STOP The FoodShaming! #Babysteps

STOP The FoodShaming! #Babysteps

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I love internet memes. They are usually so “informative” about any opinion, and are just a few words with a fun picture to convey their meaning.

And, usually, they elicit a laugh, smile, or full out belly roar. Sometimes, I will share them on my facebook page or on tsu. Some can provoke thought, inspire action toward change, or even just evoke emotions you never thought you had…like anger.

I am sure that most of you have seen this meme before, right? I usually skipped over it, since we don’t eat out at McDonald’s, and I thought it never would apply to me anyway. But, once I really looked at it, it almost made my blood boil.

Why did it bother me? Well, let’s really look at this picture for a moment.

The idea behind it is that eating at home is far healthier and cheaper than a meal at McDonald’s. And, truly, I fully agree with that. But, for whom is this supposed to be? Is this picture of “reality” supposed to be targeted toward those of us who already do most of the meal preparation at home, who understand that whole, real foods are far healthier than processed junk? Or is this meme targeted toward those who might not really know? The single mother of 3 who really never learned how to cook beyond opening a box of frozen lasagna and tossing it into the microwave? The family that is struggling to make ends meet each month? What about the college students who are living off of fast food, ramen noodles and pizza delivery? Yes, I am 99.99% positive that was the target audience.

Let me start with some back story on this.

*I* was one of those types, the ones who didn’t know how to cook beyond opening a can and tossing some packaged meal into the microwave. My mother taught me to cook, but it was really how to open frozen fish sticks, place them on a tray and add milk, butter and dried cheese to noodles. Not exactly gourmet, but we were eating. I would take my family out to dinner at a fast food restaurant, and felt good about “decent food” vs. eating junk food like chips or candy. That meme was pointed at who I was.

So, why am I upset about this meme?

Well, let’s start with the fact that they say the average family of 4 eats 2 big macs with fries, a 6 piece chicken nugget, cheeseburger, 2 small fries and drinks and is satisfied. Now, I may have unusual children here, but that wouldn’t even begin to fill them up. When my daughter was 7, she could put away 20 chicken nuggets herself! My son could easily pack away 2 big macs by himself as well. So, what family of 4 are they feeding? (no, my kids are NOT overweight at all either) Now that they are working out 12-15 hours a week at TaeKwonDo, they would laugh at me if I said they had to eat just one big mac, fries and drink for a meal. Again, I am sure that my family is a bit different than others…maybe the average family of 4 COULD eat that and be happy and full.

The next thing that kind of bugs me about this meme is that they aren’t comparing apples to apples here.

If I take my family out for dinner, and we get burgers, it’s because we want BURGERS. Plain and simple. We don’t want chicken. I get that eating the chicken is healthier in many people’s eyes, yada yada yada. So, what if we decided to make burgers and fries at home for our family of 4? Let’s compare apples to apples here. I wanted to know how much cheaper, if at all, it would be to make that cheeseburger and fries dinner at home.

Now, we are going to take the GMO/chemical factor out here as it goes without saying that homemade and controlling the ingredients by making homemade burgers is healthier. But, is it cheaper? I wanted to know so I went to my local Aldi grocery store and checked out the prices.

• Hamburger $3.89/lb.(this is conventional, not grass fed or organic even!) To make 4 quarter pound burgers, you would need 1 pound.
• Buns $.89 for a package of 8, so $.45 for 4
• Sliced cheese $2.19 for 11 slices or $.19 each-total of $.76
• Potatoes $2.99/10lb. Average of 1/4 pound per family member or 1 pound for this meal $.29

Total for this hamburger and fries meal is $5.39.

Definitely much cheaper, right? Doesn’t take a math wizard to figure that out, right? Of course, you can’t go to Aldi and just get 4 buns, or 4 slices of cheese, or 1/10 package of potatoes. You’d have to buy the whole sha-bang. Total spent is $7.77. Still cheaper. But, wait a moment…we forgot that bottle of ketchup, ($1.29), mustard ($.89), onions ($.79 each) and pickles ($1.29/jar). Now, our total is up to $12.03.

Did we forget the milk?

Well, add in another $3.99 for that gallon. We just spent $16.02. Sure, you are going to be able to use those potatoes, condiments, and milk for another meal…you’ll get no argument from me on that.

Let’s look at that meme again.

Remember our target audience is people who most likely don’t know how to cook from scratch, or have never really tasted homemade food. You see in the bottom picture a delicious roasted chicken, salad greens, fried potatoes and toast triangles. There is a bit of olive oil, a fresh lemon, salt, pepper and a quart of fresh milk, presumably skim, because you know, fat… And, they are showing how it’s $14.11 cheaper than the McDonald’s meal. Again, you aren’t going to get an argument from me that it’s far better for you.

Herein lie some of my issues.

If you are of the belief that McDonald’s constitutes food (like I used to) then you probably don’t cook much from scratch. There’s really no shame in that at all. It took me a long time to learn how to make food from home, and most of that was self taught. They don’t teach that in schools anymore, and you can get just about any meal in quick prep style. Why cook? For those on that side of the fence, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper are going to be foreign as seasonings on chicken. The chicken would most likely taste really bland to them. Hey, it did to me, too at first. And, for those in that group, can you really make a lemon juice/olive oil dressing for those greens and expect your tweens or teens who are used to processed foods gobble it down? Never worked for me…I had to add some ranch or blue cheese dressing to get them used to salads at all. Green food was the enemy to them!

And, next question: In what are they cooking those potatoes?

The amount of olive oil used was painstakingly pointed out and one can assume that you are using that on the chicken and greens. There’s really not a lot left to use on the potatoes. Okay, so we baked them and cut them up. Still, with just salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil drizzled, there isn’t a lot of flavor for those “first timers” who are having taste buds go into shock. What about butter on that toast? The thought of dry toast as a side dish would have totally grossed my kids out, and I have to admit that I wouldn’t have eaten it dry, either. But, there was no mention of anything to put on that toast.

So, let’s compare apples to apples. Again, pricing at Aldi:

• Whole Chicken $4.96 for a 5lb bird
• Bread $1.79/16 slices or $.11 each, $.44 for this meal
• Potatoes $2.99/10lb. Average of 1/4 pound per family member or 1 pound for this meal $.29
• Heads of romaine lettuce $1.99/3 pack or $.67 each
• Butter $3.49/lb or $.43 for 1/2 stick
• Olive Oil $2.99 for 16 oz or $.18 oz, using 1 ounce for chicken and potatoes
• Milk $3.99 gallon or $1.00 per quart
• Lemons $.50 each

Total for this meal spent is $8.47. Go ahead, I’ll wait while you check my math.

Again, you can’t buy just 1/4 of a stick of butter, or just one ounce of oil. Total spent $22.70 to get the ingredients to make this meal. Of course, we haven’t factored in the time spent on preparing the chicken, energy spent cooking said bird and doing dishes afterwards. And, if you are like me, learning to cook a whole bird takes a bit of practice to do. You go through a lot of birds that have to be cut up and recooked, mainly due to under cooking. And, that leads to frustration and an unwillingness to keep trying (trust me on that one). I must have had to cut up at least 20 birds before I figured out the timing on cooking them whole.

So, is it really cheaper? I would have to argue that it may not be cheaper for those unused to cooking from scratch . Of course, those of us on the “real foods” side of the fence would agree it was cheaper. We would know to make broth with that carcass, maybe some potato soup, with another salad and have a few more meals out of that. But, back in the day when I didn’t know how to do that, it wouldn’t have been cheaper. I wouldn’t have known what to do with the leftover carcass, and I would have purchased broth in the can. I would’ve just made mashed potatoes at the next meal, if I remembered that I had them. Or my kids would’ve drunk that gallon of milk at the first dinner and there would be none left over. (Aaaaahhh..those were the days…only 1 gallon consumed at the meal! Yes, you can tell a child that one glass is all they get, you’re the parent…I’ve heard it all. That’s not my point.

What is my point then?

Well, simply this. We can easily point out a quick bunch of numbers showing how cooking at home is cheaper, but if you don’t know how to cook, are you going to? Are you going to fix that green salad and serve it to your kids when you are not used to eating salad greens? Are you as likely to make a whole chicken for dinner when you are used to greasy burgers and fries? Here’s my challenge to all the “foodies” out there…how about using these kind of “memes” to help educate others around us?

What memes would you add to help others learn how to cook from scratch with #babysteps?

Original article and pictures take thehomesteadinghippy.com site

Steel Cut granola

Steel Cut granola

Crunchy, Homemade, steel cut granola delivers a medley of healthy ingredients for a high-​fiber, low-​sodium, vegetarian, dairy-​free and gluten-​free breakfast. Make it yourself for a powerhouse nutrition boost!

Making homemade granola is a creative way to experiment with different flavors, and textures in healthy ingredients. I enjoy creating my own granola. You will find several of my recipes for steel cut oat breakfasts linked at the bottom of this post. I also linked my homemade Greek yogurt recipe and a few other ideas for you fellow granola fans. I even made a fantastic bread with steel cut oats!

My husband and I recently found Bob’s Red Mill organic steel-cut oats. You can follow the affiliate link to Amazon if you need to order them. Of course, we found them at Costco. The challenge now is learning how to use them!

Steel cut oats are not like regular oats. Steel cut oats are smaller but fairly chewy, thicker, and denser. They have a very different texture than regular oats. I made an apple crisp with them and… I won’t be blogging it. Regular oats win that recipe contest! I intend to continue using regular oats in cookies and other light treats. I love the texture of rolled oats and they are good for us; so why not?

Steel cut granola all by itself, chock full of pecans, Cherries and dates!

Why steel-cut instead of regular oats?

The advantage of steel-cut oats over regular oats are many, nutritionally speaking. Steel cut oats are not cooked and processed as rolled oats are. Just chopped in steel blades. Steel cut oats are higher in fiber and benefit diabetics and people with high cholesterol,(like me!) by lowering the overall glycemic levels in your system and clearing out the gastric system really well. My daughters learned that these amazing oats also boost mother’s milk production enormously! Steel Cut Oats also provide protein, iron and other valuable nutrients we all need. I’ll be learning other uses for them. They do make a dynamite granola!

Fresh out of the oven. Ready for the dried fruits!

What other goodies are in this granola?

This Steel Cut granola is chock full of deliciously healthy foods. I’ve added chia seeds for even more fiber, antioxidants, healthy fat and minerals. Pecans, flax, coconut oil all have healthy fats, trace elements, antioxidants and help with digestibility. Maple syrup is lower on the glycemic index than processed white sugar. I love the flavor of Pure organic Maple Syrup. A scrumptious, nutritious way to start the day!

Overall, this Steel Cut granola is a whopper of a healthy meal topper! This recipe is built for 36 one Tablespoon servings. Just one Tablespoon over your favorite smoothie bowl or yogurt add quite a nutritional punch to your breakfast. Use more if you like, of course!

Right now, as I’m writing this I’m also enjoying a late night, steel-cut granola parfait with pineapple chunks, banana and homemade Greek yogurt. Delicious!

A delicious part of a healthy breakfast!

If you’re a granola lover like me; go take a look at these recipes!

• Basic homemade granola
• You may also like my recent recipes, Steel Cut Oats Quinoa Gravel Granola, Healthy Steel Cut Oats Granola Recipe, or
• Steel Cut Oats Maple Syrup Apples Pecans,
• Try Chocolate Chunk Sweet Potato Granola
• And finally, for one of the most useful recipes you will find on this blog that will save you bunches of money, Make you Own Homemade Greek Yogurt!

Original article and pictures take www.homemadefoodjunkie.com site

Staying in Touch with Your Teens…Even When You’re Not a Night Owl

Staying in Touch with Your Teens…Even When You’re Not a Night Owl

Staying in touch with teens is important to every parent I know…but how do you do it when you are NOT a night owl? Here’s my strategy and a few tips.

Staying in touch with teens is important to every parent I know…but how do you do it when you are NOT a night owl? Here’s my strategy and a few tips.

By Ann Timm

A morning sunrise is far more appealing to me than late nights watching TV, talking on the phone, or reading a book.

I miss the old days of tucking the kids into bed at night by 9 p.m. and then starting my bedtime routine and being asleep by 10. I would wake up so refreshed and ready for a new day.

Those were the days of bright and cheery good morning kisses from cute little monsters with bed head.

Somehow, over the years, those cute little morning kissing monsters morphed into night owls. No more bright sunshiny mornings; instead they prefer to stay up late and sleep in way past the sunrise. I have struggled to follow them there…by turning into the nighttime monster that snaps and growls while trying to keep my eyes open, just wanting my pillow and all the chatter to stop.

For a while I tried to leave it to my husband to be the night watch. He is more of a night owl and has superhuman powers that don’t require much sleep, unlike me, who needs a full 8 hours to rise bright and cheery with the morning sun. He did great for a while, but now that even our youngest girls are staying up later, I find myself battling my bleary eyes more and more.

I used to tell them, when they would ask if we could talk late at night, that it could wait until morning. After a number of times of trying to re-start the conversation when I was fresh, the moment had passed and they no longer had anything to say.

My selfish desire to be fresh so that I could impart some great wisdom was replaced with a sadness fueled by their feelings of doubt that I really cared about them. I heard, “Mom you never listen!” too many times. I struggled in my prayer with God to understand WHY couldn’t we have these talks during daylight hours…shouldn’t it be at a time when I was fresh and able to really listen and respond brilliantly? My brain is so foggy at night and I just didn’t think I would have the ability to give the responses I thought they needed.

Finally, after too many nights of sending my girls to bed disappointed and feeling like Mom didn’t care, I slowly started to respond by snuggling in and asking what is was they wanted to talk about. Funny thing was, they weren’t really looking for any wisdom or even advice. Most of the time, they don’t require any more than a nod of the head and an ‘mmm-hmm.’ They just wanted and needed Mom to listen and be present.

Now that I’ve been at it a while, it always amazes me how open and raw my teens (and pre-teen) are late at night. Somehow the darkness tenderizes them, opening a window to their hearts that during the day is closed and guarded. We get a glimpse of their struggles and dreams. Our times together at night, though taken a while for me to get used to, have turned into moments of shared giggles and touching moments of heart to hearts.

More and more, I find myself sharing songs or quotes or scripture to help them with fears or girl drama or feelings of inadequacy. Mostly, though, its just the time together and instead of “Mom, you never listen,” I’m hearing a heartfelt, “Thanks Mom.”

If you’re a morning mama and you struggle like I do, I encourage you to let go of the bondage of time and tiredness. Let yourself be tenderized, tired and bleary, just listen. You might be amazed at how much it opens their heart just to know you care even when you think you can’t.

Twenty minutes at night when my eyes are half closed, my ears are fully open. And our hearts are fully shared.

Staying in touch with teens is important to every parent I know...but how do you do it when you are NOT a night owl? It isn't easy! Here's my strategy and tips for keeping connected with teens.

How do you stay in touch with your teens? What tips and tricks do you have for battling Night Owl tendencies and staying available?

Up Next:

Let's face it: motherhood is challenging, and one of the challenges we can face is boredom. Let's talk about staying positive and avoiding that mom…

When we realized that Christmas had become commercialized in our home, it inspired us to start helping our kids give great gifts. Here's our story.

Ann Timm

Ann Timm considers herself blessed to be the wife of a Christ follower and mother to six amazingly cool kids. She strives to keep a happy, healthy home, although she openly admits to failing often. She loves to share her foibles and encourage other women on their journey to healthy living.

More posts by Ann Timm

Original article and pictures take keeperofthehome.org site

Staying Active During the Holidays

Staying Active During the Holidays

Christmas is fast approaching. Excitement is in the air, gift wrapping is in full tilt, visiting family and friends and baking secret family recipes are in the works! We are also about to over indulging in foods and maximize our relaxing time, all of which are great and important. However, we forget about exercising over the holidays because, frankly, it’s too much work to fit it all in.

Christmas can also be a stressful time. Too many toys to play with, too much time inside the house and too much time sitting on our butts. It’s important to still be active during the holidays because taking a break from being active can make you feel terrible.

A few easy and quick tips to keep your family active during the holidays:

Cut down a tree together. Getting outside, searching for THE perfect tree can be an adventure in itself!

Christmas Eve Games. Start a new tradition on Christmas Eve; every time someone say’s Merry Christmas, Santa or Elves, everyone has to get up and do their favourite exercise. Such as, jumping jacks, pretend your skating on ice or skiing or maybe even push-ups! Create the game together!

Family walk. After all the presents are opened and played with a little, take the family outside for a 20-30 minute walk OR snowball fight if you are lucky to have any snow. Take a look around your neighbourhood and see what it’s like on Christmas morning. Are there kids playing outside, other families?

Snow forts! {again, if you have snow} Take your kids outside, build snow forts, snowmen or paint the snow with coloured spray water.

Christmas Day Night-Walk. Before bed time, bundle up family your and take them out for a walk to see all the Christmas lights. When you are done, go back home for some hot coco and a healthy treat before bed.

Boxing Day Events! Instead of hitting up the local mall for the best deal, created 3-4 activities to do as a family and with friends. A game of snow soccer will be a fun change for little kids or a game of tag in the snow! It’s amazing how tired you can get after running around in the snow {with your kids}.

There are also resolution runs and polar bear dips in various communities. Brrrrrrrrrrr! The main point is to schedule and make activity {exercise} a priority over the holidays. Do it as a family and you will have plenty of fun memories and maybe some new traditions started.

How do you plan to stay active during the busy holiday season?

Original article and pictures take totsfamily.com site

Starting a Sourdough Starter for Yourself

Starting a Sourdough Starter for Yourself

Homemade bread without commercial yeast is possible.

Very possible! As a matter of fact, it’s been done for centuries without the help of “rapid rise” yeast. All you have to do is capture the wild yeast in the air around you, and create a sourdough starter.

Yes, there is yeast all around you, and you can capture it and make your own bread and bread products with it! It’s called sourdough! And, it’s so simple to do for yourself, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it before! Plus, the act of “fermenting” or souring the dough helps to make the doughs and breads easier to digest and the added sour taste is very pleasant.

All you gotta do is start with equal parts of water an flour.

They are “best” measured by weight, versus volume. So, instead of adding 1/4 cup of flour and water, I use 28-30 grams of each measured by weight. This will help get a more consistent bread baking in the future.

If you have city water that has flouride or chlorine in it, you’ll want to use filtered water, or leave it out for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate. These chemicals can kill of the natural yeasts. Just take a wide mouth jar, or other glass vessel and add the flour and water. I’ve heard that metal can interact with the yeasts and plastic can leach into the starter. I honestly don’t know much about that, but better safe than sorry, right?

With a wooden spoon or fork, stir like crazy, and get some air into the mixture. Cover loosely with a cheesecloth, or natural coffee filter. I add a canning band to keep the filter in place, and to keep bugs out.

Add in new flour and water and mix it every day for about 3-4 days. However, after the second day, you’ll want to remove about 1/4 of the mixture before adding fresh flour. This will help your starter mature faster.

After a couple of days, you’ll see this action happening:

And that’s a sign that it’s working!

Your starter will often need 11-14 days of feeding to be ready for use in all sorts of applications, breads, rolls, crusts and even cake! This is so that it is fully strong and mature and gives you a proper bread rising. It’s really worth the wait on this, trust me! So, get your sourdough starter going and join us for some recipes and fun things to do with it!

Have you made a sourdough starter? What is your favorite thing to use it for? Be sure to pin this for later!

Original article and pictures take thehomesteadinghippy.com site

Start Here

Start Here

Welcome to Keeper of the Home!

We’re so glad you’re here!

I’m Ann Timm.

If you are a woman like me, you want the people you care about to live happy, healthy lives.

But let’s face it—living a naturally healthy life is not easy these days.

Does This Sound Familiar?

I know it can be tough to get reliable information you can trust about healthy living, especially when we are all busy women living life every day with family and friends.

We have so little time, it seems, yet we know nothing is more important than the health of those we love.

On top of it all, healthy living can cost a lot if you don’t have time to find the deals and learn the tricks to keep costs down..

All of it can leave you feeling frustrated, as if you’re letting your family down, as if you can never do enough for those you love.

And, let’s be real shall we—it can leave you feeling alone.

I Know How You Feel

I am a busy mother of six–almost all teens now!–and I’ve been part of the Keeper of the Home community for quite a while.

I’m here because of my own passion for healthy living and because of the great work of our founder Stephanie Langford. After 8 years and almost 20 million visitors, Keeper of the Home continues to be one of the leading destinations on the Internet for practical help with naturally healthy living.

Our digital library is filled with thousands of articles, thousands of recipes, and tens of thousands of solutions you can use on a wide range of topics—all designed to make it easier for you and those you love to enjoy a naturally healthy life.

I now lead a team of contributing writers, each of whom has felt the pressures you feel, who continue to produce valuable posts and resources you can use as part of the Keeper of the Home community.

It All Starts with My Family

I’m a Christ follower, praying daily for the eyes of Jesus to see others with the love and understanding only He can give.

I am deeply in love with and devoted to my husband. As a busy mom with several teens, I am always working on patience and clarity!

I’m passionate about my DIY bullet proof coffee (though my husband might use the word addicted) and I’m a coconut oil fanatic even while I’m juggling rural farm life, sports schedules, blended family dynamics, and working from home.

Every morning I wake in awe of my hubby, feeling blessed to walk this life with him. He is a serial entrepreneur and business executive with a passion for helping men lead their families and he has just started sharing our intentional parenting practices.

As a mama of 6 kiddos, I have had many successes and even more fails.

I recognize the need for moms to share and encourage each other. It is amazing how often I find that women feel alone in rearing kids, being a wife, or just taking the next step on their quest for healthy living and happy homemaking.

I want to make sure that women are getting what they need to make good decisions and to feel good about making those decisions.

That’s why Keeper of the Home exists, because we believe everyone deserves a happy, healthy home.

We’ll send you our latest resource to help you on your naturally healthy living journey when you join the Keeper of the Home community now!

Connect on Social Media

You can also find us on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Wondering what we talk about here at Keeper of the Home? I’d love to tell you.

Real Food

I haven’t always eaten real food. In fact, for much of my life, I ate foods that were decidedly not “real” in any way, shape or form. Growing up on a pretty conventional, standard diet of processed, convenience and refined foods, I had a lot of work to do as an adult.

There are many sites that take a heavier handed approach to teaching you about what it means to eat wholesome, nutrient-dense, life-giving foods, and one of our goals is to avoid that approach.

Instead, we want to offer up the information, along with a heaping dose of grace and real life and celebrating even the small changes, the little victories. Food should be enjoyable and not a difficult or stressful thing. We all need to eat, right?

If you’re interested in making the switch to real food in your family, but not sure where to start, we have a great beginner’s guide to eating better. It includes topics like:

As well as a few other in-depth posts on relevant issues for eating well:

Or find some tasty whole food recipes that we’ve shared. Here are some of our most popular ones:

Or some kitchen DIY tutorials:

And we couldn’t not talk about the real foods I actually buy, and how I would feed my family if we were on a super tight budget:

• The Nitty-Gritty on the Real Food I Buy and Where I Buy It – Part 1 and Part 2
• What I Would Feed My Family on a Monthly Budget of $250 (written a couple years ago – so prices have changed a little, but the concepts remain the same)

We look at ways to make healthier choices in other areas of home management, such as cleaning.

Living in such a toxic world, it’s crucial that we make every effort to keep those toxins out of the places we spend the most time in, and using all-natural cleaning products is one simple way to do that! Sign up for our free email list and you’ll receive a free copy of our ebook Clean & Simple, with 12 recipes using only 7 natural, non-toxic ingredients!

If you’re looking for more information about natural cleaning around KOTH, we’ve got you covered in this area as well with posts like:

DIY Beauty? We’ve got that, too.

Many of us here at KOTH enjoy making our own beauty and skincare projects. No, we don’t make absolutely everything, but it is empowering to be able to make many of the products that we would have previously had to buy.

It’s frugal, easier than you think, and you’ll love the comfort of using products with pure and safe ingredients!

Using natural home remedies, herbs and more.

Though I’m not opposed to doctors or standard medical care at times (because sometimes it’s necessary and I’m grateful for it), I also believe that quite often, gentler natural remedies work just as well or better, sparing us from the negative side effects of pharmaceuticals.

One aspect of regaining my own health was learning to support and build up my body with herbs, nutrients, exercise and other lifestyle changes, rather than just popping a pill.

As moms who love to research but aren’t certified medical practitioners of any kind, we aren’t qualified to tell you what to do… but, we do love to share what we’re learning, what’s worked for us, and hope that it inspires you to keep researching, learning and seeing what works for your own family.

Take a look at the books we’ve written

Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time

What’s holding you back from making the switch over to natural, healthier living? Feeling overwhelmed?

A compilation of practical, relevant and easy-to-implement “baby steps” designed to take you on a one-year journey. We lay it all out, step by step, to take the overwhelm and hard work out of it.

Are you spending too much on groceries? Would you like to maximize your current budget so that you can afford more wholesome, nutritious foods for your family?

A primer for families who want to learn how to save an average of 20-30% on their food budget, while at the same time serving better quality and more nutritionally dense foods.

What if you could learn to meal plan in a way that helped you to eat better, while saving you money, time and stress?

You can… for the price of one boxed convenience meal or a fraction of the cost of one night of eating out.

Or check out one of our series of posts:

Traditional Foods (raw milk, old-fashioned fats, meat, fish, fermented foods– the things that have kept people healthy throughout history!)

Gardening 101 (for Beginners)

GAPS Diet

Organization in the Real Food Kitchen

A Month of Routines (a collection of various routines and thoughts on bringing more order to the home– for mealtimes, when Mom’s feeling worn out, in the kitchen, etc.)

We also have resources to help you in your home-keeping journey:

8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home (a free PDF guide to help you declutter your home, little by little)

10+ Natural Cold Remedies {Plus Free Printable}

7-Day Real Food Menu Plan {20-Minute Meals Version Plus Free Printable Grocery List}

Homemade One-Size Cloth Diaper Pattern and Wipes Recipe

Don’t forget to stay in touch!

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We’d love to keep connecting with you. Thanks for visiting!

Yesterday I began by sharing about where I buy our meat, fish, eggs, dairy and fats. Today I’ll continue on, sharing the particulars of what I buy where.

The goal isn’t to tell you that you should buy your foods just as I do, but rather to give you a detailed, inside look at how it works for one family, and to help inspire you as you seek out affordable sources of real food for your own family!

Organic Grains and Flours

At this point, I am buying these exclusively from Azure Standard. I buy the whole grains (like Kamut or rye berries, rather than flour) in 25 lb bags, because these are cheap, easy to store and I want the nutritional benefits of freshly ground flour. You can’t beat buying whole grains in bulk!

In this kind of bulk, the price becomes very affordable. I pay just under $20 for 25 lbs of Kamut, under $12 for 25 lbs of rye berries, and $18.50 for 25 lbs rolled oats (all organic). I also purchase my barley, steel cut oats, quinoa, popcorn, millet, etc. from Azure, but usually in 5 lb bags (except for the oats). The only other grain that I buy is brown rice, which I get from Costco. It’s 2.2 kg which is about 5 lbs, for $9.

We are also using almond flour and coconut flour to do some grain-free baking. I have bought the Bob’s Red Mill almond flour in a case of 4 packages from Amazon (use Subscribe & Save for 15% off). Another option that is slightly cheaper is the 5 lb bag fromHoneyville Food Products. You can often find coupon codes if you search online, or get them sent to you if you sign up for their emails and their shipping is only $4.49 in the US. For coconut flour, Tropical Traditions sells a great product and it’s most economical to buy two 2.2 lb bags at once, and try to do it on a Monday when they have a coupon code or free shipping available. Other than that, Azure Standard or Amazon both sell the Bob’s Red Mill brand by the case for a reasonable price.

Gingersnap dough (yummy)

Vegetables and Fruits

I have been faithfully shopping at the same produce market, 2 EE’s, for 6 years. In season, they grow as much of their own organic or unsprayed produce as possible, and they try to bring in a lot of local as well. They also sell by the case, which is particularly cost-effective for preserving season. Shopping according to what’s seasonal, on-sale and discounted definitely helps me to stretch my produce dollars as far as they can do.

We do have a Farmer’s Market near us, which opened 2 years ago, I believe. I go there occasionally, but it’s still quite small and usually between my favorite market and my own garden, I don’t really have a need to. In the late spring, summer and fall, my vegetable garden provides us with the majority of what we need. Want to learn more about growing your own food? Make sure you read the Gardening 101 series!

I should mention that during the cooler months, we don’t buy a lot of fresh fruit. We do tend to buy organic apples (which are mostly from local areas and stored for the winter), some citrus in winter (which is when it’s seasonal), and bananas (which I try to only buy when I find them discounted), but that’s about it.

Other than that, we buy tons of fresh fruit in the summer, while it’s local, seasonal and inexpensive. We enjoy plenty of it fresh, and then I preserve like a mad woman from July-September, churning out strawberry jam, apple jelly, canned pears and peaches, canned applesauce, sweet and sour plums, mincemeat, and frozen blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and peaches.

Spices and Herbs, Nuts and Seeds, Dried Fruit

For me, these items are best purchased in bulk through a natural food co-op. I use one called Azure Standard. I buy spices and herbs in 1 lb bags from Oregon Spice Company, and I find them quite fresh and they carry many that are organic as well.

My nuts and seeds are mostly from my co-op as well, in 5 lb bags because they’re cheaper that way. I store the more volatile ones (like walnuts and sesame seeds) in the fridge or freezer for freshness. The other place that I will buy nuts is Costco, because I find theirs to be quite fresh and the price per lb breakdown is about the same as Azure, generally. I buy most of my unsulphured dried fruits from Azure as well (mostly dates and raisins and occasionally apricots, because I make my own apple and banana chips and fruit leathers), and these are also cheapest in 5 lbs bags. If stored well, they last just fine for a couple months.

Other Grocery Items

I have one local store that I shop in, Extra Foods (or Superstore, it’s sister store). They put out 15% off $100 coupons at the beginning of each month, so I try to take advantage of these and stock up on my toilet paper, canned or frozen fish, teas or condiments or rice pasta from the organic aisle, some organic produce and a few other basics. I also use coupons when possible(yes, there are sometimes coupons for decent foods, just not many), as well as the coupons that we get for buying our gas from the Extra Food’s gas station. We also get free grocery dollars for using our business credit card that is connected to this grocery chain as well. It all adds up, and helps to save more room for the rest of the real food we buy from other sources!

Lastly, I shop at Costco about once every two months. Fresh salmon, canned tomato paste, organic corn chips, brown rice, organic butter, frozen organic corn and peas and green beans, almonds or walnuts, etc. On some items, their prices are worthwhile and they are slowly carrying more “real food” options.

And This Was The Condensed Version

Think these posts were long? You should see my book, Real Food on a Real Budget: How to Eat Healthy for Less! 280 pages of straight talk on how I find great deals on real foods and keep my budget low, without compromising on what I feed my growing family.

Available in both eBook and paperback formats, it’s sort of like sitting down at my kitchen table and picking my brain about the best ways to save money on healthy, wholesome foods and all the little tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years of working with a tight budget.

I would love to hear any other specific grocery or budget questions that you have for me.

Better yet, I would love to hear from YOU, with some of the specifics of what you buy where and how you find find great deals on real foods!

Original article and pictures take keeperofthehome.org site

Squeezable Homemade Children’s Toothpaste

Squeezable Homemade Children’s Toothpaste

So, a couple of years ago, I published the two recipes that our family uses to make homemade toothpaste, as well as our tooth powder recipe.

It may seem that we don't need another recipe for homemade toothpaste here at Nourishing Joy, but I decided to share this reworking of our usual toothpaste that I make specifically for our kiddos because it has a few small but significant changes to the original recipe and I thought they might be helpful for you all too.

First of all, though, let's review what any good children's toothpaste MUST do – homemade, store-bought, or otherwise:

• scrub off plaque and food residue without scratching the tooth’s enamel
• make the mouth an inhospitable place for bacteria
• invigorate and stimulate healthy gums
• avoid toxic ingredients, especially if the children are very young and have the habit of swallowing toothpaste

Optimally, a toothpaste will also:

• whiten and polish the teeth (again, without damaging the enamel)
• strengthen the tooth itself and assist in remineralizing the tooth to fill in cavities and abcesses (read more about remineralization)

So, there are a few reasons I list this recipe specifically as a CHILDREN'S homemade toothpaste:

Squeezable – need I say more? Requiring kids to scoop a reasonable amount out of a jar without making a mess is more trouble than it's worth.

Helps kids grow strong teeth – This recipe adds glycerin as an optional ingredient (which is not in the original recipe).

Generally in natural/alternative health circles, glycerin is considered a highly undesirable ingredient because it coats kids' teeth like a sheath and doesn't allow them to remineralize properly (or at least quickly). However, I see glycerin as an appropriate emergency measure. When a child's baby teeth are so soft that they rot just by thinking about sugar, even when there's not much sugar in the child's diet and the child brushes well, I see glycerin as a sometimes-necessary shield as part of a temporary measure while other healing protocols are in place to help the child's teeth strengthen.

Removes xylitol from the recipe – I'm okay using xylitol topically (which is why it's in our standard toothpaste recipe), but I'm not okay with recipes that call for ingesting xylitol, so when young children have a propensity for swallowing their toothpaste, I'd prefer not to use xylitol in a children's recipe. As an optional substitute, you can use green powdered stevia (avoid the white version) or stevia extract, but I typically find that the added flavors make up for a lack of sweetness and balance the bitterness of the baking soda.

Flavors kids love WITHOUT essential oils – Kids are crazy about flavors! It seriously makes a difference to make toothpaste with a cool flavor. However, essential oils are not necessarily the way to go here. Let me explain.

I LOVE essential oils and use them regularly in our home. However, INGESTING essential oils – either by swallowing or absorbing them through the gums – can be a big deal. (This doctor explains so well about ingesting essential oils and children.)

Let me say this clearly: You should always be cautious with essential oils, but super-hyper-cautious when you use them with children under the age of six and especially when they might be swallowed. I don't care what brand you're using or which even which oil – you must exercise extra caution when using essential oils with children! That doesn't mean you CAN'T use essential oils in this toothpaste (for example, OraWellness' HealThy Mouth Blend), but since this toothpaste is specifically for young children, I prefer to recommend other alternatives.

Extracts are your best bet, such as peppermint, lemon, or cinnamon (either homemade or high-quality store-bought versions are fine), but flavor gels (like the kind bakeries use) can also work.

HOWEVER – warning – if you're going to use a flavoring rather than an extract, read your labels carefully and know that there's no perfect solution on this one – chemical preservatives (such as propylene glycol) and artificial flavors tend to abound, so weigh that when you're deciding to make your toothpaste in your daughter's favorite bubble gum or strawberry flavor (this brand at least doesn't have artificial dyes).

Personally, I prefer to stick to extracts and right now our kids' favorites are lemon-lime and boring old peppermint, but for a short while they loved the chocolate flavor I made with chocolate extract….

Also, I do encourage you to use the optional clay in this recipe. I've written more about why in this article, “10 Reasons Clay Should Be in Every Mama's Cupboard.”

Now, the most savvy among you may notice that I recommend I homemade extracts and high-quality extracts – which are made of vodka or other high-proof alcohols. You'll also notice that I actually call for additional vodka in the recipe as well. This is not craziness on my part, I assure you, even though this is a toothpaste for children.

This is because using water to thin the toothpaste in order to make it squeezable shortens its shelf-life considerably, since water breeds bacteria, but using alcohol acts as a preservative. (You can still use water if you want, you'll just want to use it up within a few days.)

And honestly, if you use most commercial mouthwashes, the exposure to alcohol or its derivatives is much higher than in this toothpaste. Since the vodka makes up about one-tenth of the ingredients and there are at least 20 “doses” of toothpaste, your child will have no more than 1/20th of a tablespoon – that's a little more than 1/8th of a teaspoon – in his or her mouth at a time along with all the other ingredients. (And theoretically, they'll be spitting most of it out.)

So I'm totally comfortable with this, but if you're not, again, just use water instead and use the toothpaste up within a few days.

So, without ado, here's our favorite homemade children's toothpaste!

(By the way, if you have tips for teaching young children how to brush their teeth WELL, I'm looking for all the tips I can get, so please leave them in the comments!)

Original article and pictures take nourishingjoy.com site

Spring Giving Project

Spring Giving Project

I may receive a commission if you purchase something mentioned on this page. See more details here.

Kelly and I like to support a variety of charities as individuals. There is nothing better than giving back to organizations you are passionate about, right? It makes you feel so good to do good!

We were at the most amazing conference this weekend where we learned not only amazing business skills but ways to be better parents, spouses, friends and human being! An idea was spawned…an idea to something truly GOOD! We are calling it our “Spring Giving Project”.

We wanted to involve you!!!! We are learning together how to feed nourishing food to our families, manage our time better so we can be better mothers and spouses, and live a life free of toxic chemicals. You can’t put a price tag on the impact this has!

How can we give back? By serving you in a project that will have a ripple effect to orphans, poor children who need an education and a nourishing meal, kids living in slums and people whose homes have been destroyed.

Oh Lardy's Spring Giving Project

So let’s get to it – what is this project and who will it help and how can you be a part of it?

What is it?

We are going to donate 100% of the income we earn from Young Living for any new members that get started with us during the months of March and April, 2016!!!

This basically means that if you get started with us during these months, all of the bonuses* we earn from your enrollment and even from anyone else you help to get started with essential oils (yes that will increase the giving impact – amazing right?!).

We bet you didn’t know that you could earn an income from Young Living. And in this case, the income we earn from your individual purchases during March and April or anyone’s purchases that you enroll during March and April will go straight to help people in NEED.

You can learn more about how sharing with Young Living works here – you might also be able to do something similar or use the money you earn as you choose!

Who will it help?

All proceeds will be donated to the Young Living Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization to serve the extreme poor in Ecuador, Croatia and Africa. Young Living covers all administrative costs of the foundation, so 100% of every single tax-deductible donation goes directly to our carefully selected projects and partnerships. Right now dollars donated are supporting the following projects:

1. Educate children.

The Young Living Academy serves children in Chongon, Ecuador. The school began with 83 students and now holds 297 children in grades K-12. Our friend, Lindsey Gremont, personally visited this school and said it is unbelievable what we are doing for these children! Imagine being taught in a one room schoolhouse with no bathroom and dirt floors and no food? Now imagine you now have an amazing building to learn in every day that provides you with the only meal you get all day? These kids are learning the skills they need to help change this community and sustain it for many generations to come!

2. Rebuild Nepal

It has been almost a year since earthquakes in Nepal claimed nearly 9,000 lives and destroyed more than 900,000 homes, tragically leaving millions without a roof over their heads. Many victims are struggling to survive as sub-zero temperatures and heavy rains render their makeshift shelters painfully inadequate.

The Young Living Foundation is right now looking for donations to set up a factory and teach the people how to manufacture interlocking blocks made from dirt and cement, similar to what we have done in Ecuador in the community where we have the school. We will teach the people how to build their homes! Once they have the homes, schools, and other buildings rebuilt, they will then be able to sell the blocks to help create an income for the villagers. This sustainable project will enable us to fund the building of hundreds of homes, schools, and clinics! Now that is a huge impact!

3. Take care of Orphans

Imagine an orphanage that feels like a family instead of just rows of beds! In 2014 the foundation partnered with the Maestral Orphanage in Split, Croatia. This orphanage provides support to children and young adults who have been removed from their families due to neglect, abuse, or other issues, it is currently the only orphanage of its kind in the area. Money donated funds new apartments for orphans to simulate the model of a family setting, with five children to one staff member per apartment.

4. Protect Children in Uganda from Parasites.

Imagine you had no shoes and that this mean you could get a painful parasite that causes infection, gangrene, paralysis, occasionally amputation, and even death. Ugandan children and adults are susceptible to illnesses caused by a parasite called jiggers, which typically enter the body through the feet. Thousands of Ugandan children live without adequate protective footwear and misconceptions about the cause of jiggers – they are literally thrown out of their communities because people think they have evil spirits.

The Young Living Foundation helps to fun Sole Hope who supports local communities by employing local shoemakers and training them in innovative shoemaking techniques for making durable, protective shoes for the community and employ medical personnel to remove jiggers from those affected. They also educate about how jiggers are caused so that children are not abandoned to this terrible parasite.

There are new projects supported by the Foundation all the time – these are just a few of the things that we do! Amazing stuff right here right?

How do I get started so I can help?

All the details on how you can get started are explained here but remember 100% of the income we earn during March and April, 2016* will be donated to help the orphan and the poor and those affected by natural disasters!

*How does the giving project work?

100% of what we earn from your purchases during March and April, 2016 will be donated to the Young Living Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. You can learn more about the Young Living Foundation and who we serve here. When you enroll with Young Living as a wholesale member and purchase a Premium Starter Kit, we earn 2 bonuses and 100% of what these bonuses we earn will be donated to the YL Foundation:

1. The Starter Kit Bonus – this is $25 for any YL Starter Kit
2. The Fast Start Bonus – this is 25% of whatever you order in your first three months as a YL wholesale member and if you should ever enroll someone with the same starter kit you got from Young Living then it would be 10% of whatever they purchase during their first 3 months as a Young Living Wholesale member.

Oh Lardy! is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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Original article and pictures take ohlardy.com site

Spinach Pesto

Spinach Pesto

Spinach is a wonder food.

Even Popeye knew it back in the 40s and 50’s. It is full of calcium, lutine, and lots of vitamin A. Truly a powerhouse in nutrition. It’s easy to grow, and is a cold weather veggie, making it perfect for early Spring and late Summer gardens. It’s prolific, and if you cut it back carefully, you’ll have plenty of spinach throughout the season.

I love fresh spinach, especially from the garden, or from our kitchen window in the winter.

When we plant our spinach, we plant TONS of it, and it always seems to be ready at the same time, even if we stagger the planting. After we get our fill of salads and dehydrated spinach powder over everything, we make spinach pesto. This easy to make pesto is delicious, hearty and with a light flavor. Super fast and perfect for a busy weeknight meal.

Not just for noodles, though!

This spinach pesto is great over baked chicken, mixed in with roasted veggies, or on a grilled cheese sandwich. Try this pesto pizza with spinach pesto for another delicious meal idea!

BE SURE TO PIN THIS TO YOUR FAVORITE BOARD FOR LATER

Original article and pictures take thehomesteadinghippy.com site