We have many houseplants – I don’t think you can ever have enough!

Houseplants are proven air cleaners. They add oxygen, regulate humidity, filter out toxins, and beautify your space.  I believe they add positive life energy to a home, and help children learn about caring for living things.

NASA did a study on houseplants and indoor air pollution.  Certain plants are able to remove dangerous chemicals from the air like trichloroethylene, benzene, & and formaldehyde!

Read NASA’s findings on interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement.

Based on that study, here are my recommendations for best air cleaners: 

Top chemical removers:

Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)

Marginata (Dracaena marginata)

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum “Mauna Loa”)*

Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis)

Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifritzii)

Mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)*

Mother-in-law’s Tongue (Sansevieria laurentii)*

Other great air cleaners:

English Ivy (Hedera helix)**

Golden Pothos (Scindapsus aureus)*

Chinese Evergreen (Aglonema modestum)

Green Spider Plant (Cholorphytum elatum)

Heart leaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium)*

Ficus (Ficus benjamina)

Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)*

*NOTE: I find it interesting that many of the aforementioned plants are considered toxic– particularly when ingested. I wonder if this is partially because they are so good at absorbing (and thus, perhaps harboring) chemicals? I have marked the toxic plants with a star * in the event that you have small children or pets. Those with two stars ** are particularly toxic, and I definitely do not recommend for households with small children or pets who could consume the leaves.

For a list of toxic & non-toxic plants for pets, please see the ASPCA’s page.

For a list of toxic & non-toxic plants for children, please see the National Poison Control center’s page

That being said, all plants have the ability to clean air.  If you are uncomfortable with keeping any plants in your house known to have some toxicity, I’ve compiled a list of  common non-toxic houseplants (not listed above). Now, while these specific plants may not have been studied to show the ability to drastically reduce toxic chemicals, they will still do their job cleaning your air & beautifying your environment while being safer to have around children & pets:

African Violet (Episcia reptans)

Begonia (Begonia sp.)

Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exalta)
Christmas Cactus (Zygocactus truncatus)

Hoya (Hoya sp.)

Jade Plant (Crassula argentes)

Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.)

Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus lobbianus) – this is a favorite!

Peperomia (Peperomia sp.)

Ponytail Palm (Beaucarenia recurvata)
Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)
Wandering Jew (Tradescantia albiflora)

For a list of hundreds of houseplants with description, photo, and care instructions, check out this site.

Which houseplants are your favorites?  Please let me know!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

PREPARATION:

Cream 1/2 cup butter with sugar. Add eggs; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla.
Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter with chocolate; cool and beat into creamed mixture.
Stir in flour, salt, and nuts; blend well.
Pour batter into greased and floured 13 x 9-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Cool in pan.

Note: if you half this recipe - which I frequently do - make sure to half the baking time!

1 bag of fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)

2-3 medium apples (I like gala)

¾ cup brown sugar

Ground cinnamon

Combine water & brown sugar in a pan & heat until boiling. Add cranberries & apples.  Return to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour into a bowl & add cinnamon to taste.  Allow to cool in fridge until warm (YUM!) or cold (also YUM!).

Enjoy!  

So, I was feeling a bit down this evening after the banana pudding didn’t turn out too well: my son only ate the chocolate chips out of it & left the pudding, and my daughter said, “Mom, its kinda sweet… I’ll have a yogurt”. Sigh. Well, on to plan B!  My examination of the contents of my fridge, combined with the temperature of the air coming through the back window (cool and oh-so-wonderfully autumn crisp), lead me to whip up a quick pan of baked apple crisp. Here’s what I threw together:

6 small tart apples
4 Tbs butter
¼ cup flour (whole wheat white is my all-around baking favorite)
¼ cup rolled oats
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450f. Butter a baking dish. Peel, core, and cut apples into slices & place into the dish (now, you CAN leave the skin on, but I prefer them naked). Melt butter, and mix well with dry ingredients.  Scoop/crumble topping over the apples. Cover the dish & bake for approx. 30 minutes – until apples yield to a fork.  They can go quickly from that perfect state into mushy apple sauce, so watch those last 5 minutes closely!

Allow to cool a bit & enjoy (with vanilla ice cream is of course, the best)!

Cut cucumbers (skin-on) into spears or slices. Place in a large sealable bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for 2 – 3 days. Enjoy!

The kids & I only just made these today, so they still have 1.5 – 2.5 days left to marinate, but man oh man, they smell so good already, and look so FRESH, I just had to share the recipe! Note: I only had mini cukes available, so I halved the recipe (hence the small bowl in the photo). 

(Makes about 15 - 18 small cookies; so adjust up as necessary)

4 Tbs of butter (or substitute coconut oil, margarine, etc. & voila, vegan cookies!), softened

1/4 + 1/8 cup of dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup apple butter (could use applesauce too, but the spice is nice)

1/2 cup + 2 Tbs of white whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt (use only if not using salted margarine)

1/2 cup ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Beat butter & brown sugar together until creamy. Add vanilla & apple butter, beat some more.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, and mix until all ingredients are blended.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet (I recommend using parchment paper!)

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes & serve warm.

I've been tweaking this recipe for a few months & finally decided to write it down.  I think its reached the point of ultra-deliciousness, but I'm always open to suggestions.  So, if you make these, please comment & let me know what worked, or what you'd do differently!

Bon appetit!