Roasted Asparagus

Since My family has transferred over to a more plant based diet and trying to go as natural as we possibly can with our busy family life, I have been experimenting and searching for new recipes. Of course ones that our daughters would eat and not instantly say, "I'm not eating that" as soon as its in front of their eyes.

We haven't ate asparagus that often. I'm not sure why my family has grown to love it. Therefore I figured I'd find something simple to do with asparagus bedsides just steaming them. Of course first thought that comes to my mind in the grocery store is, I cant believe I'm buying asparagus! I don't remember eating much if any as a kid growing up. Maybe because my mother didn't care for it the way my father does. Or maybe it's because the way he liked it cook, "slimy" as I recall my mother saying. I have to admit now, I'm not a fan of asparagus when it's too crunchy either. Sorry mom! I like it in-between semi crunchy and chewy. That's why this recipe is great.

Roasted Asparagus

 Preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Prepare time: 5 minutes. Time roasting in the oven:15-20 minutes. 

Ingredients

(Add it all in a bowl so the asparagus is evenly covered. Then lay them on a flat baking sheet.)

1 bunch of asparagus.

1-2 tablespoons of veggie oil/or any healthy oil you chose to use.

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of hemp seed. (optional)

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of flax seeds. (optional)

1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette. ( I choose 1 tablespoon because i'm not a high fan of the flavor.)

Vicks VS. Bedtime cough; And Other Remedies!

I have conquered the nighttime cough. We have been battling this dreadful cold that is going around. With this unwelcoming cold is a nasty cough. *Please note that I am not a doctor.* I have heard about the trick of applying vicks vapor rub to your child's feet, then putting socks on over it when they go to bed. It's suppose to suppress the cough through the night. Once I heard of this, I went online and did some research. Come to find out other blogger's and websites also have confirmed it to be true. So now I had to do my own experiment.
I went to our local store and bought the Vicks vapor rub. It was for my 6 year old so I bought the original one. Fact: The original vicks vapor rub says on the website its good from ages 2 and up. Vicks does have a "baby rub". Their website says good for 3 months and up. I though I'd throw that fact out there for parents like myself with older and younger children. I came home and she was already laying in bed, I applied the vicks  vapor rub generously to the her feet.Then I put on her socks for the rest of the night. I heard no coughing the rest of the night or in middle of the night. Amazing huh? You may even apply as the original directions say. My daughter and I even enjoyed the smell, may be weird.

Here are a few other cold/cough remedies my family likes...

*Green tea with raw honey. (Warm for our daughters, hot for my husband and I.)

*Of course drinking a lot of water.

*2 Tablespoons of raw honey and 1 cup of orange juice. We also use apple juice. (We use this as a cough remedy also)

*Cod liver oil. We take this when we start to feel sick or when we are sick. 

*Elderberry syrup. (A great flu preventative. If you or your child already have the flu it's a great speedy recovery.)

*Washing Hands and teaching our kids to cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing. I can't preach this enough in our home!

I try to find new natural remedies for illness for my family. If you have a tradition please share it! or just know a natural or not even natural cold/flu remedy be kind to share by commenting! 

We keep stock in our tea year round.