Life at a "Swell's" pace

Banana Snacks

My son goes nuts over these, so I thought I would pass along this recipe for anyone wanted to curb a sweet tooth, but not pack on the calories.

They are called Banana Snacks in our house, but you can call them delicious if you like. Ha!

Start with ripe, organic bananas.

Add chocolate syrup or fudge to the tops.

Cover the banana completely with the chocolate syrup.

Pop in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Then serve.

Yep, that's it. Each banana snack is about 20 calories and less if you use sugar-free syrup or fudge.

They are a cool treat for the summer time.

My son loves to grab a few after coming in from the pool. You just can't go wrong with these!

They are a hit. These are also really great with caramel and strawberry syrup on them too!

ENJOY!

Eco-Tip: When in doubt with plastic, always say no. Taking your own bags when you go to the super market or the farmers' market is always the best approach, but be sure and wash them on a regular basis so bacteria won't have a chance to thrive. For more tips visit The Earth and Me Go Green.

Yard Sale Finds: Ricer and Craft Wheel

Score another one for me when it comes to finding cool, forgotten kitchen items. I got these two items at a discount store here in the county where I live. The ricer was $15 and the craft wheel was $5....$5! Can you believe that?

The craft wheel, after a good soapy bath, would make a great homemade raviolis pin or even sugar cookie dough flatten-er. I even thought about using it for the top of a pie crust.

Can't wait to use the ricer/mill on my homemade rosemary mashed potatoes.

Two great finds and they are going to be put to great use in my kitchen here real soon. You might want to keep your eye out for these two in future blog posts.

To see other great treasures take a few minutes to check out the other links that were shared over at From My Front Porch To Yours.

Eco-Tip: Homemade food tastes 10 times better than anything store bought or purchased from a fast food restaurant. When it comes to preparing foods at home however, always make sure you are buying quality over quantity. To learn more tips visit The Earth and Me Go Green.

Southern Fried Potatoes

Everyone that's from the south knows what southern folks eat and that's meat and potatoes. There are a few people I know in the south, men in general, that could eat meat and potatoes for every meal. After awhile though, this gal needs a bit of a change up in the menu, especially with the meat.

Most southern cooks use a lot of potatoes when it comes to cooking up some good 'ole soul food with their meals and one of the best side items to have with your soul food cooking is some delicious Southern Fried Potatoes.

This recipe has been revamped over the course of about 3 years. I would try different ways and random approaches to nail it to be perfect and I think I have achieved that. Here's how it's done.

Start with some pretty good potatoes. Normally, if I am just cooking for my family or a family and friends get-together I will pick up a bag of potatoes in a hurry and go with whatever the bag has given me, but for a more formal affair I will pick through the bin of larger, single-sold potatoes to get just the right ones for what I am wanting to do with them. I've even been known to go through the ones being offered at the local farmers' market just to make sure I get some perfect potatoes.

You want to wash and peel the potatoes and then dice them into small squares about the size of an inch all around. Place them in a small bowl with about a cup of water and microwave them on high power for about 2 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare your skillet with 2-3 cups extra virgin olive oil. You can use other forms of oil, but olive oil is really great with this recipe and it also contains healthy fats that can be great for your diet.

Once your potatoes are done in the microwave, slowly start adding them to your heated oil and submerge all potato squares in the olive oil.

Allow to cook for about 10 minutes without turning or moving them. After the 10 minute cooking time, slowly start adding your seasonings listed below. You may add or take away from this list to suit your taste or your diet needs.

1. 1 tsp. Sea Salt

2. 1 tsp. Black Pepper

3. 1 tsp. Fresh Rosemary

4. 1 tsp. Season Salt

5. 1 tsp. Chili Powder

6. 1/2 tsp. Fresh Thyme

7. 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

8. 1 tbs. Celery Flakes

9. 1 tbs. Lemon Pepper Seasoning (Shhhh my secret ingredient)

10. The juice from one whole lemon and one whole lime

Mix each one in completely after each addition to the potatoes. The salt additions can be adjusted for taste and salt intake amount.

Allow the potatoes to cook for about 30 minutes or until crisp on the outside. Then serve!

These potatoes are so delicious and can be cooked with the skin on or skin off. Either way, they are wonderful and don't last long in my house.

You can also get the same results with the spices when added to red potatoes in a steamer if you are cutting calories.

ENJOY!

Eco Tip: Have a night of powering down in your house. Turn off all electric items that require some sort of outside power and enjoy a night of zero dependency. The more we power down the more we can save. To learn more visit The Earth and Me Go Green.

Bath & Body Works adds Shea Butter to its list of Ingredients

I have to say, Bath & Body Works has some great scents and also some great lotions, but are they really all that great after all? For the longest time I wouldn't step foot into a Bath & Body Works store mainly because of their ingredients. Not a single one of the products they sold had "good" ingredients and the candles weren't even made of soy (a pet peeve).

Recently, Bath & Body Works, or Limited Brands, which is the same company that owns Victoria's Secret and PINK, started changing their approach to better body care products. They have slowly taken the turn toward more eco-friendly, organic, and otherwise better skincare ingredients additions. With this change they have added a new line of shower gels that are Shea Butter-Enriched.

With the addition to their Shea Butter Shower Gel line they have made other changes to their products too. Such as, soy candles, lip balm and treatments made with honey, and aromatherapy products made with essential oils.

Even with the small changes to some of their ingredients, Bath & Body Works still drops the ball on a few others. Other chemical additives like, Sodium Lauryl (Laureth) Sulfate (SLS) are still being added to their product line. SLS is added to a lot of commercially sold body products, especially ones that foam up, because it's cheap for manufacturers to add to their products and it gives the "bubbling effect" that we would associate with products like, hand wash or shampoo. But its harmful in a lot of areas. It can strip away healthy oils from the skin and even damage certain hair follicles over time. Not to mention, this chemical is being washed down our drains.

But Sodium Lauryl Sulfate isn't the only one that is cause for concern, Benzyl Alcohol (BA) is another one that is found in a lot of Bath & Body Works scented lotions, body wash, perfumes, and hand sanitizers that are sold by the company now. BA is linked to mild heart issues and can cause respiratory issues when inhaled for long periods of time.

These are just a few of the large list of harmful ingredients, yet are found in almost everything B&B sells.

Next time you yell from the roof tops, "I LOVE BATH & BODY WORKS" think about what it is you love about them. If you love their scents or their lotions, read the labels. Remember, everything we put on our skin our body digests and can potentially be harmful. It's not the short-term that's the issue, it's the long-term that we should be cautious of.

Eco Tip: Fix leaky faucets from dripping. Every drip a minute adds up to about 30 gallons of water wasted per year. To learn more visit The Earth and Me Go Green.

Blueberries make People happy!

The title says it all! Blueberries, indeed, make people very, very happy. It's amazing the amount of fun, flavorful, and very healthy recipes you can create by using blueberries.

In addition to fiber, they contain vitamins C and E, along with beta-carotene and polyphenols. Blueberries are also anti-inflammatory and help support the eyes. They also help protect the brain and may help maintain the hippo campus (The brain area essential to memory).

Did you know: The blueberry's cousins are the bilberry and the cranberry?

Blueberries can be added to cereal, yogurt, smoothies, and even salads, but buy organic when possible. Blueberries are part of the list of the "dirty dozen," the 12 foods that can possibly carry the highest pesticide residue. *see below article for a printable "dirty dozen" checklist*

Here are some ways to enjoy Blueberries:

•Hot Blueberry Cheddar Dip per How Sweet It Is

• Blueberry Ice Cream per I Heart Baking

• Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes per Annie's Eats

• Yogurt-Covered Blueberries per One Good Thing by Jillee

• Blueberry Lemonade per Veggie Belly

So go ahead, indulge in some blueberries for the heck of it!

Be sure and enlarge the image below, of the "dirty dozen" checklist, and print it out to carry with you to supermarket or farmers' market.

Buttons, Buttons, and more Buttons

So I have this jar of buttons. Lots and lots of buttons.......

Old buttons......

New buttons.......

Vintage buttons....

Even some very tiny buttons.

I have been wondering what in the world to do with them for the longest time, so I turned to Pinterest.

I found some amazing, super easy crafts to do with buttons of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I was just engrossed in the fact that so many people have pinned such amazing ideas for buttons of all sizes. And what fun!

I have seen pins for just about everything to do with some sort of button craft. I immediately dug through my buttons to find my favorites.