The Magical Bean

If you don't care about your food, where it comes from or what is in it, then this post isn't for you.

But if you are like me and are a label reader, and when you start seeing things you can't pronounce on the label you put it back. (Which incidentally, I am an engineer and Wonderful Man is a scientist, we can pronounce a lot of those crazy things on labels. Since I do the grocery shopping, I limit it to two crazy multi-syllable additives that will preserve me before I die.)

No, I am not some liberal, tree hugger, organic wearing, hippie. Although, I do chose to buy what I CAN AFFORD organic. This means if I can get the same exact item at my local employee owned grocer for half the price as my local food coop, I go where it is cheaper!

Well, my shopping/spending/food habits are the point of this post, I want to point a few things out about food in general, and more specifically the BEAN.

Beans are great, we eat a lot of them. Mainly, because they are cheap and when mixed equally with rice, the two create the PERFECT PROTEIN!!!

Antioxidants are the real point of this post. Do you know what they are? I have a funny story (well, to me at least) about antioxidants.

But, first the definition given to us by The Mayo Clinic:  "neutralize free radicals, which are toxic byproducts of natural cell metabolism. Free radicals can also be introduced into the body by exposure to certain substances, such as cigarette smoke, sunlight or pesticides."

Time out for my Funny Story: When I took a nutrition class in college for my biology credit, we learned about antioxidants and "free radicals". It was the summer of my second year, and I was still overly political, very conservative and anti-anything-liberal (I have since calmed WAY DOWN). Now it was summer and the last thing I was doing in class was paying attention, but when the teacher said we should consume more foods which contain these antioxidants to neutralize the 'free radicals'. I had a mini panic attack thinking about how what food we consume could turn a person liberal. I thought this for about 10 seconds, when someone else in the class asked what a 'free radical' was. I felt like a complete idiot. Food can't change your political affiliations! Although, we are what we eat!

So, NO! 'Free Radicals' are not going to make you go all crazy tree hugger, anti-government on us. (We need people like that, though! They help to get our government to do things!) They can be beneficial in some bodily processes. Although, they tend to do more harm than good. (Mayo Clinic)

I am going to make an analogy here to explain how I understand 'free radicals' and antioxidants.

For example your body is a piece of Iron. And we all know that iron rusts. Well that rust is caused by oxidation. Rust can be prevented in a number of ways, one way is to coat the iron, so that water can not reach the surface of the metal. In this example, water would be the 'free radical' and the coating on the iron the antioxidant. As long as the coating is good, the iron will not rust. So, as long as we have a good 'coating' of antioxidants, we will be able to stop some of the affects of 'free radicals'.

That sounds simple enough, right? So, what foods have good levels of antioxidants?

Well, green tea comes to mind right? How about Blueberries?

According to the USDA's Antioxidant Scorecard (which I couldn't find how they scored the items...) Blueberries have the highest antioxidant properties! (1 cup of blueberries scored 9,019 while 1 cup of green tea scored 2,231) (Prevention)

So what about our magic beans?

1/2 cup of cooked pinto beans scored 4, 983
1/2 cup of cooked red kidney beans scored 5,569

That is pretty good. Next week I will have a recipe for beans to share with you!

Sources:
The Mayo Clinic Website (link)

Prevention; Beyond tea: Antioxidant stars; Feb2006, Vol. 58 Issue 2, p73

Homemaking Tuesday: Fruit Flies

If you have never had fruit flies you are one lucky clean freak!

It is not even summer yet, and the combination of poorly covered food in the worm box and bananas perfect for banana bread led to a breeding ground explosion in my kitchen.

The first solution is to fix the worm box. Done.

Then next get rid of the bananas. Done. We ate a lot of banana bread this week.

Lastly, clean the kitchen. So I clean it. Then we left for the weekend. I thought they would be gone.

Nope. While their numbers have greatly been reduced, we still have those pesky flies. So, I went to pintrest. I found a few good home remedies for fruit flies. So I pick three and decided to see which was the best.

Jar number one came from Musings of a Glamorpuss, Straight Red Wine Vinegar.

Jar number two comes from Home Your Way, Apple Cider Vinegar and fruit juice.

Jar number three, from Skruben, Apple Cider Vinegar and dish soap.

Fly Trap Jars, from left to right, jars 1, 2, and 3.

I made my jars, set them up in the heart of the breeding ground and walked away.

I checked them before bed, and I had caught 2... I checked then in the morning before my work out, 5... Not the miracle I was hoping for.

The flies were interested in every jar and I thought maybe the holes weren't big enough. So I made bigger holes and let them sit until after work.

And of course this whole time I have been thinking of that saying "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"...

Well after having the jar sit out for almost 36 hours I am impressed and a little disappointed.

Jar 1 seems to have been doing the best.

Red Wine Vinegar Fly Trap Results.

Jar 2 is catching a few too.

Cider Vinegar and Fruit Juice Trap.

Jar 3, straight vinegar... Doesn't work, just like I thought.

Now, I am going to  put out a new jar with some honey water. Let's wee how that does!

After 48 hours, Not a single fly!

So, but now we have been living with these flies for over a week, and while the traps are working they are not working fast enough! So, I gave in to Wonderful Man's suggestions and we got some fly ribbon.

We set one up and let it hang over two nights, and changed it. Then hung another. Now we are on the third ribbon and the flies are mostly gone!! 

What is the lesson here?

Cover your worm box completely, and don't just throw stuff in.

Keep super ripe bananas far away from the box.

Sometimes, you have to give in and use a product that works fast!

*By the way: I did check the package of Fly Ribbon and it said Chemical Free!*

Mondays...

Mondays are probably the worst day EVER!

After a nice relaxing weekend, BAM! Back to structure and things you HAVE to do!

Mondays are not usually that bad for me, but lately I have not being looking forward to them.

Anyway, the last few weeks have been hard, but I have a surprise for everyone that I think won't be ready until September, but I know everyone will enjoy it! If not, it is because you don't have a heart. *Just joking!!*

Well, I have been thinking of a few things that need to be talked about, some are some MAJOR mishaps, and others are new things.

So for this week, I will post those posts that were supposed to be posted two or three weeks ago...

The Shower Experiment, is going to be postponed for a little bit, I am having a logistical problem!

So, Homemaking Tuesday will be about a worm box mishap and fruit flies. Wednesday, Beans and their Antioxidants; Thursday, My love for the Dollar Store, honestly, it is a GREAT store!! And Friday, we will see what happens.

How have you readers been? How were your weekends?

The Circle of Life

Life is always interesting. When looking at the big picture it is even more interesting.

It starts out even before birth, it is so fragile at this state. Take Birds for example. They must sit and keep those eggs warm through the cool of the early spring months. Leaving the nest to eat opens it up for predators to eat or steal the eggs. In humans, the risk of a miscarriage is so high in the first critical weeks many wait to announce to the world. There are even some who will never be able to experience the joy of pregnancy and those who will be lucky enough to never experience the sorrow of miscarriages or still births.

But we all experience the other end of the circle of life, Death.

Sometimes it is close, and other times it is far. Sometimes it is anticipated, and other times it is a great surprise and shock.

My first experience with death was in the 6th grade. My science teacher died of a brain aneurysm. The next was a family friend who died of cancer.

I was young and didn't quite understand.

I still don't.

A year or so ago a wonderful friend died from an inoperable Brain Tumor. She was much older, and many believed it was her time. I remember her smile. How she would always remember the little details. The last time I saw her, I remember the hug she gave me, the beautiful smile, and how she asked how I was doing. She always made time for me.

Then this last week, my crazy grandfather, who swore he was going to out live us all, died. The circumstances are still unknown, but he suffered a stroke a while back, and it is believed to be from complications. It has been much harder on my dad, than he lets be known, but I can tell. I will always remember the crazy ideas he had, and how he always ate salted bananas.

Also this week, a family I used to babysit for lost their oldest son.

Someone told me that you know you are old when you start hearing about more funerals than weddings.

I understand that as we enter into this life, we must also exit it. It hasn't been until just these last few months have I realized how fragile it all is. I want to keep all of my loved ones close so that I can watch over and protect. I don't want to lose anymore. I don't want any to lose loved ones anymore.

Death in the Family

There will not be any more post this week, my Grandfather died, and I need some time to accept and adjust.

The Shower Experiment

I am really looking forward to doing this experiment, but I didn't get a nap today, and I REALLY wanted one... Something about the weather changing to 50 to 70 and our house being so hot! This means, I also didn't get the pictures I want/need to start this. So, tomorrow I will do it, I am going to bed early tonight!

I would, though, like to wet your appetite on what the experiment actually is. I hinted at it a few weeks ago. Daily Shower Sprays, we have all seen them in the store, but do they work?

I have never been a fan of them, it is the chemicals in them. but then again I have never been a huge fan of cleaning the bathroom because of the chemicals used to clean.

So I did some looking, and found two DIY shower cleaners I am going to test over the course of 3 months!! The whole summer!!!

I am going to try to do a post once or twice a month to tell you what is happening, good and bad!

Monday Musing

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a very lazy Saturday, which I enjoyed very much! Wonderful Man is almost done with summer school and we are slowly making plans for our summer!

This weekend we will be traveling to Seattle to visit my family and for me to run a 10k.

I wanted to talk a bit about water today, but I think I am going to wait on that. This week the plan is for Tuesday to talk about our new experiment with daily shower sprays, Wednesday I have some interesting information on the antioxidants in beans, Thursday, The Dollar Store, and Friday I don't think there will be a post. That's the plan, we will see what happens. Next week we WILL have the next post in the car maintenance series.

Have a great Monday everyone! The sun is back and we are having a high of 71! We are excited!! No more highs of 50 until October, we hope!!

Cleaning Chart Printable

Yesterday's post was not what I was going for. Honestly! Once I started seeing information about beans being linked to food poisoning, I had to let the world know!

So after the doom and gloom post we need some sunshine over here! Really, I need some sun! It is less than 2 weeks to the first day of summer and we are worried about our garden freezing! If not about freezing, about being flooded!

So in light of some much needed sunshine, I made the cleaning list to hopefully brighten your cleaning time! I hope you enjoy!

And thanks to the new Google Drive program I can easily share these with you! Images are for just the kitchen schedule, but each color scheme has all the rooms we covered plus a daily chart. Click on the link in under the image for a link to the pdf printable!

Enjoy!

Bright 

Clay

Earth Tones

Green and Pink

Lavender

Pinks

Purples

Spring

Summer

Basic

Sunset

Can Beans be Toxic?

YES!!

I had a panic attack while I was researching for our next focus, beans.

RED KIDNEY BEANS ARE TOXIC!!

Red Kidney Beans, are they a possible source for food poisoning?

Don't freak out and get rid of all your kidney beans, I almost did, but I started to research more and what I found blows my mind as too why this isn't common knowledge! So lets make it!!

First off, when cook PROPERLY red kidneys beans are HARMLESS.

But how are you supposed to PROPERLY cook red kidney beans? Can't I just cook them like I cook all my other beans?

According the the FDA and the Public Health Laboratory Services of the UK, the proper and safe cooking method for RED KIDNEY BEANS is:

Soak in water for AT LEAST 5 HOURS. Then Rinse, and with fresh water briskly boil for 10 MINUTES, stirring occasionally. After this process you can continue to cook how ever you desire, on the stove or in you slow cooker, or you can eat them. (Source)

OK, so now that we know how to cook our red kidney beans, what is this toxic? What does it do? Is it in all beans? Can they kill me?

The toxin in red kidney beans is a lectin. Lectins are

Protein or glycoprotein substances, usually of plant origin, that bind to sugar moieties in cell walls or membranes and thereby change the physiology of the membrane to cause agglutination, mitosis, or other biochemical changes in the cell (Source)

To me, who is not a biologist, that means, that lectins change the chemicals of the cells of my body... (but so does the Common Cold, please don't freak out people!)

But the toxin in red kidney beans is a more specific lectin, a hemagglutinin:

Agents that cause agglutination of red blood cells. They include antibodies, blood group antigens, lectins, autoimmune factors, bacterial, viral, or parasitic blood agglutinins, etc (Source)

This means, something that effect the blood, good or bad.

But to be the most specific, the toxin is, Phytohemagglutinin:

Mucoproteins isolated from the kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris); some of them are mitogenic to lymphocytes, others agglutinate all or certain types of erythrocytes or lymphocytes. They are used mainly in the study of immune mechanisms and in cell culture (Source)

After all the science mumbo jumbo, the toxin in red Kidney beans is a food borne Pathogen, a Natural Toxin. Honestly, I am not to worried about it, because 1) I have never gotten food poisoning, and 2) I am going to start cooking my beans properly!

So what does the Phytohemagglutinin do to us? It is a natural toxin, so be prepared for vomit! 

The onset time from consumption of raw or undercooked kidney beans to symptoms varies from between 1 to 3 hours. Onset is usually marked by extreme nausea, followed by vomiting, which may be very severe. Diarrhea develops somewhat later (from one to a few hours), and some persons report abdominal pain. Some persons have been hospitalized, but recovery is usually rapid (3 - 4 h after onset of symptoms) and spontaneous. (Source)

That does sound like a horrible case of food poisoning! And No! Beans will not kill you, unless you do not replenish liquids lost from vomiting or diarrhea. PLEASE, GO TO A DOCTOR IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE SERVE FOOD POISONING!!

Is this toxin in other beans? Yes it is! But not in nearly the same toxic quantities!

White kidney beans, another variety of Phaseolus vulgaris, contain about one-third the amount of toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% the amount that red kidney beans contain. (Source)

Beans are safe to eat, but just like undercooked or improperly cooked meat, they can cause food poisoning!

Next week well will talk about the antioxidant properties of beans!






Sources:
FDA Bad Bug Book, 2011, accessed 6 June 2012; http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodborneIllness/FoodborneIllnessFoodbornePathogensNaturalToxins/BadBugBook/ucm071092.htm?utm_campaign=Google2&utm_source=fdaSearch&utm_medium=website&utm_term=red%20kidney%20beans,%20phytohaemagglutinin&utm_content=2

Baking Soda Part Three: Everyday Health and Beauty Uses

I hope by now, you have purchased a large box of baking soda. There are so many great uses.

Like putting out a grease fire in the kitchen. My younger brother, still does not believe this will work, and must test it at least twice a year.... But, I digress, although he would benefit greatly from this blog.

Have you uses baking soda for any health or beauty uses?

I have seen on pintrest some uses, some I already knew, and some I want to try.

Bee Sting relief: Mix baking soda and water into a paste. glob over sting. (my mother taught me this, and it works miracles, and great for little kids)

Tooth paste substitute/Whitener: I knew you could use baking soda as a tooth paste substitute, and that it has whitening properties, but never put them together. I found this great recipe on Pintrest for whitening your teeth, be careful whitening your teeth can lead to sensitive teeth! I am looking forward to try this after I get these braces off my teeth! (Source: The Budget Diet)

Source

Shampoo: If you have super oily hair, baking soda will help with that! Try using it as a shampoo once a month. Or you can join the "no 'poo" movement. I think it is a little to 'hippie' for me. I already only wash my hair twice a week, and love my 97% natural shampoo. I thought CrunchyBetty wrote a post about baking soda Shampoo, but I can't find it... So check out this place.

Source

Microderm abrasion: Mix 3 parts Baking Soda with 1 part water, gentle apply to face in a circular motion, rise. I want to try this. I have horribly dry skin, and currently use a Microderm Abrasion set I purchase for and arm and a leg, and I love it, but am not quite ready to pay again...

Source

Sorry, none of these images are mine, I linked all sources, so please don't come after me. My camera is not working right... I used it last for the tire change post, in which it was drizzling...

Week To Clean...

Do you remember that we have been working on this plan to have your house clean in a week?

Well it has been nagging at me to finish it. So, we are going to finish today, and Friday I promise to have for you a cute printable for you to use.

Let's back track for a moment and figure out where we are.

Monday: Kitchen

Tuesday:  Bedrooms

Wednesday: Bathrooms

Thursday: Living/Family Rooms

Friday: Dining Room

Saturday: Tidy Day

We haven't talked about cleaning living rooms or family rooms. But first, lets define these rooms. We always had a living room and a family room growing up and I never understood why we needed two sitting rooms...

According to Wikipedia a Living Room is a room in a house that is set aside for relaxing and socializing. It is can be to a front room, when located near the front of the house. The term Living Room was coined around the 18th century.

And a Family Room is a room in a house that is where the family gathers for entertainment or recreation. It usually adjacent to the kitchen and has doors leading outside or to a garden. When a house has both a living room and a family room, the living room is the more formal sitting area.

There is also a Great Room, which is the combination of the two, living and family rooms, into one large unified room. In my home we have a great room, I just learned this...

Here is the Thursday List:

Thursday: Large Sitting Rooms Day!

Things to be done EVERY THURSDAY:

Pick up and take care of out of place items

Vacuum

Dust

Vacuum or wipe off couches

Fold and put away blankets

Everyday:

Fold and put away blankets

Replace pillows

Take dishes back to kitchen

Put remotes in their home

Monthly (or as needed):

Clean out under the couches

Check Bookshelves and reshelve* anything

Wipe down walls

Pretty simple, but for some reason I hate cleaning this room. Maybe it is because we only have the giant Dinning/Living/Family/Entry Room...

Friday's cleaning list is the Dinning Room, and I chose this room for Friday because it is the start of the weekend, and who wants to be cleaning the the weekend. Also for Saturday, it is a just a tidy day. That is because weekends should be spent with family and friends, not cleaning your house.

Friday: Dinning Room Day!

Things to be done EVERY FRIDAY:

Dust

Change table cloth

Vacuum or mop

Wipe down chairs

Everyday:

Wipe off table

Sweep (or vacuum, if needed)

Monthly (or as needed):

Polish table

There is our Week to Clean cleaning list. Friday, I will have a cute printable for you, I hope. I have a huge quilting project I am working on. And cutting 1.5 inch strips is more time consuming than one would think!

*Reshelve-Is that right? I looked it up and got confused. Anyone?

Vacation Recap

It is another Monday, and I just want to crawl back into bed! It was a long weekend. Last weekend, I went on a much needed vacation.

If you can call driving over 1000 miles and running a 10k a vacation.

I went to visit a friend and her family, we are very close and we all went to a condo in Westport, to celebrate her dad's birthday and Memorial day.

Mariners Baseball game, I drove from home straight to the game!

US Coast Guard Station from 1939-74, now a museum.

Sea lions hanging out on a slip, we could get really close!

But, Memorial Day is much more than vacations. At Westport we attended a Memorial service for those lost at sea from this small port community. My friend's Dad, served in the Navy, and it was wonderful to see him honoring those who served and us as family and friends honoring him for serving.

Memorial Day also reminds me of this experience I had a few years ago:


I am going to take a moment and break from the normal banter of my life. The other day, I had an wonderful experience and want the world to experience it also! Now, I am the one to criticize the government and complain about how I feel about these drawn out wars (or occupations or whatever they want to call them), and how they seem to be ridiculous. But, on the same hand, I will never ever degrade those that served, have served or will serve to protect my freedom and rights, even the right I have to post this. This is to everyone, those that have, will, or are serving, those married, engaged, dating, children, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, friends, enemies, everyone.


I drove my sister to Spokane for an eye doctor appointment the other day. We were running a little late (just about 15 minutes). We went it, she was looked at, and then send out back out to the waiting room, I think they were low on rooms. As we were sitting in the waiting area, there was an elderly couple and another elderly man. They had a conversation that went more or less like this  (names are not real, we never actually caught what they were...)


Jerry: To other elderly man, Bob "You still Driving?"
Bob: Yes, how about you?
Jerry: Yes, how old are you?
Bob: 90, you?
Jerry: 86. Did you serve?
Bob: Yes, all three.
Jerry's Wife: All three?! Jerry served in WWII and Korea.
Bob: I served in Italy during the big war, during Korea, and in Nam (he never once said Veitnam, only Nam.)
Jerry: I served in Europe, where did you serve?
Bob: Italy. I flew B-29's. I flew through Korea and in Nam.
Jerry: I was in the amphibious attack at (did not catch the place) he is then called into the doctor's office.
Jerry's Wife: What did you do in Korea? I didn't know they had fighters?
Bob: I didn't fly in Korea. I flew missions to Russia during the Cold War.
Jerry's Wife: Oh. What did you do in Nam?
Bob: I flew. It is horrible. We would lose 10 at a time. One plane would go down, and we would lose them all. We stopped saying how many men we lost, and starting talking how many planes.
Jerry's Wife: You are very lucky.
Bob: I served from '41 to '75. I never came out of a mission with a scratch. On time I bullet came through the side of the plane and hit my boot, but it just fell to the ground.


The conversation went to about how their friends are dieing, and how the reunions for the their groups are dwindling. It was a very humbling experience to be apart of, listening to those men talk about their past. I was able to tell Bob, thank you for serving, I am not sure he heard me, I started to tear up as I did.

To all of those service members, Thank you. To my Grandfather, who served in WWII; Papa, who served in Vietnam; to my Aunt, who is serving now; and to my Cousin, who is currently in the Middle East, Thank you! (When this was written back in the beginning of 2011, my cousin was serving in the Middle East, he is now home safe with his family!)

Pintrest!

With 10 followers!!! Engineering Homemaking is now pinning on Pintrest!

http://pinterest.com/engineerhome/

Also, to set up the pintrest account I had to open a twitter account... so follow there too!

And The Winner is...

Annie!

Who by the way, is a) the furthest away reader I have, and b) writes the best comments!

Watch the mail a package is coming your way, Annie!

And because she was the ONLY participate in the give away, she get TWO reusable odor absorbers!