The gift of food is often the greatest gift to receive. It doesn’t cause clutter. It saves the recipient time and money, and lends itself to a nice, peaceful evening. It covers many of the 5 Love Languages: is a gift of service, affords the person more quality time to spend with their loved ones, […]
Let’s talk about natural alternatives to all the chemicals we parents are made to believe are necessary from insect repellent to sunscreen. Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to pick a category and find a natural product or homemade remedy to use instead of the conventional and potentially harmful version. Upgrade one product
It can be difficult to stay within a food budget, especially for a one-income family, when you’re trying to eat “real food,” not only whole unprocessed foods but also well-raised meats, traditionally prepared whole grains, and unrefined sweeteners, etc. A little planning can go a long way to help you save money. Your mission, if
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to do something special with your family this week. Special family time doesn’t have to be anything special, just being together and getting silly suffices! What a way to get moving with the kids! After a couple of heavy research and controversy posts last week, a (negative)
Salt has really gotten a bad reputation over the last few decades. It’s been pegged as a culprit in hypertension (high blood pressure) and many people across the nation are on a low salt diet. Some food companies are so dedicated to producing low-salt foods that they end up making no-taste foods. I tested a
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to cut down on your microwave use. Our family took on this mission about two years ago, and I’m nearly ready to relegate the microwave to the basement to make room for a big old Berkey water filter system. My husband is not quite ready to get
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to check your pantry for industrial oils or trans fats and root out any remaining stragglers. Today we’ll review the basic structures of fats and why you want to stock up on some and send others packing. Before you’ll be able to embrace the fact that some
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to pack reusable containers to bring to restaurants or cafeterias instead of bringing home Styrofoam take-out containers or other disposables. Get up from your computer right now and do it. That’s right. Stand up, grab a few cheap plastic containers that will survive a few weeks in
Monday Mission: Pack Reusable Containers for Restaurant Leftovers Read More »
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to chew your food. Don’t think I’m going too easy on you for this first Monday Mission of the fall. I realize you chew your food daily, but I’m challenging you to chew it better. Jordan Rubin says in The Maker’s Diet to chew food, especially starchy
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to find something to buy local this month. Farmer’s Markets across the country are in full swing, and there’s no better time to find a local source for fruits and vegetables than summer. You might find U-pick berries or just a roadside farm stand with fresh produce
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to learn about where your meat comes from. Perhaps you already know everything about your meat. Perhaps you’ve watched Food, Inc. and seek out local, grassfed or pastured, organic meats. Your job, then, is to find the balance. Keep on reading. This week we’re talking about CAFOs,
Monday Mission: Got Meat? (Where does your meat come from?) Read More »
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to seek and destroy MSG (monosodium glutamate) in all its forms. You’ll have to do some covert ops to determine MSG’s location. You may start in a Chinese restaurant, but don’t get too comfortable. This week we’re talking food additives as part of the Spring Cleaning: Get
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to find at least one way to cut down on refined sugar this week because of the link between sugar and inflammation. My Story: White Sugar Free Last year for Lent, I was just beginning my real food journey, and I decided to give up all white
I continue to run into people, both online and in real life, who have celiac disease or cannot handle gluten, including an elderly neighbor who was just diagnosed for the first time. This Monday Mission topic was confirmed when I heard Elisabeth Hasselbeck, host of The View and former Survivor contestant, describe how she was
Monday Mission: Learn About Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance Read More »
Every year, as spring inches closer, folks begin getting into their gardening groove. I totally understand. When it comes to getting the most bang for your nutritional buck, certainly not much beats growing, harvesting, and preserving your own food. But what are those of us with a brown thumb to do? We love our Farmer’s
Kitchen Hack for Getting Free Nutrition in Only 2 Minutes a Day! Read More »
I just finished a brownie. Unsoaked. White sugar. Whole wheat flour. It was delicious. So let’s get one thing straight. I eat grains. I eat wheat. Probably too much, too late at night. I’m no grain hater. I was planning on having the first Monday Mission of grains’ month be to move away from white
Your mission, if you choose to accept it (on a Friday!), is to decrease what you throw away while attempting to keep a clean house. Watching some people clean up is like being the unfortunate witness to another mother’s child’s screaming hissy fit: I’m embarrassed and pained to watch, and the memory can be seared
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to find one way to reduce plastic usage by using the real thing instead of disposables on the table. How to Reduce the Use of Plastics It’s a Choose Your Own Adventure Monday Mission. Click each idea for more details on how to reduce the use of
While others are meticulously organizing their cupboards and pantries or posting beautiful pictures of their type A storage systems, I’m taking the alternative route and showing you some ways I use what I have and watch for strange and unusual storage solutions. Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to throw away and recycle
Monday Mission: Repurpose Kitchen Containers as Unusual (Frugal) Storage Methods Read More »
Simple things. What can I do that is simple and will increase my nutrition? I’m often asked that question, and the folks who ask it don’t know that it’s the question I ask myself all the time. When I read about soaking grains for the first time, I was pleased to find out that it’s
