All posts by The Natural Mammas

gallery, gardening

Amaryllis – Instructions For Year Round Care And More

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Amaryllis are SO beautiful!  We just inherited one and it’s in full effect.  They’re very easy to take care of and while they normally bloom in Spring, they can be forced to bloom in time for Christmas and are very often associated with the holiday both as decorations and as gifts.

Native to South America and South Africa Amaryllis grow from a bulb and therefore can be regrown year after year.  All you need to do is allow it to bloom (hard right!) then, once the flowers are gone,  allow the green side shoots to grow and thrive throughout the summer.

amaryllis close up

The plant will need to rest for 8-12 weeks before blooming again so, if you’d like to time their blooming period for the Holidays, you’ll need to trim the leaves, take the bulb out of the soil, clean it off, and put in a cool, dark area by the first week of August.  The later you put your bulb to rest the later in the winter/spring it will bloom.

Then, take out the blub around the first week in Nov (or later depending on when you put the Amaryllis bulb to rest), plant root down into the compost again and put in a sunny window.

two blooms of an amaryllis

Water sparingly until the first shoots appear then you can give it a bit more water but generally, Amaryllis like it better on the dry side.  Around mid December you’ll see your Amaryllis come back to life; an especially welcome sight when not much else is blooming!

And remember, you can repeat this cycle again and again for beautiful blooms year after year!

 

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gallery, Natural Beauty Recipes

Feed Your Face With This Lemon, Honey, Oat, Banana Facial Recipe

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This homemade skin care recipe makes me hungry just looking at it, let alone making it!  Lemons, honey, oats and bananas aren’t just a treat for your taste buds though, they have a lot of different benefits for your skin too, and, when mixed together can make a nice, fragrant, relaxing facial.

As for the benefits, the oats exfoliate and offer antioxidants while the honey soothes and protects against bacteria.  Lemons also have easily accessible antioxidants and lighten and tone the skin while bananas have anti aging properties and more!  When fresh and mixed together these organic ingredients feed your face with balanced, natural nutrition.

Please remember though to always make any natural beauty recipe like this that uses fresh ingredients…fresh!  Never store it.  Bacteria can grow so quickly and as soon as that happens, you might as well forget it.

When made fresh though, the benefits these all natural ingredients hold are released and ready to be absorbed by your skin to feed it from the outside in.  Check out the following natural beauty recipe for our lemon, honey, oat,  and banana facial and see for yourself just how easy and affordable it can be to be naturally beautiful!

All Natural Lemon, Honey, Bananna Oat Facial Recipe
Recipe Type: Skin Care/Facial
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 med, ripe organic banana
  • 2T organic honey
  • 3T fresh organic lemon juice
  • 3-4T chopped oats (Optional)
Instructions
  1. Smash bananas
  2. Add honey and lemon juice
  3. Mix thoroughly
  4. If using, add chopped oats
  5. Apply mixture to face rubbing gently in a circular motion with your forefingers. Be sure not to pull the skin by rubbing too hard.
  6. Continue to gently rub the mixture into your face for a few minutes being sure to get it everywhere including your neck and decollete (upper chest) area.
  7. Now leave on for about 10 min
  8. When ready, rinse your face with lukewarm water (NOT hot)
  9. Pat dry

 

gallery, Natural Mamma's Recipes

Easy Recipe for Quick, Organic Garlic Carrots

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Carrots are readily available most places and nearly any time of year.  If you have the space, carrots are quite easy to store through the winter.  If you can’t store them, they’re also a cold season crop and can even be started early in the spring and last throughout the fall outside in the garden.  In fact, if you have the right set up (or are blessed w/a mild climate!) carrots can be grown year round outside!

Organic carrots are also packed with nutrients that benefits your entire body including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and, they’re a great source of fiber too.

Whether you’re enjoying fresh from your garden carrots or are using organic ones you brought home from the store, this recipe helps  make them extra tasty and  even more nutritious too by adding garlic; also known for its many beneficial properties.

This recipe isn’t only nutritious though, its really tasty; even some of our pickiest eaters love it.  Our organic garlic carrot recipe is quick to make too, and if there’s one thing that’s helpful when we’re trying to nourish our hungry families its recipes that don’t take forever to prepare.

Enjoy these organic garlic carrots along side any main dish or as a quick snack, or however else you choose!  They’re packed full of nutrition and so delicious you’ll find yourself making them again, and again….and again.

Organic Garlic Carrots
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 pound carrots cut into about 2in pieces
  • 2-4 garlic cloves depending on preferences
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/3 t dried thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Saute carrots and garlic in oil for 5 min over med heat. Add water, salt, thyme and pepper. Bring everything to a boil then reduce heat to low/med and cook for about 10-12 min. Carrots should be tender yet not mushy when done.