I was so excited when I found a water spring a few miles from my home at Holy Face Monastery in Clifton. I contacted the state to try to get information on it, but no luck. After hauling 8 gallons back home, I took out my tds meter (forgot to bring it with me) and the reading was 320ppm!!! I was shocked! Then I tested my tap water and it’s 110ppm. From what I understand that means one part contaminant per million parts water and the higher the number, the more contaminated the water? So the spring water is nearly 3xs worse than my tap water. I’m not sure, but now I don’t even want to give it to my plants, let alone drink it myself!

The next closest spring that I know of is about an hour drive away from me. Hope to get there soon. Read about raw living spring water on Daniel Vitalis’ website and why it’s so important to drink clean pure water. Also check out FindASpring.com for springs all around the world.  This is a great site developed by Daniel Vitalis, Heidi & J.S. Olander. If you find or know of a fresh water spring, you can contribute to the database too.

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THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Big fat coconut chips! I love ‘em because they’re so versatile. I can use them in an impromptu trail mix with nuts and goji berries (shreds and flakes are too small to grab by the handful); add them on top of a yummy dessert like coconut cream pie to make it look STUNNING; or pulse them down finer, if I need smaller flakes or even coconut flour in a jiffy.

One of my fave quickie desserts is to melt a couple tablespoons of coconut oil, stir in cacao, maca, mesquite and lucuma powder until smooth, pour into mini-cup mold and top with big chunks of coconut chips. Pop it in the freezer and voila! Low-sugar, super-easy, coconut-cacao, bite-size treats.

"Mini Coconut Chip Cacao Cup"

If you read my blog regularly, then you know I’m partial to Tropical Tradition’s products and coco chips are no exception. They’re organic, unsweetened and contain no sulfites – just PURE coconut. And this month, Tropical Traditions has generously offered to gift one of my blog readers with a whopping 1 gallon pail of organic coconut chips! I mean this tub is HUGE!

"Gallon Bucket of Coconut Chips!"

Win Tropical Traditions Coconut Chips!

You can enter as many times as you wish by doing any of the steps below. Please write a new comment for each entry and remember to fill in your e-mail address so I know how to contact you if you win! Winning post will be chosen via Random.org.

1. Sign up for the Tropical Traditions newsletter.
2. Share this post on Facebook.
3. Save & share this post to Digg, StumbleUpon or your fave bookmarker!
4. Copy & re-tweet this line: FREE Organic Coconut Chips @ http://tinyurl.com/cocochip #giveaway #freebies
5. Write me a comment on how you will use the coconut chips if you win.

RULES: Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Giveaway will run from May 25, 2010 through June 7, 2010. Please be sure to fill in your email address with your comment so I can contact you if you win. If I can not reach the winner, a new one will be chosen. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing info. If they do not reach me in that timeframe a new winner will be chosen. Prize will be shipped directly from the sponsor.

"Free Virgin Coconut Oil Book"

Free Virgin Coconut Oil Book!

Once you visit the Tropical Traditions website, I’m sure you’ll see a bunch of things you’ll want to buy. If this is your first order, you can get a complimentary copy of their Virgin Coconut Oil book! It has 85 foundational recipes, gluten-free coconut flour recipes and 100 personal stories from people using Virgin Coconut Oil and how it’s changed their lives.

To get the book with your first order, there is a place to choose “How did you hear of us?” when you fill in your account information. In the drop-down menu, choose “Referred by a friend” and type in this code for a FREE copy of the Virgin Coconut Oil book: 6132311.

DISCLOSURE: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product, and I was under no obligation to review it or write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. I am not being paid to share their products with my readers. Instead, I am sharing them because I like them and you!

Visit Fight Back Fridays for more great recipes and real food topics!

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Since my “coming out” post when I revealed that I was no longer raw vegan, I’ve received a lot of emails asking me how I healed my acne using raw dairy. I feel it was a combination of things (not just raw dairy) that helped not only clear it, but keep it gone – starting with a cleansing green juice fast with coconut oil and then rebuilding my body with raw dairy, raw meat, tons of green juice and very little fruit.

Up until now, I’ve had some theories about why it worked, but not until I listened to this interview with Daniel Vitalis on May 10th did it all make sense. This is a REALLY insightful talk and I think he is “right on” with soooo many things he discusses here, including his experience and observations with a raw vegan diet which mirror my own.

"Daniel Vitalis Interview"

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I loooove to cook with ghee! It gives dishes a delicious nutty, buttery taste and it doesn’t burn like butter, or smoke like olive oil under high heat. I like to make my own ghee because then I can chose the source of my butter, which is usually raw organic jersey cow or goat butter.

What is Ghee?

Ghee is unsalted butter that is slowly melted and simmered until all the water evaporates and the milk solids settle to the bottom. Ghee is very stable and has a high smoke point so it’s great for sautéing and it can be stored unrefrigerated for several months. Since the milk solids are removed, ghee is virtually casein & lactose-free, so many people who are sensitive to milk products are able to eat ghee without problem.

In the Indian Ayurvedic tradition, ghee is considered a sattvic food. Cow milk contains the essence of the grass and cow ghee possesses the essence of cow milk. It is said to be slightly alkalizing on the body and it balances all three doshas. Ghee is also a nutrient dense food and contains healthy fat soluble vitamins which aids in the absorption of nutrients from foods that are essential for good health.

How to Make Ghee

It’s sooooo easy to make ghee! You can practically just leave it on the stovetop and forget about it for 40-ish minutes.

1) Get a pound of the best quality grass-fed unsalted butter you can find. Put it in a heavy bottom sauce pan on low heat and let it slowly melt uncovered.

"Fat (foam) Rising to the Top"

2) You will see foam rising to the top as it slowly bubbles. Let it simmer uncovered for approximately 30-45 minutes and do not stir.

"Milk Solids Falling to the Bottom"

3) Next you will see the liquid becoming clearer as the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan.

"Clear Liquid Ghee in the Middle"

4) The golden liquid in the middle is the precious ghee! When you hear and see that the bubbling has slowed down or stopped, that means all the water has evaporated and your ghee is ready. Turn off the stovetop flame and allow the ghee to cool.

"Golden Ghee"

5) Pour the ghee through a strainer to separate the milk solids and store your ghee in a glass jar. Don’t throw away the milk solids! They are yummy and nutty and can be used to flavor dishes like quinoa or ummm…eat ‘em straight like I did. (Just try not to let the milk solids burn like my pic above – lol.
Do as I say, not as I do. )

"Ghee Solid At Room Temp"

6) After the ghee has cooled, it will be semi-solid and can be stored at room temp or in the fridge. I like to write the date on mine.

So that’s it! Really doesn’t get much easier than that – throw two 8oz. bricks of butter in a pan and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Strain and enjoy! Coconut oil and ghee are now my staples for cooking when oil is called for.

Below is an excerpt from the Weston A. Price Foundation website. Check out the website for more valuable info on natural nutrition.

Actually butter contains many nutrients that protect us from heart disease. First among these is vitamin A which is needed for the health of the thyroid and adrenal glands, both of which play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system. Abnormalities of the heart and larger blood vessels occur in babies born to vitamin A deficient mothers. Butter is America’s best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A.

Butter contains lecithin, a substance that assists in the proper assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fat constituents.

Butter also contains a number of anti-oxidants that protect against the kind of free radical damage that weakens the arteries. Vitamin A and vitamin E found in butter both play a strong anti-oxidant role. Butter is a very rich source of selenium, a vital anti-oxidant–containing more per gram than herring or wheat germ.

Butter is also a good dietary source cholesterol. What?? Cholesterol an anti-oxidant?? Yes indeed, cholesterol is a potent anti-oxidant that is flooded into the blood when we take in too many harmful free-radicals–usually from damaged and rancid fats in margarine and highly processed vegetable oils.³ A Medical Research Council survey showed that men eating butter ran half the risk of developing heart disease as those using margarine.⁴

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Yay! I had the pleasure of trying another raw sprouted product – Better Than Roasted’s “Just 4 Nutz!” This is a yummy combo of certified organic almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts. The process of soaking and drying nuts and seeds at low temps, releases the enzyme inhibitors, preserves the natural enzymes and the result is a totally crunchy, fresh-tasting nut – even tastes slightly sweet especially the cashews. The pecans tasted caramelly!

When I first started eating germinated nuts years ago, the taste took some getting used to. I think that the fat content is reduced as the nut begins to come out of “hibernation” and sprout, resulting in a lighter taste. Now when I taste an unsprouted nut, they just don’t seem as fresh and “alive” to me, especially the ones out of store bulk bins where the oxidize quickly.

The best of course of action is to crack fresh in-shell nuts yourself & then sprout and dehydrate them, but THAT is a lot of work!  So it’s nice that Blue Mountain Organics offer a ton of different sprouted nuts and nut butters. It’s a bit more expensive obviously than regular nuts and butters, but I think it’s totally worth it.

Check out the Blue Mountain Organics website. They have some really interesting items like Sprouted Hazelnut Butter (hazelnut + raw cacao = awesome dessert possibilities!) and Black Sesame Seed Butter rich in iron, magnesium, manganese and copper. I bet that would make a killer delicious and nutritious hummus. They also have a range of different products like raw cashew ice cream, raw spices and superfoods like sunflower lecithin, maca, cacao and lucuma. ALL ORGANIC – good stuff!

Blue Mountain Organics has offered to give Healthy Simple Living readers a 20% discount from today until May 17 when you use the coupon code NUTTY. That is really generous – thank you Blue Mountain!

And just for the record, I did not receive any compensation nor was I under any obligation to write this review. I wrote it because I like to support companies that are creating healthful products and I also love to extend special deals to my readers when I can.

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