(Delicious and Chemical-free!)
Those that know me well know that I am a big-time coffee (and creamer) lover. I drink my coffee sweet, with lots of creamer. Flavored creamer, to be exact. I never claimed to be a coffee purist like my dad, who will always and forever drink his coffee black. I may lose some respect from the coffee purists of the world, but hey – I like my sweet creamer.
Have you ever looked at the ingredients on your favorite store-bought creamer? It’s not very comforting. My favorite kind (Coffee Mate) has no actual cream in it. The main ingredients are water, sugar, and partially hydrogenated oils. Needless to say, it’s not the healthiest stuff in the world. Hydrogenated oils contain trans fat and are touted by most nutritionists as one of the worst things that we can ingest.
I’m far from perfect in this area, but I am making an attempt to be healthier and to more aware of what’s in the things I’m consuming. Coffee with creamer is something I consume daily, and for years I’ve used Coffee Mate, so this was a huge part of my diet that needed some modifying.
In an effort to avoid the chemicals and hydrogenated oils in my staple store-bought coffee creamer, I have recently started making my own flavored creamer. It took a little experimenting, but I have come up with a recipe that works well and just has a few natural ingredients.
Here’s the recipe:
- 1 quart (4 cups) half and half (organic or regular)
- 1 cup raw sugar or organic raw sugar*
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp coconut flavoring (optional)
*You could substitute with Stevia, Splenda, raw honey, agave nectar, or the sweetener of your choice. I tried Stevia but found that I liked the taste with the raw sugar better and it was worth the extra calories.
Pour the half and half into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, and coconut flavoring. If you are anti-artificial flavoring, you can leave the coconut flavor out and double the vanilla. I like it both ways. Stir the ingredients well until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Use a funnel to pour the mixture back into the half and half container. (You will have a little more than what you started with so you may want to grab an extra container or a glass jar to put the extra creamer in.)
Voila! Homemade flavored creamer. Now you can enjoy your coffee without the addition of hydrogenated oil-filled creamer.
P.S. If you’re counting Weight Watchers points plus, I figured out that this has 1 point plus per tablespoon (the same as one tablespoon of Coffee Mate).
Happy Summer, everyone!
We’ve all been enjoying sleeping in later and the longer days of summer sunshine – have you?
If you’re a mom like me, you’ve already started thinking about getting the kids ready to head back to school.
There are just a few weeks left of summer break where we live, so I recently embarked on the hunt for backpacks that are sweatshop-free and won’t break the bank. Specifically, I wanted something that would cost less than $50.
It was quite a hunt to find something that would work, so I thought I’d share what I found here in hopes that it will help someone else who’d like to buy a more socially responsible backpack.
Here are some of the more kid-friendly (specifically girl-friendly) options that I found and my girls approved (not in any particular order):
Greetings, friends.
Hope you are all doing well. We are doing well here – looking forward to the end of the school year not only for my two daughters but for my husband, who will be wrapping up his Master’s degree work in the next couple of weeks. (Oh, joy!)
Did you all hear about the garment factory collapse in Bangladesh? You can read more about it here.
So far, over 390 people have been confirmed dead – most of them women. It is such a tragic story, and all in the name of cheap, mindless fashion. I was intrigued by this woman’s tale of being trapped for 3 days in the rubble. After surviving, she has vowed never to go back to work in the garment factories. She had been working 14 hour days, six days per week, and making about $16/week.
I am still on the quest to shop more responsibly, and in the process of weaning myself from “regular” retail, (it really does feel like weaning!) I am discovering some great companies and products on the journey.
I wanted to highlight a few here, for those of you who are interested in making purchases that are sweatshop-free and not contributing to the slavery or exploitation of others.
My favorite so far is a company called Elegantees. Their slogan is “modest fashion to fight sex trafficking.” Here is some information pulled from their website:
Elegantees are sewn by survivors of sex trafficking. We give fair-trade sewing jobs to survivors through The Nepali Rescue Project and Restore NYC. Being able to empower them in a healthy way makes a world of difference for their healing, restoration, and provision.
I found this company through a friend, who had recommended them on Facebook. The more I learned about them, the more interested I became. I purchased this top a few weeks ago, and I just love it. It is well constructed, made of high quality fabric, and it is flattering and comfortable.
Photo from Elegantees.com
In fact, their entire line is beautiful. Lovely shirts and dresses that are flattering to all figures. I also appreciate the diversity of their models and that they feature women of all sizes wearing the clothes on their website.
Check these out. {Click on any image to expand to gallery view}
The great thing about this company is that they go beyond being “sweatshop free” and “fair trade” – they are fighting sex trafficking with their products. They do this by not only employing the survivors to sew the clothes, but they donate a portion of their proceeds to other organizations that fight trafficking, with the ultimate goal of donating all profits toward this end once their company is more established.
I would encourage you to visit the Elegantees site and see for yourself – buying something from them would definitely be a purchase you could feel good about!
I am also excited about NightLight Design Company. They are a jewelry company that, like Elegantees, are employing women rescued from trafficking to make their products.
Here is a description from their page:
NightLight Design Co., Ltd is a jewelry company based in Bangkok, Thailand that offers holistic employment to women exploited by the local sex industry.
NightLight Design jewelry is beautifully and uniquely handcrafted to bring you elegance, style, and inspiration. The materials used in our products include semi-precious stones, sterling silver, fresh water pearls, Swarovski crystals and other high quality materials sourced from local Bangkok markets.
NightLight Design provides an economic alternative for women who previously had no hope of freedom from their circumstances. When you purchase these products you are securing the freedom of women who have been exploited or were at the risk of exploitation in the bars of Bangkok, Thailand.
I haven’t purchased from them yet, but I hope to soon.
Here are a few of my favorite things in their shop.
I would love to hear about it if you make a purchase from these companies or if you know of others that you’d like to share!
{Coming soon: I will be sharing some great Made in USA companies and products that I’ve discovered!}
{This is a follow-up to the post about the Made in USA stickered Rodney White print that I purchased from Target, and then returned when I learned that it was made in China. If you haven’t read the story, you can catch up here.}
I’ve been putting off writing this post for a while now. I could list a hundred reasons here, but the real reason is just that I haven’t wanted to. It has felt too heavy, and too negative. There are no easy answers and there’s no real happy ending to the story that will tie it up neatly with a bow.
Isn’t that real life, though?
Real life isn’t tied up with a bow, so here’s the honest truth about the next chapter in the story.
About a week after I contacted Target through their website, I still hadn’t heard anything. I thought I would try reaching out to Rodney White, just to see what would happen. I emailed through his website, and briefly shared my story and included a link to my initial blog post.
Within a couple of hours, Rodney White responded personally to my email. I never dreamed I’d get a personal response from him, and it really took me by surprise. His response was short, but kind. He said that he hadn’t known about the two stickers, and that it wasn’t his company that produced the items, but that he could personally assure me that they weren’t produced by sweatshop labor. He said that he “would not allow that given what [his] work is about.” He also mentioned that all of the products on his personal website are made in the USA – in Vermont and Virginia, and he thanked me for writing.
The question I walked away with, though, was – how does he know that those items aren’t being produced by sweatshop labor? Has he been to the factory in China? Would he even be able to figure out what factory it was if he wanted to?
Today is Good Friday.
It’s on this day that we remember Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.
Some say he was born to die. I say, he was born to live. He didn’t want to die. He begged and pleaded with God, his Father, our Father, to the point of sweating drops of blood.
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.” (Luke 22:42) He asked for a way out, another option.
He didn’t look forward to what he knew was coming. But he surrendered.
Isn’t that what love is? Giving up our desire for control?
Giving even when we might not get anything back?
Yesterday, my daughters spent a long time building a house for a ladybug. They must have worked on it for over an hour. They meticulously picked large pieces of bark, branches, twigs, and leaves they found around our backyard and put together a lovely creation for this little ladybug.
itcomesfullcircle 