Tuesdays with Michelle: What's Triclosan?

  Simply put, Triclosan is a pesticide... a toxic chemical...    


  ...And it can be found in every day items such as hand soap, hand sanitizers, antimicrobial plastics (labeled as "Microban"), deordorant, make-up, and toothpaste just to name a few.


  I had never heard of it until a few weeks ago when the Yahoo home page posted an article on it.  Right away I checked some of my product labels and found out that it was an ingredient in our toothpaste and Beau's face wash.  We are now proud users of Trader Joe's Antiplaque Toothpaste with Fennel, Propolis, and Myrrh {it's fluoride-free and we only pay a little over $2 at the store, I don't know why Amazon is selling it so expensive!} 


  Studies show that Triclosan can disrupt normal Thyroid and hormonal function, cause birth defects, and antibiotic resistance.  Studies also prove that Triclosan is easily absorbed into the body; it is found in breast milk of every 3 out of 5 women.  {So all my pregnant friends out there, please read your ingredient labels!}


  With this basic knowledge under our belt, there's no wonder why our society is having so many issues with conceiving and crazy mutated bacterias causing severe illnesses - And this is only one of the many chemicals we touch, eat, and breath every day.


  It's scary to know that the FDA and EPA are aware of this chemical's potential side effects, but still haven't done much about it.  There are on-going tests and trials, and blah blah blah but the least we can do is take action ourselves and rid our homes of this toxic substance.


  There are many many many articles regarding Triclosan, just google and you will be amazed at the info out there.  


  Now that I have got your attention, what household items have you found that contain Triclosan?  Are you going to replace it with a Natural substitute?  Share your ideas so we can all benefit! 

This article gives some examples of common items that contain Triclosan.

   
Here is a very informative article about Triclosan.

This is a very in-depth research paper published by Tufts Medical.



{FYI: I am in no way an expert on this issue.  Please do your own research and determine what is best for you and your family}

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip {refined sugar free}

  In the middle of May Beau and I flew back to my hometown in Connecticut and visited my parents and attended a friend's gorgeous wedding.  

  And thanks to Katie over at "Chocolate Covered Katie" I was able to make my parents this deeelicious chocolate chip cookie dough dip.  I tweaked Katie's recipe for (No Sugar) Cookie Dough Dip to ensure that it was as sugar free as possible.

  **Drool**

  Now that's what I call eye candy.

  I followed Katie's recipe, but changed a few ingredients: I used 2 packets of stevia and about 1/8 cup agave for my sweetener (instead of dates), 3 tablespoons of flax meal, and chopped up some 75% Chocolate Lindt squares in place of chocolate chips.  (These squares actually have more protein and fiber, but less sugar so the carb ratio is really good for those who need to moderate their sugar levels).

  Mom and Dad, who often don't get to enjoy sweets, loved it!  :)

  And lastly, here are a few pics of our visit home!

  Alfie, their new doggie they got at The Hotel for Dogs and Cats where I used to volunteer back in Florida.  (See my other post related to the hotel).   Alfie is such a sweetheart.  He is officially their third child.  He goes everywhere with them hehe.

  We went hiking in Bigelow Hollow and Alfie had a blast!  Not to mention I forgot how beautiful New England is in late spring...

  And last but not least a picture of the gorgeous newlyweds.

  (And me with our friends Heather and Chris's baby- Nate!  Such an adorable baby!)

Tulsa with the Belangers!

   Fourth of July weekend Beau, the doggies, and I made a 14 hour drive to Tulsa, Oklahoma!  We hadn't seen his family in soooo long so it was wonderful to see them!

   We hung out in their gorgeous home, cooked amazing dinners, and explored Tulsa... even in the 107 degree heat!

One of my favorite things was visiting the Broken Arrow Zoo, a wildlife sanctuary.  Check out their website!  http://www.safariszoo.com/

Gorgeous tigers trying to keep cool! 

This is a Liger!  He was HUGE and loved eating the
frozen chicken legs we fed him :-)

Kyle and I holding alligators!

Lemurs enjoying the gummy snacks we fed them

A wolf!

Me holding a baby kangaroo!!!

Here's a funny video of a very sly monkey who 

knew the word "cup"!

   Chris, Beau, and I also visited the Philbrook Museum of Art which was gorgeous.  There is so much old oil money in the city of Tulsa and this mansion is gorgeous to prove it!  Check out their site: http://www.philbrook.org/

   Cannot wait to hang out with Beau's family again... hopefully soon!  Thank you for such a wonderful time  :-)   

Taxi Fam Day at Whiting Field!!!

A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity of a lifetime to taxi the plane my husband is training on! 

Since November, Beau has been learning how to fly on the Navy’s T-34 training aircraft.  (For those of you who don’t know, Beau is in the Coast Guard so don’t be confused- he’s not a Navy guy!)  Hopefully in a week he will be completely done with his airplane training and then he can start learning how to fly helicopters!! 

All geared up for my big T-34 debut with Beau!  Note the different
patches we're both wearing... Beau couldn't find his extra set of
patches the morning of... I'm wearing a funky combo of patches we found at home!

By this time next year, the T-34 will be phased out and the newer and faster T-6 will take its spot.  Because of safety reasons (aka the ejection seat) no one other than military personnel will be able to taxi the T-6… so I am one of the lucky last spouses who was able to taxi the T-34!

It was pretty fun!  I wore Beau’s flight suit (which was ridiculously HUGE on me!), his helmet, and gloves.  When it was my turn, I hopped into the back of the cockpit, an aviator student helped buckle me in, hooked up my helmet microphone, and then my flight instructor drove us out to the tarmac!

Posing for the camera while climbing in the cockpit!

It was super hot inside the plane… Beau said that it’s gotten as hot as 140F when he’s been inside!  Yuck!  But it was so cool to taxi it… you actual use your feet to steer the plane and brake and it’s super hard!  I did some beautiful circles while I tried to park the plane in the tarmac haha.

Me and my instructor heading out!

And it was REALLY cool to have control of the PCL (Power Control Level) which makes the plane go fast or slow.  At one point the instructor let me go quite fast! 

The flight suit was ridiculously huge...!  By the way, the planes
in the background (with all orange bellies) are the T-6 planes.

It was pretty awesome speaking to my instructor (who, no worries, had complete control over my actions…the instruments are exactly the same in the front and back cockpits!).  It felt so official to speak through the helmet mike!

I just HAD to add this picture... look closely at Beau's VT-2 Squadron's slogan --
errr, well the new slogan haha!  Bad body positioning...!  

This was a once in a lifetime experience and I wish I could do it again!  I swear I’d be better at it this time around…  :-)

A Heavenly Anniversary Dessert

I learned from our first date over three years ago that food is the way to Beau’s heart!  So for our anniversary I wanted to make a special treat: Tiramisu!

I looked up gluten free recipes online but didn’t quite want to go through the fuss of piping batter to make lady fingers.  So I visited the best cooking website out there… allrecipes.com and decided to use the tiramisu recipe that had the highest rating.  Lucky for me, the recipe suggested using white cake box mix as a base instead of lady fingers or a sponge cake.

I used 1 stick butter and 1 stick
margarine which worked
perfectly in the cake.

For my cake I used the yellow cake mix in Elizabeth Barbone’s “Easy Gluten Free Baking.”  This was the first time I used this recipe so I guess it was a bit of a daring move… but it turned out great!  Even the batter tasted yummy, which is saying something for gluten free batters lol.  In the second half of the batter I added instant coffee and a splash of amaretto since I didn’t have any coffee liquer.  Next time I plan on adding more instant coffee to give it more of a kick!

My two favorite Sous Chefs!!!

After the two 8-inch cakes cooled, I made the filling.  Instead of making a traditional mascarpone cheese filling, I used other’s suggestion on allrecipes.com.  I used two light cream cheese packages, 5 Tablespoons light sour cream, ½ cup heavy cream, and a few Tablespoons amaretto. 

The cooled cakes...mmm...smelled wonderful!
When you bake them, they colapse slightly
while cooling, but don't worry, they're
supposed to!

I wasn’t quite sure about the flavor so I added in some powdered sugar to try to get rid of the cream cheesy flavor.  When placed in between the cake layers, however, the cheese filling tasted great!  It contains a lot less fat and calories (and costs less than marscarpone!) so I think it’s a great substitute.  I think if one uses coffee liquer it will taste really super.

The next step in this recipe is the “frosting,” which is a lot more like stiff whipped cream.  Heavy cream, powdered sugar, and amaretto make an amazing frosting to cover the entire cake.  I could (and did) eat this stuff alone.  SO YUMMY!  And simple!  Took about 3-4 minutes to get the perfect consistency.  If you beat too long you risk making a buttery mixture.

At this point, Beau came home from work and I was so excited to show him what I was doing.  And then all of a sudden, he shouted, “Oh my god, look at the door!”  Ant-like nasty bugs were pouring out from underneath our back door.  It was disgusting!!!  So I left my baking creation unfinished and cleaned the inside of the house for the next hour or so while Beau went nuts spraying the outside of our house. 

Turns out it was a termite surge, which is common in spring.  Of course they decided to mate right in our backyard and spill into our super clean house.  Ahhh, so no worries, they didn’t get any where near my tiramisu!  The nasty little bugs died quite quickly after getting into the house anyways (and the bug guy said they are not harmful to people of animals).  

Well good news to all those bakers out there… both the filling and frosting mixtures keep their consistency if left out in room temperature for over an hour lol!  So if you get a bug infestation, they won’t melt!

Before I assembled the cake, I poked holes in the cakes (with my meat thermometer haha!) and poured coffee into them.  I suggest soaking them a little more than I did and adding a coffee liquer to make a more dramatic flavor.  Then I generously slathered on the filling, dusted some unsweetened cocoa powder, added the second cake, and covered the entire tiramisu in the frosting.  Lastly, I dusted the cake in cocoa powder and shaved/ chopped semi-sweet chocolate.

I suggest letting the tiramisu sit for at least a few hours in the refrigerator before digging in.  This cake was sooooo delish!  Perfect for any occasion.  And super easy to adapt to your own personal taste.  Mmmm.  I can’t wait to experiment with this recipe again!

Buon appetito!!!

The Passing of an Amazing Friend

I would like to take a moment to share the saddening news one of our dear friends passed away this Sunday.  Levi Masalin and his cousin James passed away Sunday from a tragic motorcycle accident.


Levi was an amazing friend, brother, and son; full of life, love, and laughter.  The moment you met Levi you felt at home and you had an instant friendship.  I loved his humor... he filled the room with laughter and happiness.  He was one amazing person that touched the hearts of all those he knew.  I am so thankful I was able to have known such a sweet and caring boy.  


During this heartbreaking time, I ask of you to keep the Masalin family in your thoughts and prayers.  They have reached out to so many and have become a second family to many coasties like Beau.  They are one of the most loving families I know.  Together we can help them pull through this trying time.


Upon hearing this saddening news, I immediately got to thinking how precious and delicate life is.  We need to live each day like it's our last.  And we need to love each other unconditionally whether it be through saying "I love you," giving a hug, or simply sharing a smile with a stranger.  Take time to do these things... Levi certainly did.


Dear Levi, you are missed and loved so much.  Rest peacefully in eternally happiness and love.


Love,  
   Michelle & Beau

Levi with the boys at our wedding

Good 'Ole Cajun Country

In recent light of the Mississippi River flood, I thought it was appropriate to write about Beau's and I's weekend trip into Cajun Country for Easter.  

On Good Friday Beau, our doggies, and I made the six and a half hour drive to Lakes Charles, LA.  We stayed at Brett’s house (Beau's brother who's stationed there for the CG), which he fixed up SO nicely.  The upgraded kitchen was sure my favorite!  While we were there we visited with Beau’s mom and Brett showed us the grand old tour around southwestern LA.   

Our Saturday kicked off with some great southern BBQ!  Well actually, it kicked off with Khloe eating a chocolate chip cookie laying on the side of the road.  

Here's a pic of Miss Khloe taken around the beginning of 2011 for those of you who have yet to meet her!

I was taking the dogs on a morning walk and of course Khloe "the fatty" eats anything she can find on the side of the road.  I nearly had a heart attack and was terrified she’d just drop dead in the middle of the walk.  Thankfully she’s probably eaten everything possible and her stomach can process it!  Oh Khloe Khloe Khloe haha.  I love her!

Anyways, back to BBQ, Brett brought us to one of his favorite places, Dan’s BBQ, and I took his advice and ordered a loaded potato with brisket on top.  Mmmmmm!  The potato alone was probably the size of small butternut sqush and stuffed inside was bacon, chives, sour cream, cheese… and the brisket was so delicious!  Thankfully Beau was there to help me finish it off alone I have to admit I did quite a good job myself haha.  I think I might make this easy meal at home if we’re feeling like being fatties!

Later Saturday we visited the Cameron Prairie Refuge where saw a few alligators!  Unfortunately it was really windy so all the gators stayed in the water, but we saw a baby one that was on the grassy bank sunning itself.  It was quite a sight to see.  Next time I hope to see much bigger ones… but I’m sure I’ll be a little scared and Beau will get a kick out of that.

Alligator from Cameron Prairie: http://www.wildherps.com/images/herps/standard/10040803PD_alligator.jpg

Southern Louisiana is a pretty place…there are marshes and bayous and swamps everywhere.  It's crazy to think that this whole area is now underwater.  While driving along the highway one will see little shacks among the banks, river houses, and small boats: home of the "Swamp People."  No wonder LA is the crawfish capital- there’s so much water!  Beau and I decided, though, that unless someone is a complete outdoors person, there really isn’t too much else to do in southern LA.

Saturday night we enjoyed a delicious dinner Beau’s mom cooked… fresh salad, corn, steak, and crab.  Boy was it a feast! And before we left on Sunday, we brought all three dogs to a local dog park.  Finally Bama came out of her shell (she was terrified of Pepper, Brett’s 90 pound dog, the entire weekend!) and Khloe had a blast climbing on the doggie ramps and tunnels!  I need to find an adorable dog park close to us back home.

It was a short but sweet week!  Y'all should take a trip down into Cajun country and have some good eats!