One of the things I love about Wildtree, other than that it is beyond healthy for you being organic, GMO-free and often Gluten-free, is that we provide recipes, searchable by product, type of meal and ingredient.  For the Italian Simmering Sauce, this is a screenshot of the available recipes (with more being added often):

The first thing I whipped up was the Italian Simmered Steak Tips…it was, of course, PHENOMENAL!  Now, for Fall/Winter I am definitely a crockpot kinda girl. I love being able to start something in the morning and by the time mid-afternoon rolls around and my sons start strolling in from school, the house is filled with a delicious aroma.  You know, the kind of aroma they are going to remember as adults with a warm, fuzzy feeling

I made a version of the Italian Pot Roast (I didn’t have all the veggies at the time and was a tad lazy to go to the store) and again, a huge hit!

I started it in the morning – very easy prep, I just prefer to brown beef a bit before throwing it in the slow cooker. The meat comes out so tender and bursting with flavor.  This crockpot meal is sure to become a family hit!

Italian Pot Roast Recipe

You can pick up some Italian Seasoning Sauce right from my Wildtree website. Happy cooking!

These felt stars are easy and adorable to craft (from Purlbee) and are the epitome of the primitive look.  You could easily make them into a string garland  or incorporate them into a primitive theme (along with salt-dough ornaments below) with some burlap garland!

I absolutely adore these wood ornaments with scrapbook paper modged podged on (from Brown Paper Packages)  – another easy project:

These swirl nail polish ornaments (from Beautylish) are gorgeous:

My kids have made salt dough ornaments before and with the stamping here, they make a nice personalized ornament (from Design Editor):

It would be a great idea to host an ornament crafting party to make these for friends and neighbors who lost their Christmas Ornaments.  These are all fairly easy to make and you could definitely crank a bunch out over some hot cocoa (maybe with some schnapps). I hope you are as inspired as I am!

Happy crafting!

We were in a mandatory evacuation zone here in Baldwin Harbor.  At the time, I thought it ridiculous that Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano ordered us to leave.  In retrospect, it was an excellent decision – especially for those just north of us and in Bay Colony.  The flooding was horrific.  However, I knew that 1) our home’s elevation was between 13-16 feet, thanks to Trails.Com 2) High tide was at approximately 8:30am with 3.9 feet above sea level (thanks to Tides 4 Fishing).  Add the storm surge of 3-6 feet predicted for the South Shore and we knew we would be fine because our elevation was higher.  We got our kids out to Westchester to stay with our inlaws and we were determined to save our basement, by running our pump in the sump pit.  Our neighbors just north of us were not as lucky as their elevation was a mere 7 feet.  One of my neighbors across the street did not have this vital information, evacuated and now has 6 inches of water in her basement.

Saturday evening into Sunday morning, I live-blogged at the Long Beach Patch.Com site.  We shared information as to what we were seeing as Hurricane Irene started to affect New York and Long Island and government officials soon discovered us. Amazingly, they asked us to tweet essential information to get the word out and we did.  @SuffolkCountyPD did an excellent job of getting us up to date info to share.  It was comforting that dark and scary night to talk to others and share stories as Hurricane Irene bore down on us.  Could also have been a lifesaver – it is where I heard that a tornado warning went into effect in Baldwin, Oceanside, Freeport and the barrier islands at 4 am to 4:16am.  That was the longest 16 minutes of my life as we waited anxiously for this unexpected threat to pass.

People turned to social media in droves to find out what was happening in their local neighborhoods and how they fared from the wrath of Hurricane Irene. Pictures and video were posted of the damage incurred on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.  We checked on each other to make sure our friends and loved ones made it through.  One friend was trapped up at Windham, NY and through Facebook, friends sent updates as to the status of the NY Thruway so they could finally make it home yesterday, after a grueling 8 hour drive. LIPA tweeted its news briefing yesterday to let residents know just what was going on with power restoration and we shared that with everyone who didn’t have power yet. Government officials and agents regularly communicated with us through Twitter and their Facebook pages – providing not only up-to-date information but a place for people to vent and voice their concerns.

For our area, I think Twitter and Patch.Com were the best communicants of pertinent information. Twitter, with its 140 character limit, allowed Tweeters to post concise information with links that was easy to organize into searches and lists using hashtags. Patch.Com continually posted on their site, as well as Twitter and Facebook, updates as to what was happening in local Long Island neighborhoods. However, Facebook and YouTube provided the human interest side of the hurricane. People shared their pain and loss with each other through posts, pictures and videos. Those who posted that they thought the storm was over-hyped were quickly countered with pictures, videos and stories of homes swept away, horrific floods and death.

We were the media this past weekend and I think that those who thought that social media was just for fun are now realizing the magnitude of its influence on how we communicate and share information.

I love Sunday mornings in Manhasset, everything seems possible in the morning, with the whole day still ahead. The less hectic vibe of Sunday is an opportunity to reset and collect your thoughts for the week.

I have lived in Manhasset for 17 years and have, more often than not, taken to the quiet streets of Sunday mornings for long walks. Whether alone or with friends I am always appreciative that I live in such a beautiful place.

It is with this hope, my faith in the potential of Sunday mornings, that I suggest a seasonal Farmer’s Market. The barren, weekend LIRR parking lot seems to lie-in-wait of such a thing. How lovely it would be to stop by after church to pick up local, organic strawberries in the spring. How inspiring to find raw honey from Long Island bees after your morning run all summer and perhaps some fresh apple cider in the fall after you drop off the kids at soccer practice. Can you taste it?

I see the Farmer’s Market as a place to feed our bodies but also our minds and souls. What a positive visual for our community and families. Let’s remind our children that fruit and vegetables are actually grown, that the imperfections of non-industrial food are to be embraced. Let’s challenge ourselves by promoting real food that isn’t shrink wrapped, bagged or boxed. Celebrate food that doesn’t need a nutrition label!

I see local businesses involved, promoting themselves and the best they have to offer. I have done a lot of detective work for my health coaching & nutrition clients and they are surprised that they can find nutrish AND delish choices right here in Manhasset. This would be an opportunity for us to highlight the wealth of choices we already have. My hope is that it would also encourage new business into Manhasset. Wouldn’t it be amazing if our town was seen as a beacon of health and wellness prompting a new juice bar to open on Plandome Road?!

So, Manhasset… What do you think?  Do you agree that a Sunday Farmer’s Market would be a great addition to our community?  If so, please visit http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/we-want-a-farmers-market-in-manhasset/ to sign an online petition to express our community’s interest in this concept. I will also post a link on my website ThriveNaturally.com. The more support we get, the more likely this can become a reality.

Thank you for taking the time to make a difference. Why live when you can thrive.

MaryAnn Jones, Holistic Nutritionist

C E R T I F I E D  H E A L T H  C O A C H,  A A D P

thrivenaturally.com

thrivenaturally.myzrii.com

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Why live when you can T H R I V E. We all have unlimited potential-find yours at integrativenutrition.com Mention my name to access the latest tuition scholarship.