Limit Beverage Choices to Filtered Water...

 

Last week I introduced Baby Steps to Nutritious Eating: 12 Steps to a Real Foods Diet from Lindsay @ Passionate Homemaking.  Step 1 was to Use real butter instead of margarine.  The next step is to Limit beverage choices to filtered water.  I know this will be really hard for some of you.  I did this particular step a long time ago when I was in High school (OK, a really long time ago).  I break down and have a coke every once in a while, but water is the only thing that really quenches my thirst.  Lindsay has listed some natural alternatives such as kombucha and water kefir soda, which are very dense in nutrients. I haven't tried either, but I plan to soon and will let you know the results.  Our bodies are anywhere from 45-75% water depending on the size and other factors of the individual.  Any way you look at it, a significant part of the human body is water.  So it only makes sense that your body needs plenty of water at it's disposal to function properly.  You are simply not going to get that from sugary sodas or diet sodas full of artificial sweeteners.

  

Baby Steps to Nutritious Eating: 12 Steps to a Real Foods Diet 

by Lindsay @ Passionate Homemaking

2. Limit beverage choices to filtered water.

Drinking more water is probably the best step towards better health. Get a good stainless steel water bottle and start drinking! Removing pop and other highly sweetened beverages from your diet is huge! You just really don’t want to go near HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup). There are no HFCS varieties available at health food stores if you cannot drop the habit…but it is definitely worth it for the cost savings alone. Tea and coffee are good beverages if you choice fair trade versions. Kombucha and water kefir soda are also good nutritiously dense drinks. If you can, purchase a good water filter. Berkey is reasonably priced option. Otherwise, a Brita is better than nothing.

 I would love to hear your comments!  What do you drink instead of sugary sodas to quench your thirst?

Getting Ready for Winter : Stocking Your Natural Medicine Cabinet...

We are still having some pretty hot days down here in the Southeast, but that little nip of Fall is definitely in the air.  Especially in the evenings.  The littlest Smith and I have actually been able to get in a few golf cart and four wheeler rides without the mosquitoes trying to carry us away.  Before we know it the Winter will be on us.  Colds and viruses will be keeping our immune systems in overdrive.  Check out 5 Natural Medicine Cabinet Essentials after all, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!".  You can thank Ben Franklin for that little ditty.  Along with the famed Elderberry Tincture (everyone raves about this particular concoction) you'll find a few other things that mama should always have on hand.


 5 Natural Medicine Cabinet Essentials
by Lindsay @ Passionate Homemaking

PHOTO CREDIT

Fall is definitely arriving here in the Northwest as we welcome rain and chilly weather turning our thoughts towards starting to prepare for the winter and the cold/flu season. Last year I shared about stocking your natural medicine cabinet and found a wealth of information and ideas passed around from our readers. As I look back on this previous year, I realize I collected many items that were truly not necessary. My goal this year was to simplify my medicine cabinet and stick to the items that were most effective when dealing with the everyday cold and flu bugs last winter. Here are my top 5 items that I believe should be in every Mama’s cabinet:

1. Elderberry Syrup

I cannot praise this concoction enough! It is easy and frugal to make your own supply, and it is incredibly healing to the body. As I shared previously, “Elderberry is anti-viral, contains high levels of flavonoids and antioxidants, has cell-protecting components, soothes sore throats, and supports the immune system and respiratory system.” We have found it extremely effective for all colds, running noses, sour throats, flu, fevers and various aches and pains. It covers all your bases and is perfectly safe for adults and children.
Learn how to make your own elderberry syrup and keep it stocked in your fridge all winter long. Take one teaspoon daily to help boost your immune system and prevent illness or 1-4 teaspoons daily during sickness. Check out this helpful video from Mountain Rose Herbs on preparing your own. Mountain Rose Herbs sells dried elderberries for an excellent price.
If you’d rather buy your Elderberry syrup, we have used the Quantum Elderberry brand as well and it is excellent alternative. You will go through it with one cold bug, so that is why I started to make my own because it was significantly cheaper.

Click here to read the entire post.

Take the First Step...

A few days ago I did a post regarding  Baby Steps to Nutritious Eating: 12 Steps to a Real Food Diet by Stephanie @ Passionate Homemaking.  Step 1 is Use Real Butter Instead of Margarine.   

Why Butter is Better.  

Where can I find Real Milk for making Butter?

Today I thought I would post a wonderful recipe that I found at Frugal Granola for Delicious Butter.  I have been making my own butter for a while.  It is a very satisfying practice, delicious and EASY!  Be adventurous and give it a try.  If not just buy your own butter. Organic, grass-fed is best.  Otherwise just make sure it is butter free of rBST.  It is so much more nutritious for you and your family than margarine.  This is great news for all of you Paula Deen fans out there!

Delicious Butter

by Michele @ Frugal Granola

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A Jar of Buttermilk & Fresh Butter in the Stoneware Butter Keeper

I have been hesitant to post my butter-making routine, as I know others have previously written wonderful tutorials on the subject.  However, since I have received several inquiries on my “lazy” way of making butter, I thought I’d go ahead and share a few of the different techniques I have encountered over the years.  

When we learned about the health benefits of butter, we were extremely motivated to make our own!  We found a local source for raw milk, and it has been wonderful!  I buy 2 gallons a week.  This provides enough for our toddler to drink, as well as sufficient buttermilk and butter for the week.  Calvin & I occasionally will have a glass of milk, and I usually make a batch of yogurt, too.  (Somehow, I think God makes it stretch!)  

We aren’t always very precise when it comes to skimming off the cream (hence the “lazy” method begins!); we don’t always get all the cream, and if we do, there might be “excess” milk included in our skimming.  But, that’s ok!  If there is cream left in the milk, we reap the health benefits of drinking it.  If there is “too much” milk, it will take longer for the butter to form, but we end up with plenty of buttermilk.  Nothing is wasted!  

Since raw butter doesn’t have a long “shelf-life,” we only skim one gallon of milk at a time (although it does freeze well, if you would prefer that option!).  From each gallon, we usually end up with 1/2 cup butter, and 2-4 cups of buttermilk (depending on how precise we were, and the seasonal abundance of cream in the gallon).

 

 

Let me know how it turns out.  Have a great weekend! 

Tattler Reusable BPA-Free Canning Lids

Are you trying to take advantage of the great deals on end of the season produce by canning?  Stephanie over at Keeper of the Home is doing a Review and Giveaway for Tattler Reusable BPA-Free Canning Lids.  You might want to check it out.

 

Tattler Reusable BPA-Free Canning Lids: Review and Giveaway

by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home on September 23, 10

I've had a few comments here recently in regards to how much work it was to can tomatoes, as some readers followed my step-by-step tutorial for canning diced tomatoes. I agree. Canning takes a lot of work. Much as I love the end result, it isn't really something I do just for kicks.
Though it certainly can be money saving, particularly if you are using garden produce or buying ripe produce at end-of-the-season prices, that isn't the only reason that I do it. When I first learned that canned goods expose us to significant levels of BPA, because of the can's inner lining, my motivation to do my own canning suddenly went up a few notches.

Baby Steps...

After you have decided that you would like to make the leap and take on the journey that is natural living, you may quickly become overwhelmed. My advice to you is to take it slow. Pick one or two things at the time that you would like to change. Implement those changes and get used to them. Then move on and choose another one or two to tackle. Changes that are made slowly are ones that you are more likely to stay with. You would not want to cause a revolution within your happy home! Below is a great post that I found over at Passionate Homemaking. It's been a great resource for me and I am still learning so much. Over the past four years I've been taking it REAL slow. Enjoy!

Baby Steps to Nutritious Eating: 12 Steps to a Real Food Diet

In the beginning...

It all began on September 2, 2006 at 8:24 a.m.. A new life entered the world. Sent to me by the grace of God. An answered prayer. Little did I know how much he would change my outlook on life.

Of course, I had all of the first time mommy concerns : What kind of diapers, cloth or disposable? Do I let him cry or do I pick him up? I had read so many books in preparation and for the most part I was prepared. What I wasn't prepared for were the other questions and interests that began forming in my mind : Should I feed him organic foods or conventional foods? Why would I want to feed my baby food treated with pesticides? The shampoos and lotions I'm applying to his skin, how are they affecting him and what is being absorbed into his blood stream?

Thus began my journey into natural and Traditional Homemaking. I made small changes in the beginning like buying organic whole foods and shampoos with safer ingredients. Slowly, bit by bit, I am making changes in our lives that are making a big difference. I'm not sure where this journey is taking me, but I'd love for you to come along for the ride. You may even see a few things that you would be interested in implementing in your life.

I plan to present you with natural recipes, ideas and tips that will bring you closer to a more simple, natural and traditional life. That we may be as healthy as possible and ready to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.