Amazon Book Promo Code

EXPIRED: Save 30% on any book sold by Amazon when you enter the promo code BOOKDEAL at checkout until December 1st!

UPDATE: Amazon is now offering a $5 off purchase of $35 or more promotional credit when you share/create a wish list. Just click this link, select your wish list to share, answer a holiday-related question, and click share! The code expires December 15th and is only available for U.S. residents. Hurry! As these might not last long.

This is a great opportunity to score some more stocking stuffers or cross off someone on your Christmas list. I'm a big believer in giving literature. It's a gift that keeps on giving!

 

The promo code works once on books sold and shipped by Amazon.

I think I'll be ordering The Artful Parent by Jean Van't Hul and some Astragalus root capsules (comes in a pack of four). My mom turned me on to this product sold by Twinlab. Love that they sell it in a pack of four so I can give three away and still have one for our natural medicine cabinet.

Recommendations for stocking stuffers:



With fun colors and vibrant pictures, The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature is a very entertaining and informative book for any young child. My three year old loves looking at it and letting me read to her. It's a great overview with simple facts that they can easily grasp. With over two hundred pages, it provides a lot of educational material. It's inspired many crafts in our household and it seems we read it daily.
Emily P. Freeman's wonderful blog Chatting at the Sky has always been uplifting and encouraging. In her newest book A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live, she reveals to us our true identity: Our Creator's Masterpiece. The book is refreshing and enlightening where many books with similar purpose may fall flat. It's beautifully written and you'll find yourself pulling out a highlighter every other page and looking at the world with a new perspective. She has also published Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life .

Other Suggestions that look entertaining and interesting (just click on the image):


 
(This post does contain an Amazon  affiliate link. Shopping through these links can help support Sweet Roots. Thank you!)

What book are you hoping to find in your stocking?

Peppermint and Ginger: Aid Digestion with Healthier Candy Choices this Holiday Season

Feeling bloated and overall stuffed from this onset of delicious Holidays? Instead of offering a bowl full of treats or candies, pick just two types that aid in digestion: Peppermint and Ginger.

Have a bowl full of these ready for guests to nom on.

Peppermint can help relieve tension headaches, nerve-induced nausea, colonic spasms, gas and other stomach pains. The minty herb's oils also freshen breath! Peppermint is both calming and revitalizing, creating a peace among the storm which some of us may feel this holiday season. Find peppermint candies flavored with natural peppermint oil and dyed with carrot and beet juices from your natural health food store or trader joe's (this is where I bought mine).

Ginger can also help overindulgence, gas and nausea. This spicy herb is an anti-inflammatory, improves circulation, and strengthens immunity. Feeling sluggish after all the heavy food? Try ginger to get your digestive enzymes going and give yourself a mood boost. Ginger chews or crystallized ginger are sold at your local grocery store and on amazon.

Also stock your pantry with fennel seeds to make this fennel tea (full post here). Both peppermint and ginger teas can aid this as well! And are beneficial without the sugar! All the herbs combined can be a great digestive-aiding drink. Also they taste delicious!

I buy my herbs for teas and other creative endeavors from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Rustic Pear Tart

There are some recipes you make simply because someone you love likes it with their bacon.

Not that I don’t love a fruit tart for breakfast. I do! But when I’m working on recipes, I sometimes feel my husband gets the short end of the stick. So this is for you, babe.

This oat crust is hearty and crisp underneath the soft and slightly cinnamon-scented pears. Perfect for Fall! And easy for any gathering or holiday! It's also is great served cold the next day with a hot cup of tea.

This is another of Witty Husband’s favorites, another one being the chocolate chip breakfast rug. He also loves the baked oatmeal here on the blog if you are looking for more gluten-free and dairy-free recipes that gluten&dairy-lovers will enjoy. Recipes the whole table will enjoy!

The oat crust for this pear tart is made solely in a food processor. No need to get any bowls dirty! Here are directions if you don't have a food processor: (1) Grind the oats in a spice/coffee grinder. (2) Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. (3) Using a potato masher, cut coconut oil into the flour ingredients until it becomes gritty like biscuit batter. (4) Add liquid and stir well.

Rustic Pear Tart
2 1/2 cup oats
3 TB chia seeds
2 TB evaporated cane juice sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 TB coconut oil
3/4 cup liquid + extra for spreading dough *

3-4 Bartlett
1-2 TB Fresh Lemon Juice
2-3 TB evaporated cane juice sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Pulse the oats and chia seeds in a food processor until sandy flour texture is achieved.
2. Add sugar, bakind soda, sea salt, and cinnamon. Pulse until incorporated.
3. Add coconut oil until it is incorporated and the mixture may have little clumps. Add liquid and process until dough forms.
4. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, spread dough with a wet spatula (keep spatula wet to prevent dough from sticking to it). Spread dough until it is about 1/3" thick.
5. Slice Bartlett pears (remove stems, core and seeds) and layer all over the crust. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon.
6. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 35-40 minutes or until edges have browned and pears are soft.
Cool 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

*For the liquid, I've used tea, water, unsweetened almond milk, apple juice and even leftover canned pear juice (from when I canned my own pears).

Musings for November and why you should eat more sauerkraut and cranberry

 

This is a new type of post for me. I've wanted to create a place where I can share findings, musings, news, and deals with you. I mentioned recently on facebook that I coupon for all natural and healthy things (it's a myth that you can't) and I wanted a place to share with you deals that I've found and coupons I'm printing in hopes of a deal. However, I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea so I wanted to keep it short and to one post a month for now.

If you're reading this post, it's most likely you've seen my other work. I love to share - I share recipes, photos, health news, books I'm reading, DIY, and so on. But I mostly only post recipes. It only seems proper that I create a place that I can share findings. Fun or inspiring blog posts I've read. More books I'm reading. Recipes from other people I'm trying. And so on. I also have a request. Because this is new to me, it may seem a little chaotic at first. Please leave comments on what you find helpful here, advice you have, or what content you would to see more of. For now, I will try to keep all this information to one post a month with sections - somewhat like a newsletter. There will be three sections for now (but this also might change): Sweet Finds (from books, magazines, blogs, etc) on interesting articles or books, inspiring pieces, delicious recipes. Sweet Deals listing what I'm buying, coupons I'm printing, and deals I've found. And Sweet News which will detail news that corresponds with my blog, recipes or myself.

Sweet Finds from the World Wide Web (mostly)

*Some inspiring first lines from Court Can Write in honor of NaNoWriMo (I even wrote something that wasn't a recipe for once!) Courtney is the author of one of my favorite books Rethana's Surrender (Legends of the Light-Walkers, #1) .

*An eloquently penned short essay on finding her voice from Megan of Rogue Heart Media. I might just print this out and hang it on my inspirational board!

*Remembering to "make room at your inn" amongst all the holiday chaos by "Rekindling the Family's Christmas Spirit" (from Family Circle Magazine). I also admire that these parents told their children to make their Christmas lists according to "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read."

*"Why Creative People Sometimes Make No Sense" by Matthew Schuler

*This Quote as a reminder to face our future without fear

*Snowflake Templates
Big Blue Eyes and I have been working on her alphabet and this week is the letter "S". We found some  printable paper snowflake templates, thanks to fabulesslyfrugal, and after some practice cut out our own.

*Cranberry and Sauerkraut
I've been re-reading/perusing Living Beauty Detox Program: The Revolutionary Diet for Each and Every Season of a Woman's Life by Ann Louise Gittleman and the importance of eating raw sauerkraut (I buy Bubbie's from my natural health food store) and incorporating more cranberry into my diet. According to the author, raw sauerkraut is essential to increasing "the beneficial L. plantarum bacteria, a powerful probiotic that destroys many toxic strains of bacteria and parasites in the gastrointestinal tract" (page 68-69). Bubbie's website states that sailors used to keep sauerkraut on board to prevent scurvy because it was rich in Vitamin C. Sauerkraut is also high in fiber, iron and calcium and can also prevent against colon cancer. I've been eating sauerkraut with my garlic eggs in the morning or whatever lunch I'm having (and *gasp* sometimes as a late-night snack).
Cranberry has also made a more prominent spotlight in my diet as of late. Ann Louise Gittleman states that it can help to detoxify the liver and cleanse the lymphatic system. It can help cellulite to disappear and jumpstart a stagnant lymphatic system thanks to some marvelous digestive enzymes. If you are thinking of a detox, help rid your body of waste by simply incorporating more cranberry into your diet. Stay away from sugar-y juices because that can counteract the greater benefits of cranberry; instead mix a little berry juice into your cranberry for a less bitter taste. 100 Percent Cranberry juice can be found in the natural and organic section at Trader Joes and Fred Meyer (they have an inexpensive and natural store brand Simple Truth). Ann Louise Gittleman suggests starting and ending your day with what she calls a "living beauty elixir" - a cup of cranberry juice with two teaspoons of a green superfood mixture. My fruit salad with fresh cranberry orange dressing (and the post has even more reasons cranberry is amazing) is a great way to add more cranberry, antioxidants, and fiber to your diet. We keep cranberry extract (sold by amazon and mountain rose herbs) in our medicine cabinet to diffuse any viral or bacterial infection we may encounter.
 
Picture below - Enjoying my cranberry juice straight in an old rocks glass perfect for sipping while reading about cranberry’s many benefits from Ann Louise’s book and a page I ripped from Better Homes and Gardens.
 

Sweet Deals

* Amazon

Subscribed (can be canceled at any time) to Seventh Generation Purifying Hand Wash Lavender (Pack of 3). There was a 50% off coupon available that made these $6.06 or just $2 a piece after clipping the coupon and subscribing. If this coupon is not on the purchase page, search for amazon coupons and it might be in personal care. This a great price for all natural pump hand soaps.
Subscribed to Annie Chun's seaweed snacks (one of my toddler’s favorite snacks). These normally go for $1.20-$2 at the store. But with 20% coupon clipped and subscribing, they average 90 - 95 cents depending on how many items you subscribe to. For instance, Amazon usually offers 5% discount unless you subscribe to 5 or more items and then they offer 15% discount. Remember you can order one month and cancel (or postpone) for the next month if need be.
Subscribed to Carlson DHA For Kids. DHA is an important nutrient for children and healthy brain development. This is a new brand for us but I will let you know if our toddler does well with it.  

*Fred Meyer - Also stocking up on chocolate and fun, healthy stocking stuffers. Fred Meyer has lots of organic and fair trade chocolate for $2 a bar (compared to the normal $4 range). Stock up on these (with coupons if available) for easy gifts and treats.

Sweet News

 

Our life (like most everyone's this time of year) has been chaotic. New house woes and other happenings. I hope these next few weeks I can bring you some innovative and heartfelt DIY Christmas crafts along with other new recipes - one of which includes cranberries!

 

Also the end of this month brings my blog's second anniversary! Last year, I posted this recipe in celebration. This year due to Thanksgiving's position on the calendar, I might be postponing our celebration until the first week of December. Keeping in line with tradition, we will celebrate with ginger! It is my favorite sweet root and for which this blog was named. I'm also excited to introduce something else I'm working on that has considerable meaning for me, but for now it will stay a secret.

 

Question of the Day: What food are you most looking forward to making or eating on your Thanksgiving table?

 

 

 {This post may contain some affiliate links. Purchases through these links can help support Sweet Roots. Thank you!}