Great Essential Oils for Cats

Essential oils work on our fabulous felines too! Just like dogs, cats respond incredibly well to essential oils. One of the many benefits of all natural essential oils is that they work fast and get into the bloodstream within 20 seconds of being applied. Essential oils do not build up in the systems like drugs do, so the essential oils do need to be reapplied as needed.

Our sweet and loving cats are small and sensitive. When using essential oils, use less than a drop of essential oil at one time. Use a half of drop for pregnant females and kittens. Dilute essential oils with coconut oil. Use citrus, melaleuca and pine essential oils with caution on cats and only when diluted with coconut or olive oil. Avoid these oils on kittens.

When applying essential oils to cats, apply the oils between the toes and on the pad of the foot when doing foot applications. Be sure to avoid getting oils in the eyes. If oils get into the eye, flush with milk as needed.

Important: The author is not a vet. This article is written for entertainment purposes and to offer inspiration for considering alternative treatments. This article is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease or physical affliction. Always consult your veterinarian before using essential oils or any home remedies on your pet. Click here to find a holistic vet in your area.

Great Essential Oils for Cats:

Frankincense: Anxiety, Colitis, Inflammation, Infections, Insect/Snake Bites, Scarring, Tumors, Warts
Helichyrsum: Bleeding, Liver Issues, Nerve Damage, Wound Care
Lavender: Abscesses, Anxiety, Allergies, Burns, Conjunctivitis, Inflammation, Tumors, Vertigo, Wound Care
Lemon: Anxiety, Electrolyte Balance, Immune Boost, Infections, Lymph Function, Claw Strength
Melissa (Lemon Balm): Anxiety, Chronic Cough, Depression, Flu, Herpes, Immune Support
Oregano: Bronchitis, Colds, Infections, MRSA, Ringworm, Step, Staph
Peppermint: Asthma, Bronchitis, Diarrhea, Fever, Heatstroke, Inflammation, Muscle Pain, Ulcers

Behavior: Chamomile and lavender oils are great for helping with behavioral issues. The oils can be diluted with fractionated coconut oil or olive oil and applied to the paws or diffused into a diffuser. These oils are also great for stress reduction.

Flea Repellent: In a large spray bottle, put 5 drops of rosemary essential oil and fill the remainder of the bottle with water. Lightly spray the cat, being careful to avoid the eyes. Reapply as needed for flea prevention.

Share this post. Tweet: Do you use any of these great #essentialoils for #cats? http://bit.ly/1NmbKUv via @itsolivialane

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Living My Life Like It's Golden Smoothie Recipe [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

This smoothie is the perfect mid-afternoon snack for those of us with a sweet tooth!

Living My Life Like It's Golden Smoothie

Source: www.oliviacleansgreen.com

Course: Beverages

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 mango
• ¹⁄₂ c pineapple
• 1 banana
• ¹⁄₂ c orange juice (or 1/2 peeled orange)
• ¹⁄₂ c water
• 4-5 ice cubes (optional)
• 1 T coconut oil
• 2 T chia seeds.

Directions

1. It's tastiest if you freeze the fruits first but sometimes that just doesn't happen. Whateves. That's why God (or the freezer) made ice cubes.
2. Blend everything together according to your blender's instructions, share with a friend, and enjoy!

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LMLLIG smoothie is a thick glass of sunshine! It is impossible to be in a bad mood and drink this. (I dare you to try!) 

Maybe it was just the sugar spike, but the first time I drank this I felt overwhelmed with joy. I felt intense gratitude over all the awesome things in my life: my Vitamix (I seriously love that thing), all the healthy food I have access to, Richard's mom who packed a mango for us (I rarely buy them, but they're so good!) and showed us how to properly cut it, and that I am eating more adventurously and healthfully thanks to studying at Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  

Tell me, what are you grateful for today? Leave a comment and let's celebrate together!

(PS Check out the song that inspired the name of this smoothie: Jill Scott - Golden )

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5 Ways to Green Clean Stainless Steel

Stainless steel appliances are everywhere these days. Unfortunately, so are our fingerprints! Here are five bright ideas for keeping the stainless steel in your home brilliant without using toxic chemicals.

1. Olive Oil 
Blogger Natural Mommie polished her stainless steel fridge with just water and olive oil. First, she wiped the refrigerator down with a wet cloth. Then she poured 1 TBS olive oil on another cloth and used that to buff away watermarks and smudges. (Check out her post to see awesome before and after pics.)

2. Flour
A surprising trick I learned from BrightNest: "To keep a stainless steel sink from losing its luster, sprinkle white flour throughout your dry sink. Rub it lightly with a dry, soft cloth and let it sit for a few minutes. Rinse the flour away and watch your sink shine."(Read more amazing things flour can do: Flour Power: 6 Clever Household Uses for Flour.)

3. Microfiber Cloth
E-Cloth makes a microfiber cloth designed specifically for cleaning stainless steel. You can use it to clean with just a spritz of water and buff dry with a finished cloth. I have this, though truthfully I'm not sure I noticed a significant difference between using the specialized cloth and the general purpose e-cloths. Both seem to work fine.

4. Bon Ami Powder Cleanser
I use Bon Ami to clean all the stainless steel in my home. It's ideal for sinks, pans, and surfaces that can be rinsed. Still, I even used it on the fridge in my old apartment and to clean small rust stains from a client's dishwasher. The problem with using this on appliances is you to must be careful to not use much product, wet wipe many times to remove product, and be sure to buff dry. It can be time consuming, but the results are nice. It's the only thing that worked to remove rust stains for me. (If your supermarket doesn't sell Bon Ami, you can buy a 12 pack on Amazon at a pretty good price.)

5. Better Life's Einshine & what-EVER!
Einshine is a completely natural ("GMO free, cruelty free, made in the USA, fragrance free, sulfate free and petroleum free.")  stainless steel cleaner made by Better Life. I haven't tried Einshine, but if it's anything like the Better Life products I did try it's probably awesome! I still use their what-EVER! all-purpose cleaner to shine up my little toaster.

What do you use to clean stainless steel?

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Interview & Giveaway: BHAVA Vegan, Organic Shoes!

I've partnered with BHAVA studio to host an awesome giveaway: this pair of designer cruelty-free shoes made with recycled and organic materials! You can enter today through August 31st using the widget at the bottom of this post.

First, check out my interview with designer Francisca Pineda, the co-founder of Bhava.

What does Bhava mean?
Bhava is often translated as a feeling, or emotion, in sanskrit, turns out this was a great match for the reaction we get from those who first see our collection.

What inspired you to start a vegan shoe company?
This is very personal. The reasons are too many to mention, but I personally witnessed the disabling effects of the toxic chemicals used in the majority of leather production. In addition, after taking an Ethical Fashion class in FIT I learned the disastrous effects of our decisions as designers and consumers. I made a personal promise to myself to make a change, the thought of profiting from such a destructive system was no longer an option for me. I believe we all have different callings, we are all drawn to our unique causes and experiences.

Can you talk a little bit about the organic and recycled materials you work with?
We are as sustainable with every component of our shoes as possible, from the Japanese 100% recycled breathable ultrasuede outer, to its durability, to our hand woven cotton and reclaimed wood heels.

Bhava is also proud to support organic farming practices by purchasing from suppliers we know care about our environment as much as we do. Our organic cotton lining supplier uses ayurvedic herbs for the natural and sustainable dying process of the fabrics. I love the idea of supporting ancient and time tested medicinal practices through fashion.

I live every aspect of my life as naturally as possible, from organic make-up to and natural oils to everything I eat. It wasn’t until the last few years that I realized how important what we wear and the business practices we support are to our planet and its inhabitants.

What's your favorite way to wear Bhava shoes?
All our shoes are my favorites but I love how versatile the Tyler wedge has turned out to be. They look great casual with shorts or with an organic cotton dress like the one I'm wearing here by Tara St. James.

Okay, now for the giveaway. I hope you'll enter and tell your friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carmen sandal comes in 3 colors: grey, sunset, and teal. Winner picks color and size (whole sizes 6-10).

Connect with Bhava: Website // Facebook // Twitter

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Quinoa Bowl That Tastes Just Like Blueberry Pancakes [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Have a hankering for pancakes but no time to make them? Maybe you're avoiding gluten and sugar. Either way, try my Bootleg Blueberry Pancakes! Made in a single pot with high protein quinoa and superfood blueberries, this is just as tasty as a stack of blueberry pancakes, but easier to make and way healthier. This recipe makes about 4 servings so you can have "pancakes" for breakfast all week or share with friends. Yum!

Quinoa Bowl That Tastes Just Like Blueberry Pancakes

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Total Time: 30 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 c quinoa
• 2 c almond milk
• ¹⁄₂ t pure almond extract
• ¹⁄₂ c blueberries (I used wild frozen)
• 1 banana
• 4 tsp maple syrup
• 2 TBS coconut oil
• cinnamon to taste
• sea salt. to taste

Directions

1. Rinse the quinoa a lot. It's got natural pesticide coating it. It won't make you sick but it tastes terrible.
2. Shake out the water.
3. Add quionoa to a sauce pan.
4. Toss it around over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes to toast the quinoa and let some of the water evaporate.
5. Add milk.
6. Stir in blueberries.
7. Bring to boil.
8. Turn heat superlow, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
9. Take off burner for 5 minutes.
10. Remove lid and fork fluff.
11. Spoon into bowls.
12. Slice bananas over it.
13. Drizzle a little maple syrup and (about 1/2 melted TBS per bowl) coconut oil over it. Seriously, do not be a punk and skip the coconut oil! It's a healthy fat and takes this cereal over the moon.
14. Add a supershake of cinnamon. The spice makes this taste even sweeter so you don't need as much maple syrup. I also added a dash of sea salt because I love salty sweet.
15. Enjoy some today and save some for tomorrow, if you can.

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Please let me know if you try this. I think you'll love it! Also, what's your favorite way to enjoy quinoa for breakfast?

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I Love My Granny Cart!

Today, I'm taking a moment to give myself and Richard a high-five. We've survived over one year of living outside NYC without owning a car. While bikes and the occasional ZipCar rental were helpful, I don't think we could've done it without our granny cart.

Me and my granny cart, saving the planet! <3

I got my sturdy shopping cart for $30 at a hardware store on Flatbush Avenue in Park Slope. It's held up pretty well over the 4 years of weekly trips to market. In Brooklyn, with my granny cart, I just came off as practical beyond my years. In Providence, using a shopping cart is the equivalent of truly letting your freaky flag fly. So far Richard and I are the only people I've see in Providence using one. Even the senior citizens here either drive or schlep their groceries home by hand!

I don't care. We live 20 minutes walk away from our grocery store. There is no way in heck I'm hauling more than a a tub of tofu and a bunch of bananas without this thing! My shopping cart simplifies my life by helping me save the planet (and money) and stay in shape by walking home without hurting myself.
 
Do you have a granny cart? Would you use one? Check out this NY Times article, "There's a Younger Hand On the Granny Cart."

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3 Ways to Kill Germs on a Sponge

Cleaning with a gross sponge can actually cause more harm than good. In addition to smelling foul, a dirty sponge can spread mold, bacteria, and viruses like Salmonella and E. Coli from one surface to another. Yummers!

According to a 2007 article in Science Daily, some scientist soaked sponges in ground beef and discovered these are the two best methods for inactivating bacteria, yeasts, and molds on sponges:

• Microwave sponge on high for one minute. This kills 99.99999% of bacteria. I do this and it's the one thing keeping my microwave from being curbed. It also makes me wonder what else the microwave can kill, but that's another blog post.
• Run through the dishwasher. So long as you use the drying cycle, this kills 99.9998% of bacteria.

The same study concluded that the following techniques are pretty much a waste of time:

• Soaking for three minutes in a 10% chlorine bleach solution
• Soaking in lemon juice 
• Soaking in deionized water for one minute

I promised three ways, didn't I? Here's the third:

• Leave the sponge out in the sun on a superhot and sunny day and let the UV rays blast those bacteria to kingdom come! This tip comes from Halle at Whole Lifestyle Nutrition. Read her blog post on her experience. I have no scientific evidence or personal anecdote to back this up, but I share it because it seems like a neat idea.

How do you clean your sponges? 

Also, I can't resist: The Sun reports, "Girl Eats 4,000 Bathroom Sponges."

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