Today’s question comes from River who says, “I found your blog when I searched Popsicle recipes today. Great ideas! I have an allergy to cane sugar. Can the recipes that require a sweetener be made with maple syrup, honey, or agave? Will these interfere with freezing?

Do you know anything about homemade throat lozenges? I have seen a recipe but cannot find it. It takes a large amount of slippery elm, some honey, and other herbs, but I don’t know the proportions or remember the other herbs.”

Ah a two parter. As for the ice pops question, I’ve made ice pops with honey before, for example, mixing honey in with organic yogurt and strawberries, and never had any issues with it messing with the freezing. I’ve never made pops with maple syrup or agave, and while I doubt maple syrup will have any issues other than forming crystals, I’m not sure about agave so I looked it up. One site all about maple syrup says you can freeze it fine to extend its life, so I’m sure you could use it in ice pops. I always make homemade syrup that I keep in the fridge and it forms tiny crystals but it doesn’t affect flavor. As for agave, I found a site that says if your substitute agave syrup for white sugar in a recipe, use about 25 percent less than the amount called for AND you can use it to make ice cream, so I’m guessing it’ll freeze up a-ok.

Now on to the homemade throat lozenges…

I’ve never made homemade throat lozenges. It seems like it would be complicated; a little like making candy maybe, but really, I have no clue. So again I headed to the web.

Care2 has one recipe and Turks.us has another (plus tips for natural sore throat relief).Everything else I found seems like a rehash of the Care2 recipe or seems unnatural and funky. Maybe readers here have some tips though. If you ever made homemade lozenges, let us know in the comments.

Thanks for your questions River and hopefully this helps. If you have a green question feel free to ask away…

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Some of the Modesto Medical Center’s earth-friendly features include: 

• Use of natural light, with large windows incorporated into hallways, patient rooms, and the main entrance.
• The hospital will be fully wired with its electronic care system, KP Health Connect, eliminating the need for paper records
• Resilient rubber flooring over vinyl. One major perk of rubber is that it never needs to be waxed or stripped, thus eliminating the need for chemical cleaners.
• PVC-free carpeting, backed with recycled film, used throughout the building.
• PVC-free bumper guards and safety rails on patient floors.
• Phovoltaic lighting for the parking lot and walkways.
• Landscaping comprised of native, drought tolerant plants and grasses – resulting in less water waste and fewer chemicals to maintain.
• Permeable pavement in the driveway which allows rainwater to filter through, recharging groundwater and filtering chemicals from runoff.
• Rooftop solar panels generating enough power for 20 homes, but of course in this case, they’ll be powering the medical facility.
• Reflective or “cool” roofing
• Greener furniture and fixtures.
• Hospital food from local farmers will be served.

Kaiser Permanente is using the Modesto facility as a good practice model and plans on incorporating the same green aspects into future facilities.

I think this is pretty cool. It’s nice to see a typical commercial structure, one that many people will use, go green. There’s plenty of learning opportunities here, both for individuals who receive care and for other medical facilities. It’ll be great to see what works best for a green project of this scope.

What do you think? I know that given the choice, I’d be more likely to choose a green medical facility. Would you?

It’s the Blogtoberfest icon! Which means a super keen (and secret) prize is hidden behind this special blog post. If you want to win the great prize that I’m hiding, simply leave a comment on this post. A totally easy way to win a prize. Within a week, the winner of the hidden prize will be announced here at Tree Hugging Family, so check back often.

Other ways to win a prize! You have lots of chances to win great Blogtoberfest prizes? Today, October 6th, there are secret special prizes hiding at the following Lifestyles Channel blogs: Offbeat Homes, Simply Thrifty, Blog Fabulous, Drinks After Dark, Mother Earth’s Garden, Thrifty Mommy, Chocolate Bytes, Foodie Obsessed, Keeping the Castle, and Our One Heart.  Visit all of these blogs, look for the blogtoberfest icon on a post, and leave a comment for your chance at another great prize.

Good luck and happy blogtoberfest!

Post from: Tree Hugging Family