Wild Orange - Essential Oil Smoothie!

Wild Orange is the new Green . . . 

When it comes to smoothies that is! For a while there is seemed like everyone was drinking Green juices, or Green smoothies. Vegetables and fruits in a drink of sorts for health and fitness reasons was a super popular idea. One, I admit, that I totally got caught up in. It was fun and fresh, and even more than all those vegetables, I got sucked into the magic of beautiful flavors from yucky foods!

However, after a few experiments with adding more fruit (because the Hubby and Kids complained about too many vegetables, especially the leafy ones) I found that Green smoothies can actually be any color in the Rainbow. What's even more wild? Rainbow is the new Green. 😊 After a LOT of experimenting, and trial and error, I have learned how to make them taste just as good as the beautiful colors I create.

Discovering Essential Pleasure...

Have you heard of them? Essential oils have become a huge deal! Have you been invited to like a million parties like me? I have, by all my friends and even those people who are acquaintances on my social media. I don't normally buy into fads. BUT SERIOUSLY!!!! I love my Essential Oils, like a ton! Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint are my favorite for health, baths, and using with my kids, and they love it too!

However, recently I found a great way to use another essential oil, and it's my pleasure to share it with you all.   Normally I focus on making healthy kid friendly smoothies with vegetables, essential oils, legumes, and plant protein powders. So when I say kid smoothies, I have to get really creative sometimes in how I "hide" the healthy stuff. This recipe I'm sharing below, doesn't have a lot of vegetables, because sometimes its also nice to just have a fresh fruity blast of goodness.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do!

Welcome to my newest favorite essential oil: Wild Orange.  Most people add a drop or two to water for taste, or to an air freshener for the freshness, I found a way to add to the flavor oranges in a smoothie and it is essentially pleasurable.  ~Enjoy~

Wild Orange Smoothie

(made with essential oils from doTerra)

8oz Orange juice
4 drops of Wild Orange Oil (we got ours from doTerra)
1 cup Papaya (canned is all I could find at the store, so I drained it)
1 cup Mango (canned is all I could find at the store, so I drained it)
1/3 cup carrots (steamed)
1/2 cup Greek Coconut Yogurt
2 tsp Chia seeds (ground)
2 tsp Flax seeds (ground)
1 cup Pineapple (fresh frozen)

*Blend until smooth.  This will make 2 servings, you will get a really good taste of the wild orange and the pineapple flavorings.

*DISCLOSURE - Anytime you plan on using essential oils in a recipe or for ingestion you must first consult the manufacturer. DoTerra very clearly marks their bottles with whether or not they can be ingested, and instructions on how to do so. NEVER ingest essential oils without first consulting a trusted source.

Click Here! for an informative Ebook on how to use Essential Oils!

Thanks for reading. If you have other cool Essential Oil Recipes or cool ideas, please share them with us by commenting!

You should also check out our awesome review of Lavender Essential Oils!

No More Excuses ~ Why You Should Drink More Hot Chocolate

Are you one of those people looking for another great excuse to eat chocolate, or to sip on another cup of hot chocolate?  

Well, I am.  I love dark chocolate especially.  My husband's favorite is white chocolate, but I'm slowly converting him over to the dark side.  The darker the better.  Read on to discover why you should drink more hot chocolate without excuses.

Years ago I recall going through a Farmer's Market in WA state.  There was a vendor there that was serving all kinds of garlic flavored dips.  He said, "Oh, don't worry about the garlic smell on your breath from my dips.  Just go 3 doors down and make sure you taste the dark chocolate samples and the garlic smell will disappear."  Sounded like a plan to me.  Now, you have to understand one thing. I Hate garlic. Period.  But I also know of the tremendous health benefits one can get from eating 1 fresh clove of garlic daily.  So I do, but I still don't like it. Well, we went 3 doors down, sampled the darkest of dark chocolate, loved it, and tested out the garlic guy's theory.  Sure enough.  It really works.  So each day after eating our 1 clove of fresh garlic daily, we top it off with a few dark chocolate covered almonds, and wahlah, no more garlic breath.

Recently a Harvard Medical School study showed that drinking two or more cups of cocoa daily can improve one's memory.  60 people with the average age of 73, were given 2 cups of cocoa a day for 30 consecutive days.  At the end of the study all but 5 showed improved blow flow to the brain and significant improvement with their memory.  Another study shows how a certain cocoa extract called Lavado actively helps fight Alzheimer's disease.  You can read more here.

Another recent study showed how cocoa can aid in weight loss.  Cocoa has the ability to boost endorphins, helps brain function and puts one in a more positive mood.  I can certainly attest to both of these. Despite the over eating of the calculated servings on our dark chocolate almonds, my husband and I are losing weight.  When we feel very anxious, upset, frustrated etc., we will eat 5-10 of these delicious dark chocolate covered almonds, are moods are nearly 100% more positive and happier.  More information can be found here.  In addition, cocoa has been helpful in reducing blood pressure, benefiting the heart and vascular function.  Click here for info.

Cocoa is loaded with minerals such as iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, copper and zinc.  It has more antioxidants than red wine per same serving size.  It is almost twice that of red wine, and 2-3 times stronger than green tea, and 5-7 times stronger than black tea.  When purchasing cocoa powder, try to avoid those that have undergone Dutch Processing.  That takes all the good stuff out.

If you are looking for an excuse to drink more hot chocolate, made from the dark cocoa powder, then here you have it.  From the above to other benefits such as strengthening teeth, being kind to diabetics, preventing cancer, protecting skin, then stop looking for excuses to not drink it, because now you have many reason to drink a cup or two of hot chocolate a day.

One way to help increase the health benefits of your everyday hot chocolate mix, add cacao powder, (in it's raw form) or cacao nibs.  What we like to do is buy the high content cacao chocolate bars and add a square to our regular hot chocolate as it is heating up.  You can find our hot chocolate mix here.
We especially love drinking them out of these Serafino glasses by Ozeri.  They are so perfect, as they don't burn our hands, look awesome, and pretty much unbreakable, but looks and feels like glass.

True Synergy - Pure and Potent Turmeric Curcumin Extract

Details:  True Synergy offers a Pure and Potent Turmeric Curcumin Extract.  It comes in capsule form.  Turmeric has powerful antioxidant effects.  It neutralizes free radicals on its own, then stimulates the body's own antioxidant enzymes.

Turmeric supports joint, heart and brain health.  It benefits radiant skin and hair.  It helps relieve pain and inflammation in the body safely and naturally.  Helps those suffering from arthritis.  Helps with Alzheimers.

#turmeric

My Product Review:  Turmeric or Curcumin is one of those items that should be in everyone's medicine cabinet or spice rack.  It controls diabetes, builds and improves the immune system, and digestive system.  It speeds up wound healing.  (Put it directly on cut or wound.)  It's a natural liver detoxifier and a natural pain killer.  Turmeric does so many more wonderful things.

I've purchased Turmeric from grocery stores to sprinkle on my foods during and after cooking.  Love it for making yellow rice, and making my gravies more appetizing and appealing to the eye.  It's a natural yellow coloring.  However, whenever I sprinkle this on my foods after cooking, even though I mix it in real well, I have severe stomach cramps.

Because I know how good turmeric is for our bodies, I've been searching for a capsule form that I can take without any side effects.  True Synergy offers such a product.  They suggest taking 1 capsule a day with a meal.  Let me tell you, I can take this with or without a meal, and take more than 1 a day without any side effects, aka stomach cramps, whatsoever.

I especially like the way it helps my back.  When I have a long day working out in the yard, believe me, 1 capsule is all I need to relieve any back pain I may have encountered.  This is awesome.

My husband likes taking it because he wants to avoid any colds or flus. It has definitely strengthened our immune systems.  We still have a few sneezes and sniffles, but that's it.  And even those have significantly decreased.

We've only been taking these capsules for a couple of weeks, so haven't noticed any other benefits. However, turmeric has been added to our daily routine of healthy eating.

Pros:  Love that my stomach can tolerate this, and my back pain simply vanishes within 30 minutes of taking just 1 capsule.

My Rating:  A Big Thumbs UP!!!

Disclaimer:
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Magnesium Citrate Powder

Magnesium Citrate by Simple Health is a powdered form with no other ingredients.  It is easy to swallow and flavorless, so can be taken with a juice of your choice.  This product is formulated for optimum absorption, so you will feel the effects as soon as 5 minutes after taking one serving.

#SimpleHealth

Review:  I recently read an article about magnesium defieciency.  It is often confused with other major health issues such as MS and other neurological issues.  I've done a little more reading, and found out some very interesting things about this.  Below are a list of questions you may want to ask yourself.

1. Do you experience anxiety?
2. Do you have a hard time falling asleep?
3. Do you have difficulty staying asleep?
4. Do you have painful muscle spasms or cramping?
5. Do your eyes twitch or have involuntary eye movements?
6. Do you have fybromyalgia?

Here is a list of Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms.  This is not all inclusive, and I was surprised by some of these.
MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS:

• Seizures
• Behavioral Problems
• Depression
• Asthma
• Chronic Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Anxiety or Poor Reactions to Stressors
• Muscle Spasms and Cramps
• Vertigo
• Trouble Swallowing
• Heart Arrhythmia
• Hyperglycemia
• Arterial Calcification
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Stomach Cramping
• Morning Sickness
• Hair Loss
• Cold Hands & Feet
• PMS
• High Blood Pressure

Now, after reading through all of that, do you agree that most of us have a magnesium deficiency? Well Simple Health has the answer with Magnesium Citrate Powder.  It only takes 1/2 teaspoon daily mixed in water or juice to get the daily requirement.  Results may be noticed within 5 minutes.  I haven't noticed it working that fast, but it does work.  For instance, I find I'm not as depressed on the days I take it.  I haven't had any problems swallowing.  It used to be that my throat would just sort of freeze up when I had a mouth full of food, and I had to just sit there and wait while my throat decided to work and let me swallow.  I've had leg cramps recently, and they have gone away.  I have always had cold hands and feet, and lately I've been experiencing hair loss.  Can't report back yet on those last things, but I am improving in other areas.

Simple Health states that their Magnesium Citrate Powder

– Aids metabolism and energy production
– Improves sleep by balancing melatonin and the stress hormone and aids body temperature regulation. It also balances serotonin, which relaxes the nervous system. Relieves stress, panic attacks, anxiety and depression.
– Relaxes muscles, relieving cramps and helps prevent heart disease, stroke, kidney stones, migraines and gallstones. Another pleasant side effect is increased flexibility.
– Female wellbeing, reduces PMS and menopause symptoms, as well as osteoporosis.
– Alkalizes the body, balances the body’s pH, reduces lactic acid after exercise, hydrates and helps relieve constipation and cleanse the body of toxins.
– Improves bone, teeth and muscle strength, helps the body utilize calcium properly.
– Aids with Diabetes by enhancing insulin secretion.

So, do yourself a favor.  Be sure to get your Magnesium Citrate Powder today, and improve  your health and well being.  You'll be glad you did.

Pros: Dissolves in water quickly.  Noticed an immediate difference with some of the symptoms listed above.  Works well.

Cons: This does have a taste.  It reminds me of citric powder an almost lemon type flavor.  I haven't tried it in juice, but I do taste it in water.  It's not a bad flavor to me, but it does have a flavor.

My Rating:  Thumbs UP!

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Nutritional Powdered Green Drink

Details:  Total Nutrition is 100% all natural, organic, supplement to add to your favorite choice of drink.  It is rich in antioxidants, has 9 essential amino acids, and made from all the "Good Stuff".  It contains barley grass, wheat grass, spirulina, spinach, alfalfa, kelp, dulse, orange peel, beet roots, dandelion leaf, lemon peel, gingko, honey, bee pollen, reishi mushrooms, blueberry, black currants, pomegranate, concord grape, red raspberry, cour cherry, wild elderberry, wild cranberry, black raspberry, goji berries, schizandra berries.  Wow!  You can find this at Immortalherbs.

Review:  Having just gone through an entire summer drinking green drink containing a lot of the same ingredients listed above, I was certainly anxious to give this a try.  The biggest difference is that my ingredients were fresh, not dried.  I stopped making our green drink, due to infestations of fruit flies which love wheat grass.  In the hot humid climate I live in, they thrived.  Now that the weather is getting cooler, and humidity has dropped, I'll be growing more wheat grass.

During the summer months, I would consider taking the Total Nutrition Supplement.  However, 1 packet costs $70.00.  I couldn't find anywhere on their website how many servings that contains.

Compared to the fresh ingredients vs. the dry ingredients, both DH and I agree, we would take the fresh any day over the powdered.  They do recommend you add this to either soy, rice, or oat milk, or juice or water.  How about adding it to their Superfood Smoothie:
                                           10 oz. peach or mango juice
                                           1/2 cup each of frozen pineapple, peaches, and strawberries
                                           Blend with 1 scoop Total Nutrition until smooth.

Total Nutrition is a great alternative though if you don't want to mess around with juicing  your own greens.  We did notice an improved difference in our health and energy, and being able to sleep better at night when we were drinking "green drink."

Pros:  Filled with all the great nutritional products to provide you with the necessary nutrients you need.  Your body will go from "surviving" to "vibrant."

Cons:  A bit more than I want to pay for something that doesn't list on the website how many servings you are getting.  The powder will taste better mixed in juice or smoothies, not with water.

My Rating:  Thumbs Up and Down.  A great product, just not sure about the price.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Almased

Details: Almased is a low glycemic soy based health shake.  It speeds up and improves your metabolism.  This is diabetic friendly.  Made in Germany from high quality fermented soy, yogurt, and honey.  All natural, non GMO, and gluten free.  Supports healthy blood sugar levels and thyroid function. 

My Review: Mom's Thumb Reviews team is always looking for great healthy tips, advice, tools, and options for people to choose from.  Almased is one of the best products in the shake department that we have tried.  The suggested way to drink it is to take the serving amount and put it into 10oz of filtered water/ skim milk/ Almond milk, with a tap of ground cinnamon, and a tbsp of olive oil/ flaxseed oil.  Here is what I have found: water is not a good medium to mix the Almased in.  Skim milk is the most cost effective choice, and Almond milk and skim milk taste the best.  I have stopped adding the oil after the first week because it was weird tasting and made my drink super lumpy.  I love the cinnamon!  After 3 weeks I am in love with this product.  My body feels so good when I have this. And I have learned that when I drink an Almased in the morning I also want one for dinner.  So I've been eating a regular meal for lunch and half a meal for dinner.   I have yet to get the total control and courage to try the 14 day Almased diet cleanse.  But I will because it sounds amazing.

Doing this for 3 days of straight Almased for 3 meals a day, and then 4 days of Almased for 2 meals I lost 8 lbs, and since then have lost another 3 lbs.  It works!

Pros: great flavor, feels good to the body,  easy to find online or in stores

Cons: tastes bad in water, can be grainy texture

Preggie Queasy Pops

Details: Three Lollies has created new products that help over come nausea.  All natural specialized lollipops and lozenges to combat queasiness in Pregnant women, and children when they get sick.  The flavors and colors of the pops and drops are natural flavors from essential oils, and aromatherapy meaning that they are drug free.  The Preggie pops and drops are great for stopping morning sickness, help smooth during labor, and help easy pains and uncomfortable-ness for pregnant women. Queasy pops and drops combat nausea through aromatherapy using essential oils and natural flavors to trigger negative taste sensations to stop the nausea feelings.  Queasy pops and drops are made specially for kids, with a separate package and flavors for adults.  The pops for kids come in 7 flavors, and have a shelf life of 1 year.  These are designed to ease motion sickness, and sick stomachs.  They are made with brown rice syrup, cane juice, are drug free, and are also flavored with essential oils and natural flavors.

My Product Review:  When our team ordered these, we were super excited to get the Queasy pops for kids because many of us moms have kids getting sick all the time.  We were also curious to try the Preggie drops to see if these would actually help stop Morning Sickness so many pregnant women get.  Well the day I got the Preggie pops my family went to a restaurant for dinner and I ended up getting food poisoning.  But here's the thing, even though I'm not pregnant, I decided to use some of those Preggie drops to ease the nausea.  And come morning I was so much better, I didn't vomit once! If these can work for food poisoning, then they'll work for Morning Sickness!  The only downfall to the drops is that they were really big, and hard, and where the lable is imprinted into the hard "candy" hurt the roof of my mouth.  So I ended up having to put that part on my tongue.

The Queasy Pops for Kids are very neat too.  They come in 7 flavors that kids will love (at least love most of them).  Our kids didn't like the Natural Cola or Cinnamon flavors.  Peppermint and Green Apple were the popular/ favorite flavors.  Helping with motion sickness and upset stomachs makes these products really great to have on hand for anyone who is around children at all.

One last neat thing about Three Lollies is that they donate a portion of their proceeds to Musicians on Call.

Pros: works well, works fast

Cons: the words on the drops can hurt the roof of the mouth.

Odwalla Juice

Odwalla Juice is great! 

They come in 10 packs of 12 oz bottles in 3 different flavors.  4 mango tango, 3 original superfood antioxidant vitamin C and other nutrients, 3 bluberry B-Vit.  When you buy this package you are helping the Haiti Hope project as Odwalla donates money from each purchase to this charity.  Mango Tango has 220 calories, 44 grams of sugar, 370 mg of potassium, vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Vitamin E.  Original Superfood has 190 calories, 37 grams of sugar 550 mg of potassium, Iodine, Iron, Manganese plus the other mentioned vitamins.  Blueberry B has 210 calories, 34 grams of sugar, 530 mg of potassium, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Niacin, Floate, Biotin, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, B12, plus the other mentioned vitamins.  The bottles are biodegradable and can be recycled.

My Product Review:  Here's the thing, I bought these because one of my husband's coworkers drinks them for breakfast during the work week.  So I bought them at Costco, and my husband loves each flavor, with the Mango Tango as his favorite because it has more sugar and is sweetest.  Wanting to review these I had to try them too.  I only like the Mango Tango.  The Blueberry B was the most gross to me.  But let me explain.  Its not gross, it just has a funny taste, and I can tell you its not the vitamins because I could handle that flavor.  I don't really know what the funny taste is but its too funny for me to ever drink it.  The Original Superfruit is okay to me. Again, my husband and his coworker love all the flavors.  What I do like about the bottles is that I can wash them out and use them for crafts, science experiments, and or fill them up with colored water and super glue the lids on for my kids to play with their pretend kitchen set outside.  Here's the thing, they are healthy enough that I would recommend them, but test them and see if you like the flavors.  I'm comparing them to my fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies I drink for breakfast and lunch and love my flavors better.  I give this product a thumbs up because my husband loves them, but a thumbs down because I don't.  They are priced awesome, so give them a try, as its all natural and organic not everyone has the same taste buds.