an improvement over the previous bar, I stuffed a grainy handful of crumbs into my mouth. I chewed, attempted to swallow, chewed some more, and finally tried to flush the mealy mess down my throat with something like a gallon of water. But those sand-like granules were tenacious. They didn’t want to go down, no matter how much of our local reservoir I drained in the attempt.

Determined to find palatable health in a bar, I sampled any meal substitute or protein bar that claimed a measure of healthfulness. But bar after bar failed in taste, texture, eye appeal, and every other measure of edibility known to man (or woman). The only two I found even marginally appetizing were so high in refined fats and sugars I might as well have eaten cheap candy bars from a convenience store. So I gave up on meal bars and stuck to the “healthy” pre-packaged microwave dinners. Several years have now passed, and I’ve learned a lot more about nutrition in general. I realize, for instance, that as nutritious as the ingredients might be to start with, after anything is nuked, micro-waved foods simply can’t be considered healthful. I also know that many of the bars that proclaimed health benefits actually contained ingredients just as detrimental to good health as an order of fries from Burger Doodle. The handful that actually do provide nutritious and healthy content still suffer from the same appetite-depressing textures and tastes I found fault with years before.

 

Raising the Bar for Healthy Treats

Now as a busy mom, motivated to avoid the tempting convenience of fast food, my quest for a truly healthy but edible food bar has continued, albeit with little success until the day Beeyoutiful was offered a Perfect Foods Peanut Butter bar. A seasoned health food bar skeptic, I critically perused the list of ingredients. To my surprise, I found no “bad” sweeteners like those hidden in most bars-only raw, unfiltered honey! I scanned the roster, sure I would find fault with something. But: No preservatives, chemicals, refined fats or other undesirables. I mentally made a face to myself, though, as I found these on the list: bell pepper, grapefruit, rosehips, mint, parsley, kelp, spinach, papaya leaves, dulse, celery, sea lettuce.

“Yuck,” I thought, “another truly nutrient-dense bar that will taste horrible.” Not wanting to offend our host by refusing to taste it, I pinched off a corner of the bar and raised it to my lips.  WOW!!! My host chuckled at the astonishment on my face. “That tastes really good!” I said, relieved that I wouldn’t be spitting out the crumbs in his presence. I took a generous bite of the bar and could hardly believe the pleasing, smooth texture-just chewy enough for fun-accompanied by an unbelievably good flavor. Thinking that my taste buds may be suffering a temporary lapse in good judgment, I tore off a chunk and handed it to my husband. He, too, looked pleasantly surprised and made short work of the remainder of the bar. But I had one last test.

“Is it Soy free?” I ventured.

“Yes. It says so right on the label.”

And in that moment, I knew my quest had come to an end.

 

A Price that Sweetens the Taste

Perfect Foods bars come with the bonus feature that they are actually “affordable.” As you know if you’ve priced high quality, whole food bars, they can easily run from three to five dollars per bar. These wonderful creations are such a blessing to our budget that we can eat a couple of good-for-us bars for less than a discount menu meal. The price is $2.50 per bar when purchased individually and $2.25 per bar when purchased in a box of 12 (Box sales available only through our website.) Beeyoutiful now carries three different flavors. My personal favorite is Carob Chip, closely followed by Peanut Butter. Husband Steve, who has less of a sweet tooth than I do, prefers the Fruit and Nut bar.

I’ve enjoyed passing out samples to other health/protein bar skeptics. A cowboy friend of ours firmly believes that no diet is complete without daily doses of white-sugar-sweetened coffee and Dr. Pepper so he was, to say the least, doubtful when I offered him a bar.

“Is this one of those healthy dirt bars?” he quipped, staring at it as if the bar might bite back.

“Yes it is, but I think you’ll like it,” I replied. The flavor stunned his sugar-loving taste buds, and now Perfect Foods bars have a place in his saddlebag on every trail ride.

As with any 100% preservative free food these bars do require a bit of special handling. Beeyoutiful stores them in a freezer and ships them frozen. When you receive yours, they should go in the refrigerator. Although the raw honey is a fantastic preservative that keeps them from spoiling or going bad-even in high temperatures-the bars get “droopy” when exposed to extended periods of summer heat. But even if that happens, re-refrigerating will restore the scrumptious texture.

Because some folks have food allergies and because these bars are chock full of so many different whole foods, I recommend that you read the list of ingredients before ordering to make sure there’s nothing in them that will bother you or anyone you think might eat them. Also: Due to the raw honey content, these bars should never be fed to babies one year old or younger. To you other busy Mamas who have been on the search for an affordable, tasty, nutritious, and safe alternative to the convenience of fast foods, try Perfect Foods bars and like me, you’ll at last be able to say “Mission accomplished!”

 

Stephanie L. Tallent is Beeyoutiful’s product researcher, supervisor of customer service, and wife of CEO Steve Tallent. At their home in middle Tennessee, she practices what she preaches about healthy eating and good nutritional supplements-much to the benefit of Steve and their daughter, Noelle.

Vanilla Dream Lotion Bar- Summer 2008 Catalog

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By Kelsey Hoppman Dry skin is a common problem all over the United States throughout the year, especially in the winter months. Where I live, there is little to no humidity and dry skin is prevalent. That is why it is very important that I have something that will soothe and heal my dry skin. I began my quest for a product that would do just that.vanilladreamlotionbar2web The “lotions” that you buy in stores, are made up of chemicals such as: Methylparaben, Blue1, Yellow5, Propylparaben… I could go on, but you get the picture. Somehow, putting chemicals on my skin did not sound indulging. Also, I know that though, at the moment, it might feel good, it was harmful to my health. Sometimes people think that using products topically will not be hazardous to their health, or skin. In fact our skin is the largest organ of our body, so, whatever is applied will be absorbed into our system. That is why I decided to create a lotion bar made from natural ingredients. The result was the Vanilla Dream Lotion Bar.EveningPrimroseOilWebProPillS Each ingredient in this bar has a specific purpose and benefit. The grape seed oil inside the bar is a preferred cosmetic ingredient for damaged and stressed tissues. The Beeswax is non comedogenic as well as the fact that it provides a moisture barrier against harsh elements. Beeswax is also smoothing and moisturizing and among other things, it can be used as an antibiotic or antiseptic.Evening primrose oil comes from a wild flower that grows throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The flowers contain a certain fatty acid which has remarkable healing properties and has also been shown to ease inflammation. Evening Primrose Oil has been used to treat common skin conditions such as: acne, rosacea, and eczema. The benefits are not just for skin, but for women’s health as well. Vitamin E has many known benefits and works as a natural preservative. Cocoa Butter, or sometimes called Cacao Butter, has been called the “ultimate moisturizer” and used to keep skin soft and supple for centuries. It is recommended for eczema and dermatitis. Cocoa Butter also creates a barrier between sensitive skin and the environment and it helps retain moisture, just as beeswax does. By-the-way, it is also very helpful in preventing stretch marks in pregnancy. Finally, the Vanilla Essential Oil, or Vanilla Plantifolia has a soothing effect and stabilizes emotions. The really great thing about the lotion bar though, is that it is not just for dry skin. It can be used at any time and in any way. It also is very portable. Try the Vanilla Dream Lotion Bar out for yourself! You’ll be surprised at the smooth feel and your body will thank you over and over. Kelsey Hoppman is a home schooled fourteen year old and eldest of eight. At the age of eleven she began her venture in developing bath products, beginning with soap and later on: to sugar scrubs, lotion bars, chap sticks, and so forth. She is currently living in New Mexico and hopes to broaden her bath and spa line as soon as she finishes her schooling.