40 and Loving It!

Bear with me, this is going somewhere allergy related.

I turned 40 in March. Most women dread it, but for me the birthday came and went without incident. There were no tears, no time lost examining myself at the mirror wondering where my youth has gone.

People always, and I mean always, gasp and then ask what my secret is when they find out how old I am. It usually comes up when I meet someone and we get to talking about our families, and I mention that my oldest son is turning 20 this summer. My daughter will be 18 in the fall, and the next one in line will be 16 after Christmas... and then there's the 7 year-old. People assume he's my oldest but then I say I have four children and it doesn't add up. Then I say I'm 40 and they say, "No way!"

Here's a selfie I took on my cell phone after my haircut one month before my 40th birthday. I'm just wearing a smidge of mascara, otherwise there's no makeup, not even powder.

Now, still in the spirit of sharing untouched photos, here's a photo of me and my husband getting into position with a blind couple at their wedding. Do I look 40 here? How old does my husband look? 

To answer my question, he is 4 years younger than I am. He said he looks old in this picture. Ha! I almost said, "Next to me you do."

Now, to the point. 

Obviously there are many factors that affect one's appearance. I don't smoke, and since I became aware of my allergies, I've given up prepackaged and processed foods. But I admit, I don't drink enough water, I don't exercise as much as I should, and I go to bed pretty late and wake up early. I could do better. Instead, I rely on my skincare products to pick up the slack.

I am wary of trying new skin products because most have either soy or papaya or some variety of salicylic acid, three things on my allergy list. I wash my face with the amber Neutrogena bar, and I use plain, raw shea butter as a face and body cream.  People constantly tell me that their products are better and I can hardly bear the ensuing argument. But then I was given a sample of Nerium. I looked over the ingredients, and as far as I could tell at first glance, it looked safe for me. I gave it a shot, and three days later I was noticing marked improvements in my skin texture and tone, and my eyelids started lifting or depuffing, whichever make them look tighter and brighter.

The best part is, I didn't have any adverse reactions. 

I safely switched to this, nothing went wrong, nothing itched, nothing broke out, and nothing burned. I use the night cream, which is essentially a mask you leave on all night. After it soaks in completely, I slather on my usual shea butter layer, which is completely acceptable. Nerium does its work while I sleep, then in the morning my skin looks and feels fabulous. Now I look at people in nearly any age group and I want to tell them about Nerium, but that seems rude. So I'm telling everyone, without bias, about this wonderful product that I secretly call "Youth Serum." 

Realistically you'll notice the texture change pretty quickly, but it takes a week or so to get an idea of what it will do for wrinkles and puffiness, and in about 3 weeks, people remark that when they compare before and after photos, there's a real noticeable improvement. 

Another tip: I am a childcare provider, and my knees are (were) embarrassingly rough and dark colored from crawling around with the kids every day. I was mortified when I tried on the dress I wore to the wedding. I thought I was going to have to wear stockings, but Nerium AD saved the day! I also use it on my hands and slip on cotton gloves before I sleep.  It used to be that even if my face looked youthful, my hands gave my age away. Not anymore!

So I urge you to head over to Nerium through my link, and read over the testimonials, the ingredient list and the science behind the product. It's not an "all natural" product by any measure, but it's fantastic and you might be able to tolerate it. This is the first anti-aging product, or "wrinkle cream," I've come across that doesn't have harsh peel chemicals. Bonus: this one is gluten free and soy free.

If I could put sparkles and animations around that, I would. Gluten free and soy free. No papaya. No salicylic acid. 

I am not a Nerium agent. I do feel obligated to mention that if people sign up to be preferred customers through my link I get free product. But the same benefit is available to any other customer as well. If you sign up for recurring deliveries (Preferred Customer), and then get just 3 people to do the same, your future deliveries are free as long as they are also receiving deliveries. So don't let the cost scare you! They also have a 30-day money back guarantee. If you have a reaction or just don't see results within 30 days, you can get your money back. So again, don't be deterred by the cost. 

I would pay nearly any price to stay youthful! And looking youthful makes me feel youthful, which makes me happy, outgoing, adventurous, which leads to feeling more youthful, and helps me feel healthy. Feeling good is an excellent motivator to maybe try something new, change your diet, make new friends, whatever you've been wishing you had the confidence to do. 

Here's an ingredient list, and a link to the website follows. I have been told that some people have temporary "sensitivity" that is very short lived, and the advice is to stick with it if it's not a true allergic reaction. That's a personal decision, and that's where the 30-day guarantee comes in, in my opinion. I'm thrilled that I didn't have any reaction at all. Not even redness. Good luck!

Water, NAE-8 Proprietary Blend (Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Nerium Oleander Extract), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Peptide Matrix (Collagen, Elastin, Glycosaminoglycans), Caffeine, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Isohexadecane, Ceteareth-20, Polysorbate 80, Sorbitan Stearate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Dimethicone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Coleus Forskohlii Root Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Disodium EDTA, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate.

Nerium Website: dianabentley.nerium.com

Oral Allergy Help

What is Oral Allergy? In short, it's a reaction to food that is localized to the mouth. It's not the kind of thing that causes shock or a full-body reaction (although clarify all of your symptoms with your doctor).

Sometimes, when I eat bananas or avocado sometimes I develop red patches on the skin around my lips. Every time I eat them my gums throb and burn like I swished acid around my mouth. Sometimes this happens when I eat apples. I avoid bananas and avocados all the time. Washing my apples really well before I eat them seems to help.

Since we can't always control what gets into our food, I always carry two things: an EpiPen and Benadryl. We know the EpiPen works, but here's a different way to use Benadryl. My doctor told me in the event of an oral allergy response, just put a bit of liquid benadryl in my mouth, swish it around and spit it out. Genius! I'm asleep within 10 minutes of an ingested Benadryl dose, so I only take it if absolutely necessary. The "swish and spit," I can do.

To make it even easier, I found these pre-measured single dose packets, which are much easier than trying to lug around bottles of liquid Benadryl. Also, liquid is generally faster acting than pills, so if I do need to ingest a dose, I like having these around.

I heard at one point these were recalled or discontinued, but I have seen them around. Walgreens and CVS sell store-brand versions as well. I ordered a large supply from drugstore.com when I got mine, just in case.

New to Food Allergies?

Visit the FARE website and download "Your Food Allergy Field Guide."

Food Allergy Awareness Week

Food Allergy Awareness Week Starts Tomorrow. Head over to the FARE website for profile images, banners and shareable fact images. Spread the word, raise awareness! 

Learn more at FARE

Eat This Regular Food: Breakfast Burritos

This is not exactly a recipe of the purest ingredients, but it's extremely helpful in my house. It feeds The Six without gluten, soy, or dairy contamination. I use soft corn tortillas, and everyone else uses fajita size flour tortillas for theirs. These packets of potatoes, sausage, and scrambled eggs are in the freezer, ready to grab and reheat. Use veggie sausage, turkey sausage or traditional pork if you like, even substitute egg whites in place of whole eggs if you prefer.

Cleaning Done Right

I used to be on Etsy. I loved Etsy. The things people made from ordinary items were marvelous. There, I stumbled upon Chase Street Soap Co. and two of my all-time favorite products. She sells bar soap for dogs that soothes the skin and helps release loose fur, and also repels insects. My other favorite is her laundry detergent. She calls herself the Soap Lady. Making all those soaps, one day she found herself with a heap of soap shavings going to waste. Why not mix them into a basic laundry detergent, she thought. Thank you Soap Lady! By the way, she has moved to a new website, away from Etsy. 

The original appeal to the detergent was that I only needed a tiny bit per load. The Bentley Six generate a lot of laundry. Additionally, my daycare babies and toddlers spit up, poop, and dump food on themselves. I wash a lot of washrags, sheets, and baby clothes on a daily basis. Originally, the basic formula of this detergent was alluring only second to the cost. I have an H.E. washer, so 1/2 TBSP does a whole load and everything gets clean, every time. I pay $18 plus shipping, and I buy it about 4 times a year. Take a minute to do even the most basic math and it's way, way cheaper than store-bought detergent no matter how you add it up. 

Sometimes I procrastinate. A few months ago, I put off ordering more detergent until I was completely out. No worries, Soap Lady ships Priority Mail, so I just had to get through a few days. Spoiled by her cost-effective product, I bought the smallest box of the cheapest powdered detergent I could find, just to get us through. 

Then the itching began. Three days later, still itching and now my skin was burning and I had trouble sleeping with the sensation of bugs crawling all over me. I swore I had mites. The detergent arrived after a few days, and I rewashed my clothes. A day later, no more itching. Now I have a new appreciation for cleaning products with minimal ingredients. 

I scoured the Web for more information and I found this great list of 10 cleaning products you can make with 10 regular ingredients. Bonus, it's inexpensive. 

I primarily clean everything with a mixture of vinegar and water these days. I can spray it on the windows, the toilet, my stove, and the kids' table. It's safe and effective. Yesterday I mopped all the floors and gave the floor cleaner recipe a try. I love it! 

My only words of caution are to try these things in small proportions before diving in. The bathroom cleaner worked great but wasn't something I want to deal with again, and for laundry detergent I am going to try a soap bar called Fels-Naptha instead of Ivory. I hear that Ivory has trouble dissolving in the wash, and since I always wash with cold water I'm sure Ivory won't work for me. I'm still a loyal Soap Lady customer, but I've learned my lesson about not having things on hand. 

Lastly, the Soap Lady also sells essential oils if you're interested. I was very happy with an orange scent I purchased a while ago. However, I like to keep things basic so I don't even mess with essential oils. 

This list is from a website called Living Well and Spending Less. If you're looking for products with minimal ingredients, pay attention to savvy shoppers and thrifty housewives, er, house managers. To download your own 8 1/2" X 11" copy, click on the image below and then scroll toward the bottom of her page.

Green and Thrifty Cleaning Products at LivingWellSpendingLess.com

Eat This Regular Food: Cereal

Eating around food allergies does not have to be complicated or expensive.

I haven't yet heard of a rice allergy. Try some Rice Chex for breakfast. If you can tolerate fruits, add some sliced banana or strawberries, or toss in a handful of dried blueberries if they're more agreeable. Dried blueberries are also a great substitution for raisins in oatmeal cookies. I get mine at Costco.

Allergy Alert Bracelet Option

This is an easy-to-wear, waterproof, comfortable bracelet. In the event of an emergency, medical staff will know what not to give me. Prepping for back surgery, my anesthesiologist said one of the things he'd be giving me had soy in it. He never did tell me what it was, but he had to give it to me. I itched all over for about a week afterward. At least he talked to me about it first. I also have to ask for the flu shot without neomycin. I never thought mentioning that was necessary. List absolutely everything before you accept an injection of any kind. Be very, very thorough.

I ordered this from Road ID. They have a large assortment of sizes, bands, and types of IDs. They are intended for athletes, so we don't have to carry ID when we run, swim, bike, etc. I considered labeling my youngest with our contact information, just in case.

Canning: You Can Do It. You Should Do It.

Lemonade Jelly, Peach-Pluot-Habanero Sauce, Salsa, Marinara Sauce, Prickly Pear Jelly, Stewed Tomatoes

Simply put, making your own food is the only way to know exactly what is in it. I certainly do not have time to make everything from scratch on a meal-by-meal basis. The answer to that problem is to cook in batches. It began with jam. Today it's tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and salsa.

Last summer we took the family to a pick-your-own orchard in the peak of peach season. When you tell four children they can pick as much as they want, you come home with a lot of peaches. I learned this the year before. This time, I was prepared.

A fellow stay-at-home mom of four brought us a half-pint jar of her homemade Indian Peach jam. Her sister had sent her a box of peaches from California, and as peaches go, they're seemingly either nowhere near ripe or overripe. When they're good and ripe, make jam. I figured, if this woman could do it, so could I.

I remember my mother making jam once and only once. We had an abundance of plums from our tree every year, and while she was known for her German Plum Cake, she gave the jam thing a go. The process was such a nightmare, all I remember was her description of awful it was and that she would never do it again. But this other mom of four did it like she does it all the time, and she delivered the little jar with a big smile.

I did some research and found a secret weapon: The Ball Automatic Jam Maker! It doesn't make the jam for you, per say, but it does the ingredient mixing and the constant stirring at a constant temperature without boiling over, scorching, getting everywhere - the part that will make or break your jam-making experience. I made a small investment in the machine, and then splurged on a tool set. I've learned over the years that everything can be made more difficult by using inappropriate tools, and some things are actually easier with the right tools. This was a worthwhile purchase. I make jams and jellies on a whim now, without hesitation.

Canning is messy, hot, and laborious, but well worth the effort. Start with the right tools, a clean kitchen, and a plan to minimize all of these things.

This is worth getting. A lot of the process involves putting things into and taking things out of boiling water.

• Clean your kitchen. Clear some space. You will need the largest burner on the stove for the processing pot. If you don't have a mixing/heating machine like mine, you will also need a burner free for mixing the food product. I only use the machine for jams and jellies. I use the stove for sauces and vegetables.
• The order of events is to prepare the food (clean and cut), then cook the food, pour the food into prepared jars, seal the jars, and then immerse the jars in a boiling water bath for processing. If you can lay out your workstations to work in this order, you're off to a great start. 
• I do the prep work at the kitchen island, next to the refrigerator and near the sink. While cooking the filling, I simmer the jars in the same water bath I will use for processing. I use a jar lifter to move hot (empty) jars to a cookie-cooling rack placed on a kitchen towel. The hot jars don't touch the counter and spill are easy to clean. Using a wide-mouth funnel and a ladle, I fill the jars, one at a time, seal them and place them back into the water bath for processing. While the jars are boiling (usually 15 - 35 minutes depending on the contents), I rinse off the prep tools, wipe down the counters, and get set up for the next batch. That's all there is to it. I can't stress enough, clean the kitchen like your mother-in-law is coming to visit before you get started and between batches.  
• When the jars are finished, use the jar lifter to move them back to the cooling rack and wait for the satisfying "POP" sound of a sealing lid. 

It really is that straightforward. However, there are a few tips worth sharing.

• Jars like to accumulate a white film on them when they're being boiled. Avoid this by adding a little white vinegar to the water bath. When the processed jars are completely cooled, wipe away any residue with a cloth wet with water and vinegar. I haven't had to wipe them down since I started adding vinegar to the boiling water.
• Don't pay too much for jars. They come boxed in sets. I recently found quart jars in sets of 12 for about $9. 
• Lastly, about jars, make sure they fit in your pot. The will need to boil in enough water to cover them by at least an inch. My nice stock pot works well for pint jars, but not for quart jars. Since I share most of my canned goods, I like the pint and half-pint jars best anyway. I don't want to buy a special pot for boiling water. 
• Pectin is the stuff that thickens jams and jellies. It's not cheap. Hunt around for the best price and figure out how much you will need before you get started. My only frustration with my jams was how much I had to spend on pectin, but I had a lot of fruit and canning it was better than throwing it away. In hindsight, I could have looked into canning them as slices or chunks instead of jams, but at the time I was in jam-mode. 
• Acidity, basically, makes vegetables shelf stable. In my latest Roma tomato endeavor I had to follow a specific recipe very carefully to ensure the safety of the food after processing. The process was daunting until I found little jars of citric acid. These, contrary to the pectin, are cheap. I didn't realize that I wouldn't be needing very much of it either, and snatched up 4 jars to prevent trips back to the market. For stewed tomatoes: blanch, peel, quarter, and simmer them for 5 minutes. Put 1/4 teaspoon citric acid into a pint jar, fill the jar leaving 1/2" space between the tomatoes and the rim. Remove air bubbles by gently squishing and mashing against the tomatoes, wipe the rim clean, place the lid, process the jar(s) in boiling water for 40 minutes.  Easy.
• Do not over-tighten the lids. They need to be finger-tightened before processing and then left alone until completely cooled. Trapped air needs to escape while the jars cool. Tighten the rings only after the jars are completely cooled.
• You can't just take some fruits or vegetables or soup and process them in jars and leave them on the shelves for later. But you can process almost anything following proper food-safety processes and have all of your favorites on hand all the time. Without allergens.  

Invest in at least one instructional book so that your food is prepared safely. Ball makes the Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I bought my copy at WalMart. It covers fruits, vegetables, meats, sauces, pickles, everything.

Comfort Food

A stomach bug is working through our family. A few days ago, I had it. Yesterday, my youngest son had it. Which of The Six will be next?

I stocked up on Gatorade and Goldfish crackers for the "regular" eaters in the house. When I'm sick, I can't have that. It was dried apple rings and coconut water for me. My husband usually goes out for applesauce for me. That's my magical food. We don't eat enough of it to keep it around. I may try making my own and storing it in little half-pint jars.

My son, at 2:37am, immediately required a bowl of mini pretzels and coconut water. My daughter swears by whole green olives. They soothe her stomach no matter what's wrong with it. My oldest wants Ramen noodles and iced tea. My husband requires ice-water and Popsicles. The other son always thinks he's dying, refuses any help, and fixates on "when will this be over?" I really hope it skips him.

Coconut water is always my go-to instead of sports drinks. It's just what I need when I'm sick, dehydrated (which happens easily in Tucson), or out cycling more than 20 miles. So, what's this I hear about Maple water?

Maple water about to challenge coconut water for super-drink supremacy

Honeydew Agua Fresca

This weekend, my husband and I went to Market on the Move. It's a produce market staged in various locations throughout the month, offering up to 60 pounds of produce per $10 buy-in. This week they had extra tomatoes so we also brought home 60 pounds of tomatoes per ticket. Faced with 120 pounds of ripe Roma tomatoes, I dedicated my weekend to canning. More on the tomatoes later. More urgent were the four ripe Honeydew melons. Looking for a shelf-stable jam or jelly recipe, I came across this Agua Fresca. It turned out to be extremely easy to make since my melons were almost overripe, and it tastes oh-so-good - like apple flavored Jolly Ranchers.

My four small melons made way more strained juice than the recipe called for, probably because of their ripeness. For my adaptation I used all of the juice and dissolved 1/2 cup regular granulated sugar in 3/4 cup warm water instead of buying superfine sugar. Alternately, you can run granulated sugar through a dry blender to make it superfine. The goal is to get the sugar fully dissolved in the liquid, otherwise you don't sweeten the juice properly and you end up with granulated sugar settled at the bottom of the pitcher.

Since I had extra juice and already used 3/4 cup water for the sugar, I added an even 3 cups of water to the batch and then separated it into two pitchers to keep in the refrigerator. What was left was divvied up to the husband and kids for taste-testing. They loved it! The recipe says it will keep for a couple of days. I won't be around that long.

Original Recipe from Martha Stewart: Honeydew Agua Fresca

Simple Awareness

In 1991 I began complaining of having something stuck in my throat. In 2001 I began complaining of stomach pains. In 2011 I became lethargic and I was constantly cold. In 2012 everything I ate hurt. It either hurt my mouth or my stomach, or both. By hurt, I mean felt like skin-searing acid. If my specialist would have known more about food allergies in 1991, I could have skipped 21 years of pain, suffering, medication, blood tests, and scans. I could have changed my diet. That's all I had to do. Please don't always require your child to eat something if they're complaining about it. Our bodies have built-in defense mechanisms, such as aversions to certain foods, food groups, and food textures. At the bottom of THIS PAGE is a list of ways a child might describe the sensation of an allergic reaction.