Screaming Sardine

~To see my blog posts, scroll below these awesome galleries of great handmade and vintage items for sale! ~ (The handmade and vintage galleries will rotate as to which one is on top).

QUALITY HANDMADE ITEMS FOR SALE!

    
    

QUALITY VINTAGE ITEMS FOR SALE

    
    

Wonderful quality handmade and vintage items for sale, including, but not limited to: handmade jewelry for sale, handmade teddy bears, handmade prim decor, handmade ornaments, handmade mixed media jewelry for sale, handmade mixed media, handmade shabby chic, handmade dolls and plushies, handmade crochet, rag crochet hats and baskets, vintage jewelry for sale, vintage ornaments, vintage ads, vintage silver, vintage cuff links, vintage linens and aprons, vintage tea cups for sale, jewelry supplies for sale, wool and fabric for sale, beads for sale, craft supplies for sale, suede and leather fabric for sale, ebooks and epatterns for sale.

Shops participating in the galleries above: Custom Teddys, Paxton Valley Folk Art, Shadow Dog Designs, Spanky Luvs Vintage, Sugar Lump Studios, sUzdAviSstUdio, and Screaming Sardine.

Be sure to check out the great handmade and vintage galleries!

Here’s another installment of the ABCs of Fruits and Veggies. This week I’m focusing on apples and asparagus, two of my favorites!

Apples

Apples are high in antioxidants and Vitamin C and are a good source of fiber. After reading below how this delightful fruit helps the body, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” might be pretty darn true!

Apples:

help with dental health

protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

reduce risks of certain kinds of cancer, such as pancreas, colon, breast, and liver

reduce risk of diabetes by helping to regular blood sugar

lower cholesterol

prevent gallstones

keep your bowels regular

detoxify the liver

help endurance and give better lung function (due to the antioxidant quercetin)

boost immune system

    
    
Asparagus

Asparagus is packed full of good stuff, such as Vitamins A, C, E, K and B6; chromium; copper; fiber; folic acid; glutathione; iron; manganese; magnesium; niacin; phosphorus; potassium; protein; riboflavin; rutin; selenium; thiamin; and zinc. It’s also very high in folate, which is important for pregnant women. Additionally, some autopsies have shown very low folate levels in those who have died from Alzheimer’s.

Asparagus:

may aid against certain cancers due to its detoxifying effects and antioxidants

helps dissolve uric acid

helps bowel regularity

acts as a diuretic and rids your body of excess salt, which helps those who have edema, high blood pressure, or other heart related ailments

contains anti-inflammatory properties, which helps protect against heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes

strengthens bones

regulates blood sugar levels

Good for eyes and kidneys

    
    
For healthy recipes containing apples or asparagus, please scroll down after the link parties. Click “Read the rest of this entry” if the link is there, or just keep on scrollin’.

Linking up to the following parties.
Mondays: Craftomaniac, Flour Me with Love, Keeping It Simple Crafts, Making the World Cuter, Nourishing Simplicity, Nourishing Treasures, Sift, Stir, and Savour, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Today’s Creative Blog Tuesdays: Delicious Obsessions, Granny’s Vital Vittles, Healthy Roots, Happy Soul, The Home Stories of A 2 Z, Inside BruCrew Life, Lil Luna, Nap-time Creations, Not Just a Housewife, Real Food Forager, Sugar Bee Crafts Wednesdays: Beyond the Picket Fence, A Creative Princess, Ginger Snaps Crafts, A Glimpse Inside, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Lady Behind the Curtain, My Cultured Palate, Someday Crafts, This Chick Cooks, Well Fed Homestead; Thursdays: Answer is Chocolate, Diet Dessert n Dogs, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Frugal Girls, The Girl Creative, Gnowfglins, House of Hepworths, The Nourishing Gourmet, Reasons to Skip the Housework, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Suzy’s Sitcom; Fridays: Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Chic on a Shoestring Budget, Finding Fabulous, Real Food Whole Health, Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, Sun Scholars, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry Saturdays: Be Different Act Normal, Crafts Ala Mode, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff; Sundays: Butter Believer, Homemaker on a Dime, Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming

Read the rest of this entry »

While you’re here, remember to check out the galleries of great vintage and handmade items!

I subscribe to a lot of health related blogs, and I also do a lot of surfing around the ‘net. I thought I’d share with you some yummy looking recipes that are actually healthy for you – or at least healthier than what the average person eats nowadays. (Some are gluten free and/or paleo recipes).

At the time of this posting, the following ebooks were FREE! Yippee!

Please note the above contains affiliate links, which helps me oh so much should you purchase from Amazon during your viewing of these free health related ebooks!

Free Health and Diet Related Ebooks

Let’s celebrate spring! These handmade and vintage items for sale make me think of spring. What about you?

I found out recently that Amazon offers free kindle ebooks. Whoot! Now you don’t have to have a kindle to be able to download these for free. They have a little box to the right where you can download something that will let you read the ebooks on your computer or other mobile devices.

At the time of this post, these ebooks were free!

(Please note the above contains affiliate links).

Free Healthy Eating Ebooks

Remember to check out the great handmade and vintage galleries

This is the very first in my series I’m entitling “The ABCs of Fruits and Vegetables.” Since I’ve recently committed to leading a healthy lifestyle – and it doesn’t come naturally to me – I’m doing a lot of researching and learning. There is no way I could jump 100% in to organic because it can be very expensive, and also…well…I really like some of the poison food that I’ve grown up with. As I learn more about additives, I realize that the mass produced food is purposefully designed to be addicting; otherwise, the rebellion from our bodies would’ve made us shun the toxic crap long ago.

Anyhooooooo, I’m not here to be dogmatic and Ms. Perfect about eating. I’m more of the 80/20 rule, which is akin to doing 80% healthy and the other 20% – just wing it! Quite frankly, though, as I eat healthier, I do find myself not caring for the junk food like I used to, but it’s nice to know that I’m not going to beat myself up if I snarf down some potato chips or pretzel M & Ms.

So without further delay, I’m going through the alphabet of fruits and veggies to learn more about them, as well as linking to various recipes. I’ll probably bounce back and forth throughout the alphabet as I remember certain produce, but that’s okay. Like I said, I’m not going to be dogmatic and all perfect schmerfect. This post is all about artichokes and apricots – the health benefits and some recipes.

Artichoke

Quite frankly, the thought of eating an artichoke makes me choke, but after reading up on how healthy they can be, I just might wince, close my eyes, shudder, and eat a bite of one. I just can’t stomach the way they look – like something from a sci-fi movie, and it’s a diabolical plant that kills – lol! But hey, I actually got down some avocados and really like them (if they’re overpowered by other flavors like my Mocha Avocado Smoothie, so I just may get up the gumption to buy an artiCHOKE and actually consume it.

Artichokes

• aid digestion (possibly helping with irritable bowel syndrome)
• helps the gall bladder and liver. This is because it promotes bile flow, which helps these organs digest the fats, as well as removing toxins.
• reduces cholesterol levels
• has high antioxidant capacity (flower heads)
• has low glycemic food, which helps with diabetes
• contain Vitamins C and K, B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and folate) biotin, magnesium, potassium, manganese, chromium

Eating the whole artichoke gives you a lot of vitamins, minerals, and fiber (7 to 10 grams). Where possible, it’s better to purchase raw, rather than out of a can, since when food is processed, salt and who knows what else is added, which certainly diminishes the healthfulness of the artichokes. Steaming or braising is the better way to prepare them.

A quote I found interesting about artichokes: “The high concentration of cynarin in artichokes not only affects cholesterol, but also can contribute to aiding in digestive health. Cynarin is known to stimulate the production of bile, which enables us to digest fats and absorb vitamins from our food, making artichokes an excellent way to start any meal.” ~ Lef.org

Apricots
Ah, now apricots…oh, how I love thee…not like those weird looking things I mentioned above.

Apricots get their pretty color from carotenoids, which are antioxidants that not only help against preventing cancer, but also aid in preventing heart disease and reducing cholesterol. Studies have shown that apricots contain some of the highest amounts of these carotenoids – and a wide variety of them to boot. Laetrile, an alternative treatment for cancer, comes from apricot seeds, which have been used against tumors for over 1,000 years.

Apricots

• helps detoxify the body
• aids constipation
• may help with macular degeneration, mental fatigue, anemia, and asthma
• good for eyes, lungs, immune system and colon
• contains beta-carotene, fiber, iron, Vitamins A, C, B 5, B3 and B 2, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and potassium

For recipes using artichokes and apricots, please click on “Continue” below.

Linking up to the following link parties: Mondays: Natural Living Monday, Make Your Own Monday; Tuesdays: Delicious Obsessions, Granny Vital Vittles, Real Food Forager; Wednesdays: A Creative Princess, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, My Cultured Palate, Someday Crafts, This Chick Cooks, Well Fed Homestead; Thursdays: Gnowfglins, Suzy’s Sitcom; Fridays: Real Food Whole Health; Saturdays: Six Sisters’ Stuff; Sundays: Butter Believer, Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming

Read the rest of this entry »

Make sure you check out the quality handmade and vintage galleries!

Look at how thick this Mocha Avocado Smoothie is!

Thick, rich, and creamy. Oh, and of course, delicious! Yes, it’s actually delicious despite having an avocado in it. If you like avocados, then you won’t understand the squick factor I have about them or how amazed I am at how good this Mocha Avocado Smoothie actually tastes!

Recently, I’ve been coming across several recipes where avocados are used. The first recipe I saw was Avocado Ice Cream, and I almost yelled at the computer screen about how INSANE that was! Who was this person who was so obviously a nutter – lol! Then I saw more and more recipes, and I started to read them. People swore that you wouldn’t taste the avocado, and I’m thinking…”Yeah, right. Like all those granola hippie types who say their special gf, vegan, sugar free, good for you cookie reallllly tastes good.” (And you gag on it cuz it tastes like cardboard. No, wait – WORSE than cardboard).

Buuuuttttt….

since I’ve been wanting to eat healthier, I decided to give it a try. Chocolate and coffee are two of my favorite flavors, so I love anything (so far that I’ve tasted) with a mocha to it. Hm, thought I, maybe I’ll try the avocado in a mocha smoothie. If it’s too bad, I can always add more chocolate and coffee, right? So I took the plunge…and oh my!

Oh me oh my! I’m seriously addicted to these, and I get cranky when I can’t have one everyday. Which brings me to avocados. Oh why oh why do they take so long to ripen? Even waiting a day makes me antsy cuz I WANT MY MOCHA AVOCADO SMOOTHIE!

The recipe is simple, and you can definitely tweak it to your tastes. If you haven’t tried avocado in a sweet recipe before, you will be AMAZED at how thick and creamy it makes your treat!

Mocha Avocado Smoothie / Shake Recipe
1 medium avocado, or 2 small
1 cup milk of your choice (raw milk, milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc)
1 cup coffee
1 banana
honey or other natural sweetener (yes, you can cheat and use sugar, but honey works just as well, and it’s so much healthier for you!)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Blend them all together in a blender and put in a glass jar (or other container) and let sit for at least a couple hours. Yes, it’s tempting to want to drink it right away, and if you like avocados, you’ll probably enjoy it. If I do that, I get a little icky squicky cuz I still taste the avocado. After the strong flavors of coffee and chocolate meld together for a couple hours in the frig, they overpower the avocado, and I’m loving it! In fact, I think it tastes even better the next day when the mocha flavor is even stronger. Aaaannnndddd….the shake gets thicker and creamier the next day, too! Plus, when I get a craving for something sweet and chocolatey, I just open my frig and take a gulp (okay, several) from my jar. Yummmmmmmmmmmm!

Mocha Avocado Shake waiting to be devoured. Nom, nom, nom!

Linking up to the following parties.
Mondays: Craftomaniac, Flour Me with Love, Keeping It Simple Crafts, Making the World Cuter, Ninth Street Notions, Pinkapotamus, Sift, Stir, and Savour, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Today’s Creative Blog Tuesdays: Delicious Obsessions, Granny’s Vital Vittles, The Home Stories of A 2 Z, Inside BruCrew Life, Lil Luna, Nap-time Creations, Not Just a Housewife, Real Food Forager, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Sugar Bee Crafts Wednesdays: Beyond the Picket Fence, A Creative Princess, Ginger Snaps Crafts, A Glimpse Inside, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Lady Behind the Curtain, My Cultured Palate, Someday Crafts, This Chick Cooks, Well Fed Homestead; Thursdays: Answer is Chocolate, Diet Dessert n Dogs, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Frugal Girls, The Girl Creative, Gnowfglins, House of Hepworths, The Nourishing Gourmet, Reasons to Skip the Housework, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Suzy’s Sitcom; Fridays: Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Chic on a Shoestring Budget, Finding Fabulous, Real Food Whole Health, Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, Sun Scholars, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry Saturdays: Be Different Act Normal, Crafts Ala Mode, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff; Sundays: Butter Believer, Homemaker on a Dime, Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming