Give-away

I'm currently working on one of my goals on my list.  Getting a nutrimill to I can mill my own flour.  Once flour is made it begins to lose its nutrients right away.  This means the flour that I've been buying in the stores has basically lost a huge amount of its nutrients.  I've also heard that freshly milled flour is better tasting, the dough rises more, it will have all the nutrients.  I have made breads with store bought whole wheat flours and it has tasted a bit off.  Probably because the flour was old. Thanks to  www.kitchenstewardship.com
I've learned to put my flour in the freezer once I buy it at the store.  Her sight is wonderful, check it out.  She is currently having a give away for a nutrimill.  Go to her site and check it out.  www.kitchenstewardship.com  I wish I could figure out how to put a button or link on my page for this site and others. 

Goals for 2011

I have MANY goals for this year.  I have been educating myself about 'real food' and am learning so much, especially from the blogs I've been following.  I'm beginning to think all the things that I thought were being healthy is not the case.  Take skim milk for instance, this is mainly what I drink and what I feed my family.  I've been reading some information that maybe its not the best for me.  I've read a lot about raw milk and if I knew where to get some and make sure its free from antibiotics etc. I'd give it a try.  However since it is a crime to buy or sell raw milk here, I think I may be out of luck. 

So a few of my goals for 2011:

1) Grow my own garden, harvest my own food form it
2) Learn to can my own veggies and fruits etc.
3) Buy a nutrimill and mill my own flour (This is more a money issue, don't have any!)
4) Make my own soaps...body, hand, detergents
5) Make my own lotions and lip chaps (Just need to find where I can get the beeswax)
6) Learn more about Kefir and try it.  First have to figure out how to get it.
7) Learn more about naturally fermented pro biotic foods.  There is currently a give away on www.kitchenstewardship.com  the give away is for a new multimedia cooking series offered at Nourished KitchenTake a look at both sites, they're wonderful!!

8) This is a big one for me...get away from splenda! Since it seems I'm always trying to lose weight I've    become a splenda addict.  I thought it was made from sugar and was a healthy alternative, even giving it to my kids at one point.  I've stopped giving it to them and now go for more natural sweeteners, honey and agave, but I still have it daily.  Need to stop!

Take a look at what your goals are...pick one and give it a try.

I want to eat real food and have many thanks to many people who blog information that I am loving.  I'm fairly new to blogging and am a bit computer illiterate so bare with me.  I have to figure out how to put up links and buttons for their sites. 

All the best to you.

I am hooked to coupons

About a month or so ago I saw a show on TV about couponing.  It showed people buying hundreds of dollars worth of groceries and paying dollars for it.  How did this work?  Where did they get all their coupons?  I had seen coupons that came in the fliers once a week and never before gave them a second glance.  It peaked my interest and made me wonder if I was missing out on a big savings.  So when the fliers came, I clipped all the coupons and looked in all the grocery fliers to see what products were on sale and if I had any matching coupons.
There is a little trick to this however.  If you don't need it right away and its not marked down enough, wait as it will probably go on a great sale.  Every week I clip and I browse and circle the sales etc.  Then it came time to go to the store and see if these coupons would do their magic.  Realizing that some items that I do use I could buy for little to nothing with coupons was almost too good to be true.  Walking up to the cashier with my products and my coupons in hand my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.  You have to understand I had never used coupons before and didn't know how they worked.  Or if any store would take them, so I was nervous, funny I know.
Drum roll please.....they worked!  I was giddy with excitement as I was getting products that were normally 4 dollars for .50 a piece.  Some items, the store paid me to buy them.  ( although it was only .3)   Now I am hooked and would recommend them to everyone.  There are not a lot of places so far that I have found where I could get coupons.  I live in Canada so they come in the fliers and online places like http://www.save.ca/ and www.pgeverydaysolutions.ca.  However if one goes onto the product sites they usually have coupons you can order etc.  
Some examples of awesome deals are:
Deodorants, buy 3 and get $0.03 back
Two hair colors and 2 cover girl mascaras all for $5
Shampoos that are regular @ $6 for $1.50
Tide for $2.33 regular ranging $6 and up depending on where you buy
Toothpastes etc. .50

Hey every little bit helps.  Like I said I am hooked and if it saves us money I am in.  I haven't tried printing coupons though, as I am not sure what stores will take them.  I will have to ask them first before I waste my ink.

We have changed the way we do our grocery shopping, instead of going to the store and buying whatever we wanted, I now have a list and stick to it.  Meal planning is a great strategy and work your meals around what is on sale.  At the end of the month I will see just how much we've been saving.

So if you haven't already tried, go for it.  Every little bit helps out.  A little planning each week for your meals etc.  Make a list going to the market and stick to it.  Clip those coupons and when a great sale comes along added with your coupons and feel the excitement.  I almost felt like I was stealing items. 

Here's to saving our money.  Save on household items, toilet papers etc.  You'll be able to either put some of that monies away or put it towards some of the pricier items (especially during winter months) like fruits and veggies. 

All the best to you!

Its Up To Me.: Saturday getting ready for the week

Its Up To Me.: Saturday getting ready for the week

Success

So the recipe that I tried this weekend was a success.  Everyone ate it and there was not one negative comment about it.  I only made one loaf just in case it was a flop.  I owe my thanks to Kendra from www.newlifeonahomestead.com for the recipe.  This will be my go to recipe for toasts and sandwiches etc.  until I want to experiment again.

I also made cake pops for the first time this weekend, they took a little longer than I expected.  That was mainly because I didn't have a large enough foam brick to let them set on so I had to make it in batches.  They were very tasty and looked pretty good.  Instead of cards for Valentines day I sent them to school for the kids to hand-out.  The cards are always tossed anyhow.  Unfortunately the cake is made from white flour, I wonder if anyone out there has a successfully whole wheat recipe or maybe buckwheat.  I mean it would have to taste good and for the kids at school I am not about to experiment.  However I see this as a challenge and think I just may experiment with it in the future.  I would never buy a cake....ever.  I dislike shortening in my cake and icing and do not use these ingredients....EVER!  I know many people do and that is fine, but for me and my family it is not an option.  Butter cream icing should be just that butter....(not that butter is healthy). 

Looking outside at the snow, I find myself longing for spring.  I am looking forward to planting a garden this year.  There are so many new things I want to do, but will just have to take it one step at a time. 
I have successfully found a bread recipe my family likes.  I have started freezer cooking and will maybe one day be doing once a month freezer cooking.  I make my own breads, cookies, pizzas, buns, spaghetti sauces, peanut butter, chicken stock etc.  I love knowing exactly what I am giving my family to eat.  Although not everything I can control, I can live with that.....for now. ;)

Saturday getting ready for the week

Saturday is usually my day to bake my breads for the week and figure out what I am planning for dinners etc.  I've just started to make dinners and freeze them for the future etc.  We are still trying to figure out a great bread recipe, one that my whole family will like.  I only want to use whole wheat flour, which is what we always ate, but it was always store bought and for some reason someone will find something wrong with the breads I have made so far.  If I have ever made with white or half and half they like it, but I don't want to do that.  Anyhow I've been glued to my computer reading and finding awesome blogs with recipes tips etc.  I have found one site www.newlifeonahomestead.com and found a recipe that has peaked my interest so I will be making it tomorrow.  What I would really hope for is some day to have my own grinder, right now its just not in the budget but soon I hope as the nutrients start disappearing form flour right when it has been ground.  Plus the taste is suppose to be way better.
Some other things I will be making are 2 lasagnas one for supper one for the freezer and a few dozen healthy cookies (besides the chocolate chips) they have no fat and no sugar in them and are delicious.  Ever since I saw on Dr. Oz show that peanut butter can have rats in it....and yes you heard me correctly.  Apparently it is not common that they may fall into the vats and get ground up in there.  Anyhow I make my own and its so easy etc. so I will be making that as well. 

Some future projects I will be making are...I will be making my own lotion bars, lotion, lip balms, hand soap and clothes soap.  All recipes that I have found on blogs.  I love the idea of knowing what will be in my products, plus saving money etc. 

I hope to come back and write that I have found the bread recipe that everyone in my family likes.

One step at a time

There are so many changes that I want to make, I feel overwhelmed by it all.  I want to change the foods we eat, the products we use.  I want my home to run more smoothly and get into a routine that we can all follow.  Trying to make all these changes all at once is obviously not going to happen and would be too much all at once.  So one step at a time and eventually/hopefully I will get there. 
A few changes I have made with our diet is to almost completely cut our white flour, rice, sugar etc.   I bake our breads, cookies, etc.  I have just recently started to make our own yogurt.  I try to only use honey or agave syrup, with the exception of brown sugar for cinnamon buns.  I've introduced coconut oil, I've been learning and making soaked breads etc.   More natural foods, the way God wanted us to eat them.  Even though its pricier we buy organic/ free range meat and eggs and for the kids milk.  I'd love one day to have my own chickens and goats etc. I know who would of thought. 
I used to be an avid user of bleach, I bleached and lysoled everything.  Now my main cleanser is vinegar from the kitchen to the bathrooms.  I'd still like to find a better soap detergent for washing our clothes etc.
It hasn't always been easy just to make these few changes.  I've tried and tested many recipes until my family was able to find ones they liked.  Still trying to make them better.  Its a lot more work to try to make everything yourself and not just go to the store and buy it, but my family and I are worth it. 
I can't wait for spring, I look forward to getting our garden ready and can picture all the wonderful things we will grow in it and will be able to stock our freezer with for the summer. 

I will be posting some of my recipes in the future and would love to hear other peoples ideas on how they are getting back to basics with their lives.

Welcome

I doubt anyone will be reading this blog, but I think it may help me be more accountable.  A few of my old friends have started blogging and I have enjoyed reading them.  A few weeks ago I started to read a few more blogs and have read so many great ones.  I've come across many words of encouragment, great healthy recipes, many tips on how to save money etc.  So I thought why not give it a try and maybe someone may come across it and find something they find usefull and if not, hey its like my own journal and could be some fun.
I've been making some changes to my house hold for the past year or so.  I've cut out the white flour and white rice.  Buy only the hormone free range meats, try to buy organic when possible and when it is needed.  I want to go back to the old days, when there was not so many chemicals put into our bodies.  No wonder there is so much cancer and diabetes etc. in the world, look what we are feeding our bodies.  No Kraft dinner etc. here.
I bake my own bread, granola bars and cookies and anything else that I can.  I recently tried making yogurt, which I was very nervous about and it turned out great.  It was easy to make and works out to be a lot cheaper, plus there isn't all that sugar put inside it.  The kids love it with a little fruit compote inside.  It is a lot more work to try to go back to basics, but it is my job afterall to do the best for my family. 
It really is up to me to make these changes and make the home a great place to be.

So if you join me in my adventure, welcome.