Sunny Baby Cloth Diaper Review

This video is about my favorite Sunny Baby diapers.

How to Clean your Camelbak Water bottle

I love my camelbak water bottle. It changed my life! That may sound dramatic, but it really did because it helps me drink more water. I've heard the average person drinks 25% more water when drinking from a Camelbak compared to a regular water bottle.  When I drink more water, I have more energy and feel better all around. As simple as it is, I think drinking water is one of the best, cheapest and easiest ways to improve your health.  

The only problem with the Camelbak is the mouthpiece can get kinda nasty, which is why I want to share my method for cleaning the mouthpiece. And no, it doesn't require a $13 cleaning kit!

You'll need a lighter, Q-tip, and cheap toothbrush. I used a free one from a hotel. 

 Use the lighter to heat the plastic for a few seconds. When the plastic is hot, push the blue end down on a hard surface in order to bend the toothbrush. This enables you to use the bristles to clean the top of the mouthpiece.

Squirt a little dish soap on your toothbrush and scrub the inside of the mouthpiece. Then use the Q-tip to swab out the inside of the water bottle lid that the mouthpiece sits on. 

Many people say to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but how much is 8 glasses? Here is a better formula:

body weight in pounds/2 = fl oz you should drink a day

Tuna Salad Sandwich

In my neck of the woods, lunch-meat is not readily available. I ate way too many PB&J's growing up and got really burnt out on them -I'd be happy never to eat one again. My favorite sandwich is actually a Reuben. I love Rye bread, corned beef, swiss cheese, and sauerkraut, but I can't get ANY of those ingredients here, so I settle for tuna. If you like tuna, then you've got to try this recipe.

Tuna Salad for 4

Combine the following:
1 can tuna (drained)
3 T mayo
1 T Parmesan cheese
3 T pickle relish (OR minced cucumber with 1T white vinegar OR just 1T vinegar)
1/8 t onion powder
1/4 t curry powder
1 T dried parsley
1 t dried dill
1 pinch garlic powder

I like to serve this with lettuce and tomato on my whole wheat bread machine bread, but any bread will do.  The Tuna salad keeps in the fridge for 1- 2 days.

China Tip:
At my local grocery store a can of Century brand tuna costs 14.5 kuai! I noticed last time I was at City Life (万国小厨) they had Bumblebee tuna imported from the US for 11 kuai. It is also sold on Taobao for 9.9 a can. I feel more comfortable with Bumblebee over a local brand...anyone else?

Stocking up on the Fall Bounty

In order to save money and time this winter, I am trying to plan ahead and stock my freezer with some of the yummy fruits and veggies that are in season now. I started with bell peppers and onions because they freeze beautifully and will increase in price dramatically during the winter months. Bell peppers and onions do not need to be blanched and can be frozen just as they are, which makes this a perfect project for a beginner.

To save even more money, I bought peppers that were slightly dinged up and had a few bad spots on them.

1. Wash the peppers/onions and dice them as you like, removing any soft spots or damaged areas.
2. Spread them out on a tray and freeze.
3. Once they are completely frozen transfer into a plastic bag and use a straw to suck out as much air as possible. Air is your enemy when freezing. Air causes freezer burn.

I bought the peppers for 1.5 kuai per pound, so all those peppers cost me just 11 kuai. Last Chinese New Year, I paid over 11 kuai a pound for bell peppers! Ouch.

Bell peppers are one of the worst vegetables for pesticides, so be sure to wash them very well. 

A candle may help reduce the irritation to your eyes when dicing 5lbs of onions, but as you can see my eyes were still pretty irritated. 

Find a friend and host a "bell pepper workshop" it took us less than an hour to dice  8lbs of peppers and  5lbs of onions. 

Be sure to spread the peppers out, because if you put them directly in the bag they will  freeze into one solid clump.

I'm planning on throwing these in omelets for quick breakfast or putting them in chili, stews, pasta sauce or on pizza. The possibilities are almost endless, except they won't taste good raw like in a salad.