I'm also stocking up for my first shows of the year! I decided not to do as many summer shows this year.  Mostly because of the heat and my skin care items not holding up as well as I'd like in the heat and to also spend a bit more time with the family. I have so many new items to share with you all! Many new upcycled items including a new crochet tote bag made from plastic shopping bags, a few different styles of market bags made from old t-shirts, and some really cute garden aprons made from old jeans. I'll also be introducing a few new skin care items including tinted lip balms and lotions with sunscreen in them (all natural/organic ingredients, of course). And of course I'll have all my old favorites with me!

The second show I'll be participating in is the Summer Fun at Arlington Gardens on Saturday, June 13th from 10am-4pm. I'll be there selling all my handcrafted goodies as well as selling Wildtree products with my team member, Nykki. There will be many great direct sales ladies there, local businesses inside the mall, local artists, and food trucks. We will also have some bins set up to accept pet food donations for the Nevada Humane Society. You can see all the event details on the Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/SummerFunatArlingtonGardens.

I hope to see all you locals at the events!  As always, if you need something custom, I'm happy to make that something special for you!

After doing my research into the company, I went back to the farmers market the next week and signed up to become a rep.  As a stay at home mom, I figured this would be a good way to earn a few extra dollars, or at least some free groceries with food that I really loved.  And the rest, as they say is, is history.  

Today I'd like to share a simple recipe with you.  It reminds me of spring and summer and it is SO simple to make.  (Did I also mention how easy and simple everything is to cook with as well?  I have numerous friends who literally, DO NOT cook, and I have had them make plenty of meals using Wildtree freezer meals, and they love them!  But I digress...)  This recipe is great for a light dessert on a hot day, or if you're in a pinch and need to make something for a pot luck.  Or if you just feel like having some dessert (hey, who doesn't?).  This recipe took me all of about 15-20min to make and my kiddos were even able to help me.  So here is goes, my yummy cheesecake recipe using the Very Berry Cheesecake blend from Wildtree:

8 oz organic cream cheese, softened
8 oz organic whipping cream
1-2 tsp organic sugar (optional)
1 pre-made organic graham cracker pie crust or 1 box organic graham crackers & a tbsp or two of organic butter, melted
1 cup organic berries (your choice)
2 tbsp Wildtree Very Berry Cheesecake mix (purchase here) 

If you are not using a pre-made pie crust, take the graham crackers (about 8-10 full crackers) and mix them in a food processor.  Melt the butter and mix with the graham cracker crumbs.  Poor into a pie tin or glass and form your crust.  Next, using a hand mixer, whip the whipping cream until soft peaks are formed.  Add in the softened cream cheese, Very Berry Cheesecake mix, and optional sugar and mix together thoroughly.  Pour mixture into the pie crust, top with berries and refrigerate until ready to serve.  

Easy, right?  If you're a fan of the other cheesecake mixes, you can also substitute those for the berry mix as well.  The Lemon Lime cheesecake mix is fabulous with a shredded coconut topping and a little lemon & lime zest.  The Chocolate Pumpkin cheesecake mix is also great with some chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, or melted chocolate drizzled on top as well.  When I made the pumpkin recipe, I also added in a few tablespoons of pumpkin as well (since I had some on hand from another recipe).  There are so many ways to customize these recipes!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!  As you can see, I've made this on several occasions.  I'm not much of a baker (I'm a much better cook), so these types of recipes are perfect for me!  And everyone loves them!

If you'd like to see more of my recipes, please stop by my new facebook page and check it out: www.facebook.com/MeganGisiWildtree,  You can also visit my website to order or learn more about the company for yourself: www.mywildtree.com/MeganGisi.  If you are interested in joining my team and earning a little extra cash and/or groceries, feel free to message me anytime!  I am also hosting monthly Freezer Meal Workshops, so if you're interested in making 10 meals in about 2 hours, stop by my events on the facebook page to see more (and you don't need to be local to me to take advantage of these!).

I actually started this blog post about 5 months ago. With all the holiday shows that came up in the fall, I honestly just didn't have the motivation to stick to an exercise routine. I didn't gain anything, and I wasn't losing anything either. Luckily, a friend of mine was on a similar journey. Also a busy mom, she started changing the way she ate and exercised. She also started up a website and started posting her results. You could say this was my virtual butt-kicker to get back on track with my goals. She started a group on Facebook for people to get back on track and get support in their healthier lifestyles and it was perfect for me. If you've read any of my other posts, you know already we are on a healthier eating plan, and it's been a great change! I love eating organic/local/non-gmo! And it's been a great transition and something that we actually stick to. Joining this group, was just my extra kick in the butt. 

So what did I do differently and how did I start to lose weight without dieting? It's been numerous little changes that have helped.  And they didn't happen all at once.  This has been a slow change, but one that I've been able to stick with.  And it will be one that I can continue to stick with.  Yes, it's become a "lifestyle change".  (I know, that sounds so cliche, but it's the best description for what this is.) Ok, so here is a list of the things that I've done:

5. Stop eating 4hrs before bed
This one has helped me out so much!  If you are a fan of my facebook page, you know I tend to be a nightowl.  And I was usually always snacking late while I worked.  I now make it a point to stop eating after 9:00pm and just drink water.  By letting my body go into a 12hr fast at night, it has sped up my metabolism and has helped me to lose weight as well. 

And that's it!  Those are the changes that I've made the last few months to get back into shape.  One of the things that has been helpful too is that normally with a "diet", you are following an eating plan that is super strict with food and you are eliminating things.  And by eliminating them, it only makes you want them more.  You might be able to stick to not having them for a while, but once you fall off the wagon, you usually fall pretty hard (or maybe that was just me...).  What I like about this change is that I haven't eliminated anything.  If we go out to a party or out to eat, I make a conscious effort to eat really healthy and make good choices about what I'm eating.  If there's a birthday cake or something, I don't necessarily say no.  I might have a small slice.  And I think because I'm in the mind frame that I CAN still have it, I don't want it as much.  By telling myself that I CAN'T have it, it just makes me want it that much more.  I know it's all in my head, and having the right frame of mind can make all the difference in the world.  

When I started with these groups this past fall, it was during my busiest time of year for shows and of course during the holidays.  I'm so glad I started it when I did!  I know most people don't want to try and watch what they eat during the holidays and they wait to do a New Years resolution.  I'm not a resolution kind of girl though.  If I have a goal, I want to start working on it right away.  The cool part about starting during the holidays was that I actually lost 10 lbs (and over 13"!), instead of gaining them.  And now I'm motivated to keep going and lose more.  I'm loving that I'm fitting back into my old sizes of clothes and that by working out everyday, I'm getting stronger and less "jiggly" (as my youngest would say). I'm happy to be getting back to me.  By taking time for myself, I think this has helped me to be a better mom and wife as well - being more active and less stressed out.

If you need a little more inspiration to start (or keep going) on your own fitness or health journey, here are some great links that have inspired me:

Mommy Transformed - Mind Body Spirit  - This is my friends Facebook page.  She has been one of my inspirations to getting back into shape and is also the leader in the groups that I belong to.  Want to join us?  Message her or me and we'll add you to the group!

Benefits of Drinking Water in the Morning

Some great articles from Dr. Mercola that have inspired me to keep going in our "hippie" lifestyle of eating organic and staying away from as many environmental toxins as we can.
7 Invisible Ways Exercise Improves Your Life 
7 Natural Ways to Reduce Cellulite in Your Body
5 Surprising Factors That Can Make You Pack on Pounds
Are You Fat Because You Are Being Poisoned?

A few books that I've had in my collection for quite a few years.  They are a great reference for detoxing your liver (which will also help you to lose weight) and they have some great recipes in them!

• Eat Right for Your Type & Cook Right For Your Type by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo
• Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman

Summer time is officially here!  Which means we are spending less time indoors and more time out.  But figured I'd take a quick break to write up another post.  
I love this time of year.  The kids are getting old enough now to play on their own outside, which is great when I need to get a little gardening done.  They like to help, but only have a limited attention span so when they are done helping me out, they can go and play in the yard.  I love going camping and am excited to get my kids out for their first tent experience.  There are so many great camping places around this area, the possibilities are endless.  Another thing we love doing in the summer is going to our local farms and farmers markets and making many delicious recipes.  We have found many great local organic farmers in our area and we love all the fresh seasonal fruits and veggies.  In this post I'd like to give you a few links to our favorite places to visit in the summer if you are in the local area. 

As I said, I love going camping.  Growing up, we went camping and fishing every summer.  We'd often go with my grandparents and cousins all around northern California and they were definitely some of the best times!  We'd camp in a great little place just outside of Truckee, CA, called Tahoe Timber Trails.  My grandparents, great-grandmother, aunts and uncles and a few cousins all own/owned a lot in this little gated community campground.  We'd go fishing at nearby Stampede Reservoir, Boca Lake and Prosser Creek. It was great because they had "comfort stations" which were full restrooms with showers, a lodge with a pool table, games, and TV (which we usually only watched if a storm blew in), a swimming pool, baseball field, playground, trails, and horseshoe pits.
Another great area that we'd go to was all around Plumas County, CA; specifically in the Lakes Basin Recreational Area between Sierra City and Graeagle, California, along Gold Lake Road.  There are dozens of lakes, ponds, streams, and creeks in this area as well as many campgrounds, cabins, and lodges to stay at.  We loved camping at spots like Chapman Creek campground and going fishing in the surrounding creeks or going to Upper/Lower Sardine Lake, Gold Lake, or Packer Lake to go fishing.  We'd go swimming in Sand Pond or eat burgers at Bassetts Station and go hiking up to the Sierra Buttes (which was quite the experience for me, hiking all the way to the lookout tower, considering I'm terrified of heights).  Another great thing about these areas is you don't need a lot of money to go enjoy them.  Big bonus if you have a limited budget!  It's also just a short drive from the Reno/Sparks area, so these make great weekend trips.
While we lived in Las Vegas, it was a little more difficult to get out and camp (especially if you were looking for places near lakes and rivers).  We'd usually drive about 3-4 hours up to Duck Creek Village, Utah, which is a beautiful area as well.  There were quite a few lakes and trails in this area to fish, hike, and ride ATVs. We'd also go camping out at Dumont Dunes in California and ride ATVs.  It was quite a challenge to tent camp out there as there is no running water.  You definitely need a motor home or trailer when camping out here.  But there was still many good times and memories with friends and family to be had. I'm very much looking forward to sharing these great memories (and making new ones) with my kids now and in the future.

Now I get to give some shout outs to some of our favorite farmers!  If you are looking to meet some new farmers, a farmers market is a great place to start.  Around here, you can usually find one almost any day of the week.  Here is a great link with all the local markets going on for 2014:  http://www.ediblerenotahoe.com/2012-01-27-04-24-16/2012-farmers-market-guide.
One of the things I love, is coming home from the markets and looking at my kids' faces, which are usually covered in some sort of fruity mess from them trying all the fruit samples the vendors are giving out.
Here is a list of some of our favorite local farmers too.  When you get a chance, get out and see them for yourself!

• From The Earth - Located in Washoe Valley, NV.  Betty and Ron have been longtime family friends and we were very excited to see them growing bigger and providing great local, organic, and heirloom variety foods (fruits, vegetables, eggs, and fowl) to area restaurants and residents.  Stop by and give them a "Like" on Facebook and take a tour of their farm.  We are still enjoying some of our 24lb turkey from them from Thanksgiving (by way of canned turkey broth). They have amazing eggs and produce as well.  Their girls are quite spoiled!
• Lattin Farms - Located in Fallon, NV.  This is such a fun farm!  They have been around since the 1970's and are well established.  We've enjoyed visiting them and enjoying all the fun activities they offer  - the pumpkin maze in the fall, craft fairs, the Easter Bunny, and of course their organic vegetables and fruit. 
• Midtown Farm - Located in Reno, NV.  This is a relatively new farm/homestead that we've discovered.  They are a great little family homestead who offer classes to youngsters about organic farming and offer fruits and vegetables, eggs, rabbit, and fowl.  We picked up 5-1/2lbs of mulberries from them and enjoyed a few mulberry pies and smoothies (and still have plenty that we froze).
• Hidden Valley Honey - Located in Reno, NV.  We buy this at many locations around town including Raley's and Whole Foods.  I love their raw honey!  I also use some of it in my skin care items.
• Joy's Honey Ranch - Located in Reno, NV.  Another good local bee keeper.  We love their honey too (my kids look forward to his booth at the farmer's markets to buy honey sticks).  He is also another great source for me for local beeswax.
• Alpine Ranch Grass-fed Beef - Located in Fallon, NV. A great source for grass-fed beef and pastured pork.  We found them last year through All Natural Nevada Food Company at the local farmers markets. I love that they raise their cattle and pigs the way they are supposed to be raised.  They also deliver to Las Vegas, NV which is great for all our Vegas friends and family. 
• KT Beef - Located in Loyalton, CA.  Another great source for grass-fed beef.  We bought a very large steer from them last year with a couple of other families and are still enjoying the meat now.  I love that they also raise their cattle the way they are supposed to be raised.
• Sunny Day Organic Farms - Located in Stagecoach, NV. Another great source for organic pork.  We also found them through All Natural Nevada Food Company last year at the farmers markets.  They had the best pork sausage and chops!
• Carrol's Corner Truck Farm - Located in Yerington, NV. I love seeing them at the local farmer's markets!  Great source for organic fruits and vegetables.  I just finished making up a few batches of cilantro pesto tonight from the cilantro I bought from them this week.
• Andelin Family Farm - Located in Sparks, NV.  This is another really fun farm.  We visit them every year in the fall for all their family activities.  They have a great pumpkin patch, horseback rides, games and activities, and a new corn maze.  We have such a great time here!
  
• Basket Case Organics - Located in Sparks, NV. While technically not a farm, I feel they are definitely worth mentioning.  We get a weekly basket delivered from them and it is awesome!  Organic fruits and vegetables (and from local sources when available) delivered to your door for about the same price (if not cheaper) than what you'd find at your local grocery store. It sure cuts down on my trips to the store and their produce is great.
• Debi Gray - Located in Sparks, NV.  A little shout out to another egg supplier of ours.  She delivers farm fresh organic eggs to our door every week and they are so yummy.  Thank you Debi!
• Heirloom Gardens - Located in Reno, NV.  I don't have any personal experience with them, but I still wanted to give them a mention.  I think this is a good resource for any of you out there who would like to start your own organic heirloom garden.
• Girlfarm/Grow For Me Sustainable Farm - Located in Reno, NV.  Another farm that I don't have any personal experience with yet, but I'm hoping that one day that will change.  I love their farming practices (organic, heirloom, sustainable) and they have some of the best Facebook updates.  I love seeing all the pictures of their farm and seeing the love they have for their animals and farm. 
• Hungry Mother Organics - Located in Carson City and Dayton, NV.  Another farm that I don't have any personal experience with. But again, I think they are worth mentioning for more organic farms in our region.
• Quail Hollow Farm CSA - Located in Overton, NV.  This is one I thought I'd throw in for my Las Vegas friends and family.  Again, I don't have any personal experience with them, but if we still lived in Las Vegas, I'm sure I would know them.  Just another great option for organic farms.
• Great Basin Community Food Coop - Located in Reno, NV.  Another great resource in Reno for local organic food.  Again, no personal experience with them yet, but hoping that will one day change.

I hope you are out enjoying the summer as well this year!  Let me know where your favorite camping spots are and who your favorite farmers are!

Wow, it's been a busy couple of weeks!  I had my first couple of shows of the year this last weekend.  It was great to get out and meet new people! I'm looking forward to all the new shows I have coming up.

So if you haven't already figured it out by the products I make and sell, we tend to go pretty natural in our household.  In my journey to research more about the chemicals in the beauty products that my family and I used, it was clear that what we were using wasn't the best.  The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a great website that tells you how safe the products you use are.  Looking up the products that we had been currently using, most of them were rated about a 4 or 5 (On a scale of 0 to 10; 0-2 being low hazard, 3-6 being moderate hazard, and 7-10 being high hazard).  I guess I was a little surprised that all the items we used (most of them being for sensitive skin and/or for babies) were still rated this high.  So I set out on a mission to find products that were rated 0-2 (preferably 0) and that didn't cost an arm and a leg (why is it that the more natural and non-toxic you want to go, the more expensive things tend to be?).

I figured that one of the best and least expensive ways to get a good product with ingredients that I trusted was to make it myself. One of the first items that I wanted to switch out to a natural product was our shampoo and conditioner.  Of course I dove right into Pinterest to find a recipe for shampoo.  Boy was I in for it!  There are SO many DIY recipes on Pinterest to try!  It's a bit overwhelming.  One recipe that I kept coming across and seemed really interesting to try was called "no-poo".  If you're like me when I first read about it, I thought, "what in the heck is 'no-poo' and how could this possibly work?"  It's actually really simple.  You use baking soda as your new shampoo and vinegar as your new conditioner.  With traditional shampoos and conditioners, the chemicals in them strip your hair of all its natural oils.  This can leave your hair very dry and unhealthy.  You are also exposing your skin (your body's largest organ) to many toxins which will be absorbed directly into your blood stream.   By using the no-poo method, you aren't using the toxic chemicals on your hair (and indirectly, your skin) and you are giving your hair a chance to get it's natural oils back.  Did you know that some of the toxic side effects from the ingredients in chemical shampoos include Ecotoxicology, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), & Cancer?  And that's just from the Fragrances alone.  We are exposed to so many different toxins in our daily lives, if I can choose to eliminate some of those toxins, than I'm going to do my best to steer clear of them.

Now be forewarned - there can be a transition period for people when you first start going this method.  It can look like you dunked your hair in a vat of Crisco.  Not a very appealing thought, especially if you have a job to go to everyday and need to look professional.  I will admit, this is now my 3rd or 4th attempt at going the no-poo route and I think I may have finally achieved the result I wanted.  My first few attempts were not so successful.  I went through a very long transition period that I never was able to get out of.  I just looked like I hadn't washed my hair ever.  I even had my mom asking me when I would give it up and just wash my hair.  From most of the blogs that I read, the transition period for people was about 2 weeks or so.  I would go over a month and not ever get past that greasy, static-y, gross look.  So I found a few shampoos at the supermarket that were rated a 1 and would use those in between trying the no-poo method several more times.  I finally came across a new blog that gave me a better method to start the no-poo method.  In most of the original blogs that I read, the blogger would put a little (maybe a teaspoon to a tablespoon) of baking soda into a cup, dilute with water and then wash their hair with it.  This method never worked for me.  In this newer blog post, the blogger just used the baking soda straight and would massage it directly into her scalp/hair.  So I tried this method and it actually worked!  I was so excited that I didn't have to look like a grease head and have unmanageable hair and could still go with the no-poo method.  I'm now about 7 weeks into the no-poo style and I have to say I really like it.  I wash my hair now about every 2-5 days with the baking soda and then rinse with the apple cider vinegar.  

So here are a few pictures from when I first started out:

To answer some questions you may have regarding this method:
No, your hair doesn't stink from not washing it with a "regular" shampoo.  There can be a slight vinegar smell from the conditioner, but this doesn't bother me (I use vinegar in so many of my cleaning supplies and laundry, I have begun to equate it with a clean smell).  If it does bother you, you can also add a few drops of essential oils in the vinegar when you rinse (I've used lavender and melaleuca on mine on occasion). 
You can try a few different applications.  You can try the baking soda diluted in water and rinse or you can just put the baking soda straight onto your hair.  Go with the method that works best for your hair.  Everyone's is different.
And to answer the question I asked earlier - Natural and non-toxic tends to be more expensive because, well, let's face it, you get what you pay for, unfortunately. 

Here are a few more pictures as I've gone through the last few weeks of no-poo:

Some of the things that I really like about going the no-poo route is how cheap it is!  Baking Soda is so much cheaper than any shampoo out there and lasts so much longer.  It's also rated a 0 on EWG's website (hooray for non-toxic!).  The apple cider vinegar is rated a 1.  I also love how soft my hair feels.  It actually feels so much more healthy than when I was using regular shampoo and conditioner.  I'm amazed at how well it brushes out as well.  There are hardly any tangles in my hair and it's much nicer to brush after a shower.

If you do end up going through that transition phase with greasy hair, you can also try dry shampoo.  Simply brush (I use a large makeup brush) some arrowroot powder/cocoa powder mixture on your hair and comb through.  (For the dry shampoo, start with a base of arrowroot powder and add the cocoa powder for color; the darker your hair, the more cocoa powder you'll add.)  This will help soak up any excess oil in your hair and make it a little more manageable between washes.  And as a bonus - you'll smell like chocolate! 

So if you've seen me around the last couple of months, let me know what you think, or if you've even been able to tell that I haven't "washed" my hair.  If you've tried this method, let me know how your experience was too!

If you'd like to read more on what some other bloggers went through in their no-poo adventures, here are some good links:  
http://www.homemademommy.net/2013/10/does-the-no-poo-method-actually-work.html
http://thecrunchymoose.com/2013/07/no-poo.html
http://thecrunchymoose.com/2014/03/one-year-without-shampoo.html
http://www.healyourselfdiy.com/no-poo-method-hair/
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/04/the-best-homemade-shampoo-recipe.html
http://redandhoney.com/diy-all-natural-dry-shampoo-2-ingredients/

The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/