Expanding Our Brood

Well Spring is here officially, it has not felt like it:(  Thats ok we are in full Spring mode here.  We recently relocated to Tennessee from Ohio where while we farmed in Ohio it was not on such a level as being able to be self sufficent like we can in Tennessee.  We now have the opportunity to raise chickens, ducks and turkeys for our own use.  You might wonder why we could not do this in Ohio, well it is because we raised contract turkeys, basically, we raised turkeys for a large production company.  These animals while well cared for were housed in buildings that did not allow for room to roam and they were fed a simple diet of grains and oils.  When we raised these birds we were not allowed to have any other birds on our property because of possible disease problems.

We have been here in Tennessee for almost five full months and we love every minute of it.  When we moved here the previous owner left their chickens and we purchased a few more from a neighbor.  We now have a small flock of chickens, 22 I am pretty sure.  We get about a half dozen eggs a day, ranging from brown, white and green, since the weather is moderating we should get at least 12-15 eggs a day maybe more.  My husband and I have been trying to figure out a good way to start making some additional money from the farm and we decided we would expand what we have in the poultry.  We are going to raise and sell eggs and meat from chickens, ducks, and turkeys.  We intend to free range the birds and supplement them with fodder my husband will raise and his all natural herb mixture for health and worms!

Our kids have been in Ohio for the last week visiting family for Easter so we have had time to prep for our new additions.  My husband made a cool covered wagon looking table to start our new chicks until they are ready for the big coop.  Last night we ordered the first of our turkey flock from McMurray Hathery, http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html.  Today we went and bought 10 chicks, 6 ducks, an incubator(yes my husband is going to hatch our own eggs), and 2 rabbits that were a total impulse buy.  They are all settling in very well, but I am concerned about our cat Menace she has really taken to the little chicks and ducks, I hope we are not missing any in the morning!!!!!  I have some pictures I am going to share with you, this is an exciting time for us, its going to be really exciting Monday when the kids get home.

Detox the Bathroom: Homemade Tub & Shower Magic

I hate to clean the bathroom with a passion, for one reason only, three little boys!  The boys are great but they like to get dirty, not just a little, alot like head to toe covered with mud, not to mention they have issues hitting the toilet or even picking up the lid, yuck!!!  So you can imagine what I go through cleaning the bathtub after those muddy baths or cleaning the toilet after a kid who can aim.  I have struggled with bathroom cleaners since ridding our cabinets of chemical cleaners.  I have used vinegar, vinegar and baking soda, and mixtures my husband had come up with but I never as truly satisfied.  However, my cousin gave me a recipe for a homemade Tub & Shower Magic, I was so stinking excited.

This past Sunday I had time to mix this up since my boys went back home to Ohio to visit, yes you have to be thinking she has no kids and she is making cleaner, whats wrong with her!  I not only made this but I made more fabric softener, toothpaste, homemade Febreze, and homemade Ketchup!  Anyway, back to my task at hand this cleaner is super easy to make, but you get no pictures, I went to upload them and my batteries are too low in my camera:(  The kids are not here to steal batteries out of their Wii remotes, dang it!

12 oz white vinegar
12 oz dish soap--my cousin had Dawn listed, I had Ajax, I used it and it worked great!
1 spray bottle

Heat vinegar in microwave until hot. Add Dawn--Dish Soap and put in spray bottle, shake well. Only catch is you need to reheat every time you use it! Suppose to do the work for you, just spray on and leave.

I actually chose to scrub mine and it was so shiny and just looked great when I was done:)  I encourage you to give this a try, this is cheap, easy and actually works!

Sweetener in Milk?

ANOTHER ATTACK ON FOOD - "The integrity of our food supply is poised for another blow. By asking the FDA to alter the definition of "milk" to include chemical sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose without full disclosure will only lead to further distrust among consumers. This is a bad idea for consumers and not a smart idea for the industry either," explains Sally Fallon Morell, president and founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation. www.westonaprice.org/2013-action-alerts/dairy-industry-petitions-fda-to-approve-aspartame

Please take time to file your comment right now at
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FDA-2009-P-0147-0012

Even if your comment is very short, we need thousands of people letting the government know that granting this petition would be a disaster to our food supply, especially for children. It’s best to compose your comments before submitting them. Comments 2000 words or less can be copied and pasted into the comment box. Longer comments can be attached as a letter.
For the required field “Organization Name,” please enter “Citizen.”
For "Category," you can use "Individual Consumer"

Homemade Brownie Mix

I am addicted to anything Do it Yourself, here is another link I found!

Never buy boxed brownie mix again! So simple, so easy. Not just frugal but cuts out the unknown ingredients. Brownie Mix $0.30 /mix. 1 Cup Sugar, 1/2 Cup Flour, 1/3 Cup Cocoa, 1/4 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp Baking Powder. Add: 2 Eggs, 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Can put all dry ingredients in a jar also.

Just a Picture of the mix in a ziploc

http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/04/fake-betty-crocker-brownie-mix.html — with Maria Guerrero,Chrissy Dutcher Glenn, Rochele Lamoreaux and Janette Piazza Rank.

Herb Uses

Homemade Febreze!

 saw this on a friend's page & loved it! 

What you'll need:
1/8 Cup of fabric softener (I used Downy April Fresh)
2 tablespoons Baking Soda
Hot tap water
Spray bottle (I used my empty 27 oz. Febreze bottle)

Preparation:
Using a funnel, pour fabric softener and baking soda into your spray bottle. Fill spray bottle with hot tap water and shake well. Don't forget to twist the nozzle over to the LOCK position if you're using a Febreze bottle, or you might fall on your hiney. Now go spray every fabric surface in your house and take a nap on your very comfortable and now un-stinky couch. :)

Store-bought Febreze: $5.59
Homemade Febreze: $0.15
Total Savings: $5.44 OR 97.3%!

7 Reasons to Stockpile Canned Food

Here is a portion of an article my husband received via email from power4patriots.com.  I found it interesting, I always worry about a disaster, ask my husband I always watch end of the world movies, drives him crazy:)  This list is simple, but too the point!  I am not a fan of store bought canned food because of preservatives and possible GMOs but if you can not can and stock pile your own food supply this might be the answer.

OOK, let’s take a closer look at 7 Reasons to Stockpile Canned Food

• Price. If bought in bulk, you can save 75 percent by acquiring most canned foods instead of freeze-dried or dehydrated foods.

• Long lasting. A lot of canned foods have a shelf life of between one and several years.

• Variety.  If you’re starving, you’ll eat anything, even if it’s the same thing over and over again. But if you’ve stored plenty of canned foods, you won’t be starving, and you and your family will really appreciate the variety.

• Calories. When you’re surviving, the last thing you should be worried about is watching your weight. You’ll need plenty of calories and that’s what canned food has.

• Water. There’s very little water in freeze-dried and dehydrated foods, but most canned foods contain the water that will make preparation easier.

• Familiarity. Your family probably already eats chicken, beef, ham, fish, vegetables, stews, beans and pastas, right? They’re all available in canned form, as are many other foods.

• Safe storage. Bugs and rodents can sometimes infiltrate boxes and bags, but seldom do they break through a can.

What other advantages to canned foods can you think of? What about some disadvantages? Let me know how you feel about having canned foods in your stockpile.

Vinegar in the Kitchen

This article is a great guide to follow in the kitchen!  I tenderize meat all the time with vinegar, never used it with fish though, sounds like a great idea!

Ultimate Guide to Vinegar

by Gayle A. Alleman

Uses for Vinegar in the Kitchen

Vinegar's acidity makes it a natural wonder in your kitchen. Besides the burst of flavor vinegar lends to whatever it touches, it serves other purposes, too:

• Meat tenderizer: Vinegar's acid helps break down muscle fibers in tough meats. Make a mixture of half vinegar and half broth, and soak tough meat in this solution for up to two hours. (Because of vinegar's ability to tenderize, never leave fish in a marinade that contains vinegar for longer than 20 minutes; otherwise the fish might get mushy.)
  
• Fish poacher: When poaching fish, put a tablespoon of vinegar in the poaching water to keep the fish from falling apart. Vinegar helps the protein in the fish coagulate, and mushiness isn't a problem because fish is usually poached for less than 20 minutes.
  

  ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. In both Great Britain and Japan, vinegar is often used to bring out the flavor in fish.
• Egg saver: Put a tablespoon of vinegar in the water when boiling eggs. If any eggs crack while dancing in the water, their whites will coagulate and not escape from the shells.
  
• Buttermilk stand-in: When a recipe calls for buttermilk and you have none, substitute plain milk and add a little vinegar. Use one tablespoon of vinegar per cup (eight ounces) of milk. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature until it thickens, then use it in your recipe as you would buttermilk. Choose mild-flavored vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar, for this purpose.
  
• Candy smoother: When making homemade candy and icing, a few drops of vinegar will prevent the texture from getting grainy.
  
• Potato whitener: Cover peeled potatoes with water and a tablespoon or two of vinegar to keep them from browning.
  
• Food preserver: Use vinegar to make pickles or to can vegetables to preserve the freshness of your garden or local farm stand. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes up-to-date information about pickling, canning, and preserving. These instructions will yield tasty pickles and home-canned products that are safe to eat. Check your local state university extension office or the USDA Web site for tips about pickling.

Vinegar to the Rescue!

Let vinegar solve some common, frustrating household problems:

• Pour about a teaspoon of vinegar into a nearly empty mayonnaise jar and swish it around to get out the last of the mayonnaise.
  
• Use it to remove berry stains from your hands.
  
• Soak a paper towel with vinegar and place it in a smelly lunchbox overnight to remove those hard-to-get-rid-of odors.
  
• Simmer a small saucepan of water and vinegar to remove cooking smells from the kitchen.
  
• Add vinegar to a piecrust recipe and the dough will be easier to roll out. (The crust may be less flaky, however.) Most recipes call for about a tablespoon of vinegar for a double crust.

Vinegar's Vim

No matter how you look at it, vinegar can add spice to your culinary life. Prowl the gourmet shops in your area and you'll find dozens of different vinegars. Select a few to bring home and put them to use with the recipes in this book. Your taste buds will definitely be pleased, but it may be your health that benefits most.

Ways to Avoid GMO Foods

It is estimated that about 75 percent of processed foods sold in the U.S. contain at least some genetically modified food ingredients. Unlike many other countries, there is no law in the U.S. requiring the labeling of foods that contain GM ingredients, but if you know how to identify which foods are most commonly genetically modified, you can reduce how many GMOs you eat. Following are some tips on how you can avoid them:

1. Buy foods labeled "100% organic." Laws in both the U.S. and Canada do not allow food labels that say "100% organic" to contain any genetically engineered food, including animals that have been fed genetically modified feed. Be aware, however, that if the food is simply labeled "organic" it can still contain genetically modified ingredients up to 30%.

2. Look for the labels "non-GM" or "GMO-free." These can be hard to find, but if you re able to support manufacturers that produce foods that are not genetically engineered you encourage other manufacturers to follow their lead.

3. Buy whole, fresh foods rather than processed ones. Foods that you cook and prepare yourself are almost always healthier than anything you can buy ready-made. And cooking healthy food doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. There are many simple but delicious and healthy meals that you can prepare in less than 30 minutes that do not involve any genetically modified food.

4. Know which foods and the products that are made from them are most likely to have been the result of genetic engineering. For example:

• Corn - The ingredient derived from corn that is hardest to avoid is high fructose corn syrup. A huge percentage of processed foods and baked goods contains it, not to mention soda. Any food with a label saying there is corn of any kind in it should be avoided unless it states it is 100% organic. Popcorn is an exception, as there is currently no popcorn on the market that is genetically modified.
• Soybeans - Products made from soybeans include soy flour, soy isolates, soy lecithin, soy protein and isoflavones. Be sure that soy based products such as tofu, soy milk, edamame and such have a label stating it is organic to be sure it isn't genetically modified.
• Canola or Rapeseed - Made from the rapeseed plant, canola oil almost certainly is derived from genetically engineered crops, unless you are located in the EU, where no genetically modified crops of rapeseed are yet grown. You find it used mostly as cooking oil and in margarine, and though it is high in monounsaturated fat, it is not a healthy oil to use regularly due to its high levels of omega-6 fatty acids and because it goes rancid easily when heated. Olive oil is a better choice.
• Cottonseed oil - Cottonseed oil is a primary ingredient in shortening, vegetable oil and margarine, none of which are healthy fats, and many of which contain trans fats. It is also used to a great extent in processed foods like potato chips and other fried snack foods.
• Dairy - Some farmers inject cows with the genetically engineered hormone rBGH or rBST in order to boost milk production. Cows also may be fed genetically modified food in the form of grain and alfalfa unless the milk specifically states that it is organic. Look for products that advertise themselves as rBGH- or rBST-free.
• Sugar beets - There is unfortunately no way of knowing if something labeled as containing "sugar" comes from just sugar cane or if it also includes sugar made from beets, since there is no special labeling required. Beet sugar can be avoided by buying products labeled as being made with evaporated cane sugar, 100% cane sugar or organic sugar.

5. Avoid aspartame as a sweetener. The sweetener used in products such as NutraSweet and Equal, Aspartame is derived from genetically modified microorganisms. Any artificial sweetener is usually worse for your health than sugar, and should be avoided whenever possible.

6. Buy 100% fruit juices. Though most fruit juices are not derived from GM foods, the sweetener used in many of these juices (and sodas as well) is high fructose corn syrup, which is almost certainly from genetically modified corn.

7. Ensure your produce is not genetically modified by reading the number on the sticker.

• A 4-digit number indicates the food was conventionally grown and may or may not be genetically modified.
• A 5-digit number beginning with an 8 is a genetically modified food. However, not all GM foods can be identified because PLU labeling is optional.
• A 5-digit number beginning with a 9 indicates it is organic, and thus a non-GM food.

8. Buy meat that is 100% grass-fed. Most cattle in the U.S. are grass-fed until the last three to four months of their lives. At this point they are usually shipped to feedlots where they may be given GM corn and other genetically modified foods in order to increase the amount of "marbling" in the meat. Meat from these feedlot animals has higher levels of saturated fat and less of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids than grass-fed and grass-finished animals.

To avoid meat that has been fed GMOs, make sure the animal was 100% grass-fed or pasture-fed (sometimes also referred to as grass-finished or pasture-finished). For animals such as pigs and poultry that cannot be 100% grass-fed, it's better to buy meat that is labeled as 100% organic.

Wild caught fish are better than farm raised, as farm raised fish are fed fish meal containing GM grains and sometimes meat and bone meal. Eggs should be labeled 100% organic, as those with only a "free-range," "natural," or "cage-free" label are not necessarily free of GMOs.

9. Buy your meat and produce at local farmers' markets. Most genetically modified food is grown on large industrial farms. The farmers' market allows you to talk directly with the farmer to find out how the food was grown. These markets also usually provide a range of other products, such as organic honey, grains, baked goods, etc. You could also join a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm where you receive a box of fresh, seasonal produce every week during the growing season. Another place to find healthy, non-GMO products is your neighborhood co-op.

Laurel Avery, DiHom, is a homeopath who became interested in natural health and the positive effects of healthy eating after moving to Europe from her native U.S. She now devotes her time to helping expose the dangers of genetically modified food and helping others learn how to achieve vibrant health through their diet.

For more about healthy eating and how you can easily cook delicious meals for yourself and your family, visit http://www.natural-health-guide.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurel_Avery

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4594706

"Let food be thy medicine"

This is a great motto to live by!!!!!!!!!!

DIY Paint

I have paint addicted children, and paint gets pretty expensive when they love to do, and besides whats really in it!

Self Sufficient, Can We Cut it?

I have long had the desire to be self sufficient but its flat out hard.  We, meaning me and society as a whole have become so reliant on big companies to provide our basic needs we wouldn't make it 2 weeks in a survival situation!!  I have been doing a lot of reading about what I can do to make sure my food supply I create every year from my garden is stored properly.  I used to freeze everything, that's great but since we moved we no longer have a generator, that would mean in a long power outage I would lose my supply of food I worked so hard to freeze.  I am not ok with that, I have found a list for you to think about, and really to question yourself to see if your storing your food properly.

Ignoring the importance of nutrition in the foods that are stored

Using sacks or other containers that are not air-tight--I have made this mistake, I think I have a nice container that won't draw moisture or bugs, only to open it and moths coming flying at me.  This so grosses me out, this is one of my weaknesses.

Failing to keep food containers in a cool, dry place--I have also done this, I used to store alot of my canned goods in my kitchen where I made my potato salad that I sold to grocery stores.  It was a great room, but when it would heat up when I cooked it would break my seals:(

Failing to keep food containers out of the light--This is true, I have discolored foods before from sunlight shining right on them.

Storing too many items that need refrigeration--This is like when the electric goes out and I lose all the items I worked so hard to freeze.

Failing to include enough of a variety of different foods

Failing to maintain a good balance in the foods that are stored

Failing to include at least a small percentage of “comfort” foods--This I used to do by freezing small packages of leftover pot roast or soups but now I am rethinking this, what should I do can it?  

Failing to occasionally check expiration dates and rotate stored foods

Storing all of the food in only one location.--This is not a good idea, but when your pressed for space what do you do?

I have thought alot about this list, if I truly want to be prepared I need to keep this list in mind.  I am not an end of the world doomsday er, but there is nothing wrong with making sure all your hard work is preserved properly.

What is Vinegar?

I am have been posting alot about uses of vinegar lately and some have asked me what is vinegar exactly?  This I had to research, my husband has made some homemade vinegar from ashes, lets say it never quite turned out!  After reading many, many articles I decided this was one thing someone else wrote better than I could dream of.  I am posting the definition of vinegar from www.wisegeek.com, it says it best.

Vinegar is a versatile liquid that is created from the fermentation of ethanol. The key ingredient is acetic acid, which gives it an acidic taste, although there may be additions of other kinds of acid like tartaric and citric. The typical pH of vinegar ranges anywhere from 2 to 3.5, although the store-bought kind usually measures 2.4. In food preparation procedures, it is a multipurpose product as an ingredient and condiment. Outside of cooking, vinegar has medicinal, household cleaning, and agricultural applications.

The name comes from the Old French vin aigre, which translates into "sour wine." Vinegar is made from the oxidation of ethanol in an alcohol-containing liquid, such as wine, fermented fruit juice, or beer. There are two processes of fermentation that differ by speed of production. While the fast fermentation process takes only hours to days, it requires the use of machinery to promote the oxygenation.

The slow fermentation process takes weeks to months and occurs naturally. At the same time, a nontoxic slime called mother of vinegar accumulates in the liquid. Composed of acetic acid bacteria and cellulose, mother is also available in stores and consumed by some despite its unappetizing appearance. Another part of the fermenting vinegar may include the non-parasitic nematodes called vinegar eels, which are free-living creatures that feed on the mother. While they are shown to be harmless to humans, manufacturers still filter them out of the product before bottling it.

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

What really causes heart disease?

World Renowned Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong.. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries,today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.

truthaboutheartdisease.org

I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labelled “opinion makers.” Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol.

The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake. The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease. Deviations from these recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice.

It Is Not Working!

These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.

The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.

Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.

Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and younger people in greater numbers every year.

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

Inflammation is not complicated — it is quite simply your body’s natural defence to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus. The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders. However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process,a condition occurs called chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.

What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body? Well,smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully.

The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream dietthat is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. Thisrepeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.

Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.
What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flourand all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.

Take a moment to visualize rubbing a stiff brush repeatedly over soft skin until it becomes quite red and nearly bleeding. you kept this up several times a day, every day for five years. If you could tolerate this painful brushing, you would have a bleeding, swollen infected area that became worse with each repeated injury. This is a good way to visualize the inflammatory process that could be going on in your body right now.

Regardless of where the inflammatory process occurs, externally or internally, it is the same. I have peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries. A diseased artery looks as if someone took a brush and scrubbed repeatedly against its wall. Several times a day, every day, the foods we eat create small injuries compounding into more injuries, causing the body to respond continuously and appropriately with inflammation.

While we savor the tantalizing taste of a sweet roll, our bodies respond alarmingly as if a foreign invader arrived declaring war. Foods loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates, or processed withomega-6 oils for long shelf life have been the mainstay of the American diet for six decades. These foods have been slowly poisoning everyone.

How does eating a simple sweet roll create a cascade of inflammation to make you sick?

Imagine spilling syrup on your keyboard and you have a visual of what occurs inside the cell. When we consume simple carbohydrates such as sugar, blood sugar rises rapidly. In response, your pancreas secretes insulin whose primary purpose is to drive sugar into each cell where it is stored for energy. If the cell is full and does not need glucose, it is rejected to avoid extra sugar gumming up the works.

When your full cells reject the extra glucose, blood sugar rises producing more insulin and the glucose converts to stored fat.

What does all this have to do with inflammation? Blood sugar is controlled in a very narrow range. Extra sugar molecules attach to a variety of proteins that in turn injure the blood vessel wall. This repeated injury to the blood vessel wall sets off inflammation. When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels.

While you may not be able to see it, rest assured it is there. I saw it in over 5,000 surgical patients spanning 25 years who all shared one common denominator — inflammation in their arteries.

Let’s get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6’s are essential -they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell – they must be in the correct balance with omega-3’s.

If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation.

Today’s mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That’s a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today’s food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy.

To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetesand finally, Alzheimer’s disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.

There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.

There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.

One tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg. Instead, use olive oil or butter from grass-fed beef.

Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the “science” that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.

The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.

What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.

Dr. Dwight Lundell is the past Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at Banner Heart Hospital , Mesa , AZ. His private practice, Cardiac Care Center was in Mesa, AZ. Recently Dr. Lundell left surgery to focus on the nutritional treatment of heart disease. He is the founder of Healthy Humans Foundation that promotes human health with a focus on helping large corporations promote wellness. He is also the author of The Cure for Heart Disease and The Great Cholesterol Lie.

The official news release can be found here: Prevent Disease

Grilled Hobo Pack Potatoes

Well the seasons are definitely in change, Woo Hoo!  Well I have been keeping busy the last 3 days helping my husband clear some of our land for our cows that will be coming in a few months!  That means awesome cheese recipes to come!!  However, we worked all day and decided to quit a little early so we could grill tonight, wehave the daylight longer into the evening now!

We chose to grill with no store charcoal!  We usually use a hardwood lump charcoal, it natural and is just wood, no chemicals.  It is actually easy to make your own, sounds like a guest blog from my husband to come.  Tonight we were out some my husband chopped some wood into small chips to build the fire, this took a while since the wood was a little wet, but he got it done:)

Well he had a great fire tonight, we grilled some salmon and the following potatoes called a Hobo Pack!  I saw this recipe on Americas Test Kitchen, on PBS last summer.

2lbs of potatoes(your choice, I like Yukon gold, tonight I used russet)
olive oil
basil, thyme, rosemary, 1 or all 3
salt & pepper

Peel(optional my kids are totally against the skin at this point) and quarter your potatoes, put them in a microwave safe bowl.

 

Cover them with plastic wrap.  Microwave them for 4 minutes.  Take the bowl out but leave the plastic on and give them a good shake to stir them.  Place them back in microwave for another 4 minutes, this helps to precook them!



You will notice moisture on the plastic when its done, it there is any water in bowl drain it.

 

Next you will need your ingredients to flavor the potatoes.  I use fresh herbs when in season.

 

 

This is a shake and see what it looks like moment.  I put enough olive on to coat the potatoes, this helps the herbs and seasonings to stick.  I think I used around 1 tsp of basil, salt and pepper.

 

 

 

Now its time to form the hobo packs.  Takes 2 pieces of aluminum foil about 9 x11 and lay them flat.  Place a couple large spoonfuls of potatoes on the foil.

 

 

Some people make this look pretty, not me just wrap those things up tight so nothing leaks out and your good.  They are ready to grill.  Put them on the grill for about 10 minutes, flip them over halfway through.

 

This is the finished product, not the best picture but it was steaming hot and it smelled wonderful, not to mentions it tasted delicious.

 

 

 



Easter Egg Dye, Cheap, Safe & Good Smelling!

I have not tried this but I am going too.  I wanted to share this so others might give it a try.  It comes from Parents Support Page on Facebook:)

 

A Little Easter tip for all my lovely Parents out there, {Christy}

Here is another great idea to Easter. Instead of buying those dying kits, use koolaid. One pack of Koolaid and 2/3 cups water and you've got awesome egg dye. Two bonuses is..., it's cheaper than those boxes of egg dye and it smells so yummy! :) Side note, if you use the lemonade flavor, mix it with a little bit of orange cause the lemonade doesn't dye too good.

Please Share and Share and Share and tell them Come on over to my page and Support other Parents just like them :)See More

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Radition & Dried Spices

Have you ever heard of irradiated spices? Well you should be aware of what that means, it means that when you open up your jar of cayenne pepper to spice some chili or sprinkle cinnamon from the jar to season some toast those spices have been treated with irradiation to kill bacteria and help extend the shelf life, this is becoming extremely important in this modern world.  Does this sound normal or ok to you?  This concept has been around for years and it concerns me.

Irradiation kills everything, I totally understand the premise, it sounds good the well being of human kind is being considered, right?  However, when the spices or food are irradiated it does not all just magically go away, basically we are ingesting carcinogens in small doses.  I am a fan of using spices in our diets for their medicinal powers, for example, using cinnamon to help with diabetes or using cayenne pepper to help with blood pressure, but when the spices are irradiated they lose some or all of this healing power.

No need to fret you can buy non-irradiated spices at many stores and online, and price wise you won't pay a whole lot more if any.  For example, I love dried basil and this year I had to buy some since we moved I did not get any dried this year.  I have been buying dried basil at Aldi, it has a wonderful smell and has been irradiated, it is a little over 1 oz and I pay $1.00.  Online at http://www.theherbarium.com/ I can get 1 oz of non-irradiated basil for $1.25 and its organic, this is a bulk website.  You could also try www.mortonbassett.com, some of their products are pictured below and they come in a nice jar you could reuse.  I am not a huge fan of buying organic because the prices can be high and sometimes hard to afford on a budget, but in this case it works out great.

When shopping for spices if it does not say non-irradiated you need to assume it is irradiated.  All spices that are non-irradiated it will say in pretty large print on the label or if they are organic they are always non irradiated.When we lived in Ohio we had to go to the local health food store to find these products.  I encourage you to give it a try!

A Mary Kay Me?

My life in the last few years has changed alot.  My family and I used to run a wholesale foodservice business, we closed almost three years ago to concentrate on other things.  In the last two years we did just that, we ran our own potato salad business, did CSA's(community supported agriculture), did several farmers markets, raised our own animals to sell, and ran a market for senior nutrition.  WE loved doing this some of use worked other jobs, my husband ran a nearby dairy farm, we were busy, too busy.  Last summer my husband approached us all with the idea of selling and moving, he has always wanted to do!  I personally had been against it for years but I did not put up a fight this time, maybe it was because I was just wore out, maybe burned out, or both.  Well we all agreed and our little farm sold in less than two weeks, who would have thought.  It was with this I pulled a card out of my mother in laws book that said "It was meant to be".

We looked for months and finally found our wonderful homestead in northern middle Tennessee, which I love.  We started a woodworking business, where my husband makes molding, cutting boards(we sell alot of those), and signs, or anything else he comes up with.  We started an EBay store, has professional help from a wonderful woman named Sharon Ware and here is her website, she can do anything not just EBay http://dandelionconsulting.com/.  We went from no sales to about $700 in a few weeks, that's awesome the work is beautiful:)  I love EBay, I was addicted to it but just buying, I had no choice in the beginning my kids love old shows and cartoons so EBay was the only place I could find the out of date toys.

With that said we are moving right along, but I am used to being very busy and I wanted something  more, but what?  I had long ago looked into Avon or Mary Kay, but I was never a make up person and do I want to do parties?  I did just move to Tennessee and know nobody, other than the ladies at the grocery:)  I had thought long and hard and last week I had decided I might just try Avon, its cheap enough, but then on my way to Cookeville to send a Fed Ex a good friend of mine, actually she was one of my sisters best friends, but I stole her, gave me a call that changed my mind.  It was casual conversation then she asked me about giving Mary Kay a try, I told her I was not sold on the makeup thing.  She said she understood but its not all about just wearing make up this company cares about its consultants and it customers.  I told her I would give it some thought and get back with her.

Well that was a week ago, she needed an interview to meet a goal so I told her sure why not!  Well in this interview I met her director, Debbie Wagner, who reminded me of myself in many ways like how she used to feel about makeup.  However, during that conversation that was suppose to be 15 minutes that turned into at least 45 minutes I learned alot about  how this company can and will change my life if I only allow it.  I hung up from that call intrigued, Rachelle was attacked with countless questions for days, and I still gave her no solid answer, man I am the customer I hated when I worked sales.  Finally, my husband told me just do it, you want to!  He was right, I had to take the next step, and I did that last night! 

I am hopeful about this new endeavor.  I have alot to learn and I can keep in contact with friends and family from home a little easier, I have a reason to call!  In addition to that, I can meet my neighbors and my new community! So reader beware I am soon going to add Mary Kay to my many posts, if you have any interest in theproducts let me know.  I will have my own special Mary Kay website soon:)

Detox the Bathroom 6

This week I did not create something new to use in the bathroom, it was something that was there all along and we did not even realize it, vinegar!  I know that probably is not a surprise to anyone who has been keeping up on my blogs I am so on the vinegar bandwagon right now!  Anyway, I have been washing my hair with my homemade bar soap, which is still working great by the way, but my hair is lacking in a way but I did not quite know how.

My hair has been  more manageable and had an excellent shine since I started using the bar soap but I guess it had a funny feel to it.  This feeling made me start to use store conditioner every few days, it was better my hair felt great, but this product is just what I am working so hard to avoid.  So I started to search the web and found a blog asonomagarden.wordpress.com where she would do a vinegar rinse every few days, seemed ok but the smell once again got to me.  I decided to experiment, what about mixing some vinegar and water together to dilute the smell!  I tried this, I do this every couple days after I shampoo.

When I mix this mixture I do it when I am going to take a shower, it really works best when you use warm water.  You need to get an old conditioner or shampoo bottle or any kind of squirt bottle will work fine.  In the bottle put 1 cup of vinegar and 2 cups of warm water, shake well.  Its pretty simple, just use this when you would normally use conditioner on your hair.

The plus to this nice vinegar rinse is that is also works to get rid of dandruff!  A little note to the vinegar rinse is if you have brunette or black hair it could add highlights to your hair.  I have included a picture below of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar, this is my choice, you might spend up to $20 on this gallon of vinegar but it is awesome, it has the mother in it yet. The "mother" in vinegar is basically the filmy substance you see in it because it is unfiltered and unpasteurized, leaving alot of beneficial bacteria!  However, there is no need to have to use this, I use regular white and apple cider vinegar all the time.

Vinegar and Deodorant?Athletes Foot?

Vinegar is awesome at cutting smells and cleaning!  I should know I mop all my floors and do all my cleaning with vinegar and a homemade crud scrub.  I make my own deodorant that works great, but what if you can not apply deodorant, what do you do just smell?  I am thinking next time I make deodorant I am going to use a little vinegar in the mixture and see what happens since it can cut the smell out of anything.  However, before then if you can not apply deodorant or just want to try something different simply soak a cotton ball in vinegar and rub it in your arm pits to kill the odor.  This will not last all day, if you like this method you will need to reapply a couple times a day, depending on how much you sweat.

Right along the same lines falls foot odor.  I do not have foot odor but have long battled athletes foot, it is frustrating to get rid of nothing seems to keep it away but vinegar.  My husband told me for years soak your feet in vinegar or at least rub some on your feet to kill the fungus, I declined.  However, in the last year I have became more open to alternative methods of healing so I tried it.  I mixed 1 cup of vinegar with 1-2 cups of warm water and soaked my feet. I want to warn you if you have any open cuts or irritation it is gonna BURN big time.  I honestly was crying like a baby, while my husband laughed, but it worked.  It not only killed the athletes foot but I have the softest feet I think I have ever had.

I have been impressed with the many uses for vinegar over the last year and I hope to continue to share these ideas with you!