~ Carob Zucchini Cake ~

This post is included in the Whole Foods for the Holiday :: A Real Food Progressive Dinner :: Modern Alternative Mama is hosting Desserts and in Fight Back Friday at Food Renengade and Simple Lives Thursday  


Carob Zucchini Cake

 2 1/2 c organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 c water
1 c yogurt

3/4 c organic butter
1 1/3 c rapadura
3 organic eggs
10 oz of frozen grated zucchini
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 organic raw carob powder
2 1/2 t baking soda
1 t organic cinnamon
2 t organic vanilla
2 t organic orange extract

 The night before you want to make this cake, combine your flour, water, and yogurt. Cover with a towel and let sit 12 to 24 hours. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla, and orange extract. Add your soaked flour and other dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in grated zucchini. Place batter into a 9x13 greased and floured cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

 This is one of our very favorites and it doesn't last long. I don't frost it, instead I whip up a batch of real cinnamon whipped cream.

  Cinnamon Whipped Cream
 2 c organic raw cream
1 tsp organic vanilla drizzle of honey or pinch of stevia
1 to 2 tsp organic cinnamon
 Beat cream until it makes soft folds, then add your vanilla, honey, and cinnamon

~ Free Cloth Diaper Patterns ~

This was a post was started last February (blush...) because a few people had asked me which patterns I used for making diapers. These are just a few of the cloth diaper covers that I had sewn. My little guy turned two this past months and is almost fully potty learned, all by himself. Having five other people using the bathroom on a regular basis helps but he is one smart little cookie (if I do say so myself, hehe!)

Darling Diapers Newborn Pattern. My son is very petite so these fit him until he was a year old. I think it just depends on where you like your diapers to fall, below or above the belly button. These are the wool sweater pants that I made from a men's extra large sweater purchased at the thrift store. Paid $7 bucks for the sweater and got a huge pair of sweater pants out of it and will get at least one, if not two covers out of the body of the sweater. Score! This is Katrina's Pattern for Longies. I love this pattern, so simple. These particular ones were made for my daughter who is very petite and all her other pants were falling off of her.

My own pattern, made with two layers of fleece. Used over prefolds at night, love it.

Rita's Rump Cover made with PUL and fleece inner.

Wee Weka Side Snapping Diaper Pattern turned into a PUL cover. Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker Pattern made out of PUL and fleece for the legs and waist.

Wool crochet cover, from the Easiest Crochet Wool Soaker Pattern . Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker Pattern out of fleece. Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker Pattern from fleece. Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker Pattern from wool interlock and hand dyed. Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker Pattern made our of wool interlock, made leg casings instead and also hand dyed.

Out of all the diapers I have, I love my prefolds and wool. There is just something about natural fibers. There are other patterns out there that I have tried and not like as much. A quick google search will bring up more patterns but these are the one that I personally thought had a great fit and were easy to sew.

~ Venison Tacos ~

I made venison tacos tonight with the rest of the venison roast that my hubby smoked and they were so good. I love to make my own tortillas but when I can't we use Alvarado Bakery Sprouted Grain Tortillas. Some fresh green leaf lettace, a little colby-jack cheese, some homemade salsa, and...the best sour cream I have ever had, only it wasn't really sour cream. I made room temperture cultured yogurt and as it cultured all the cream rose to the top of the jar.

I love sour cream, I can eat it with a spoon and I am telling you, this was the best. The next time I make yogurt I am going to skim the cream off the milk, let it sit out and sour a bit more and then add the yogurt culture.

~ Kids and Food ~

On Sundays during children's church the kids are usually given a cookie, but because of our sensitivity to sugar I have been bringing a snack for my kids. Last Sunday I didn't make it downstairs before cookies were handed out but had a pleasant surprise in store for me. My older boys know that they need to past up the cookie, no matter how tempting it might be, but Grace, being like any good three year old hasn't quite made that step yet, or so I thought. All three of them passed up a cookie to wait for their snack from home even when 20 other kids were chowing down. I was so proud of them. When we started to make changes in our diet I included the kids. I have taught them how to read labels and how to calculate sugar content per serving. I know that most of the time I get eye rolls from adults, but today the boys played together all day with out one fight, not one. That included two lengthy board games and about three hours outside building a snow fort. Having that kind of love and peace in our house is so worth it and when we do have moments of discord, I can almost always trace it back to poor food choices which lead to poor personal choices.
Most people ask me how I get my kids to eat healthy foods. There are several things that I tell them.
(1) You have to lead by example. If you are chugging the soda and downing a bag of chips for lunch because you think you don't have enough time for a healthy lunch than you are shooting yourself in the foot. It really doesn't take that much time to grab something healthy if you make it available, which leads me to point number two.

(2) You are in charge at the grocery store. I have heard more than once the statement "My kid just has to have his pop everyday or he has a fit" Let him throw a fit. As a parent we are responsible for what our kids eat. Part of the reason he has a fit is because his brain it addicted to sugar like a cocaine addict is addicted to cocaine. Yes, sugar is that powerful. They also add trace amounts of MSG to sugar to make it even more addicting so that you will come back for more. If you can't pronounce it or it has food coloring in it, leave it on the shelf. Red #40 is banned in Europe because of it's highly carcinogenic properties but we use it in the US in almost every food product.

(3) Make food fun and involve your kids. That is Zach in the picture with his waffle man. They are whole wheat waffles with no added sugar. He has a small amount of honey butter on it but no maple syrup. We made faces with berries instead. Sometime we have peanut butter and bananas on them. We make the left overs into grilled cheese. Teach your kids about what they are eating, how it affects their bodies, and how they can make good choice about food. Praise them when they make a good choice about their food but don't get after them when they choose something that you wish they wouldn't have.

I often get ask if I hide veggies in their food, like puree squash in the mac and cheese. I don't because I want them to like a food for its own taste and texture. I want them to learn to try new things and learn to like others. If they don't learn these valuable skills when they are young they will be lost as adults when it come to healthy food choices. Zach's favorite vegetable is steamed broccoli, that its, no butter, nothing and he asks for it. They no longer will eat white pasta or rice because it is to starchy and bland.

One of the best books I have read lately is Little Sugar Addicts. If you have a child that has several melt downs per day then this book is for you. I have one child that is hyperactive and one child with high functioning autism (both were fully vaccinated) and when I watch what they eat they don't have any behavioral problems, not one. They are happy, healthy, peaceful loving kids, so it makes all the extra work worth it.

~ 6 Ideas for Eating Wholesome Foods Without Breaking the Bank ~

This post was originally written for CodeName:Mama. 

1. Consider vegetarian recipes: Check out some vegetarian cookbooks from the library and find a few recipes to try. The reason I suggest this is because vegetarian recipes are designed for the main ingredients to be veggies, grains, and beans – not meat. You can add meat to a vegetarian dish but often cannot simply take the meat out of a standard recipe without feeling like there is something missing from the dish. Some of my favorites are The One Dish Vegetarian, For the Love of Food, and Laurel’s Kitchen. I often make a vegetarian dish and only have to add 1/3 to 1/2 of the meat that a traditional meat-filled dish would require. I bought a pound of free range ground beef at the co-op for $5.26 last week. I made two dishes with that one pound: wildrice patties and a veggie beef stroganoff. There was enough stroganoff for leftovers, but the wildrice burgers were gone in a flash(my hubby did get the extra one for his dinner at work). That means I spent $2.63 per meal for meat to feed six people. Both meals would have been just fine without meat. If I buy the meat directly from the farmer, I would get a cheaper price and he would give 10% to the co-op.

 2. Go local: I would think that in this day and age every major city would have a farmers market. These are wonderful places to get fresh veggies and fruits at great prices. Ask the farmers what if any chemicals they use on their food. Buy in season. When the greens beans look great, buy enough to blanch and put in the freezer and do the same with any other in season produce. Ask about meat specials for grass-fed beef and whole free range chickens, many times if you don’t want a whole or even half a cow you can be paired up with someone who would also like a smaller quantity of meat. If you don’t have access to a large farmers market, get online or ask around for farmers who sell wholesale. You might have to drive a couple of hours, but isn’t safe grass fed beef or free range chicken worth the investment of time and miles? If you have a family that loves milk, the price of switching to organic milk can feel like having a major heart attack. Organic milk here is $5.99/gallon, but we buy raw milk right from the farmer for $2/gallon. Raw milk is much better for you and perfectly safe when it comes from small farms who are active in the milking process. Pasteurization kills not only the germs in milk (which are present in quantities much higher at large scale farms) but also all the other living, nutrient-rich vitamins, minerals and enzymes in the milk. Raw goat milk can be very beneficial for people who can not tolerate the large proteins of cows milk. Farmers who have free range chickens for sale will most likely also have free range eggs. Be warned: it is really hard to go back to store bought eggs when you have had the real deal.

 3. Grow some of your own: It is really simple to grow a lettuce bowl on your patio; you can even bring them in when the weather gets cold. Set them in a sunny window. You may have to turn on a light for them in the gray days of winter, but you will have fresh lettuce all year long. Hydroponics is another great way to grow veggies indoors. Research which plants will grow well in containers or check out square foot gardening. Both methods can be done in smaller spaces and require less work than a traditional garden.

 4. Co-ops and buying clubs: Co-ops can seem intimidating, but most co-ops have someone that will give you a tour and show you the ropes. People tend to get overwhelmed when they get to the bulk bins, but those will be your biggest money saver. Bringing your own containers cuts down on the cost of the product and reduces packaging waste. Be careful with buying clubs, sometimes the urge to help someone else buy a full case can dig a little deeper into your pocket than you expect. Stock up on bulk bin items slowly. Get small quantities at first to make sure you like the flavor and texture and then go back and get a larger amount to stock your pantry.

 5. Skip the boxed food: Prepackaged food will always cost more and have less nutritional value because it is preserved so that it can sit on the shelf. This is were it can also get tricky, because preparing your own food can be time-consuming (but it doesn’t have to be). I can make a batch of macaroni and cheese in the same time it takes most people to make a box of mac and cheese. I have had lots of practice, but my main weapon against time is double and triple batches. If I am going to take the time and make the mess, I might as well make a double or triple batch and put some in the freezer for a future meal. When it comes to dried beans, a crock pot or pressure cooker is going to be your best friend. There is nothing better than homemade bread but is time consuming. Get an extra bread maker by asking friends/family if they have an unwanted one, looking at garage sales, or perusing craigslist or freecycle. A bread maker is a great no-fuss way to get bread full of nutrients and void of all kinds of junk.

 6. Take baby steps: Don’t try to change your entire diet at once. Some of the higher priced organic items we do without. If we can find sustainably harvested fruit we buy that instead of organic. Farmers must pay for organic certification, and there are quite a few farmers that produce organically but cannot afford to pay for the organic label. We are not always able to buy organic cheese, it’s expensive. We don’t buy organic nuts, they are really expensive. We do not buy juice, even 100% juice is a container of sugar. When you eat raw fruit, you are balancing out the sugar with fiber, live enzymes, and intact vitamins and minerals, not the synthetic vitamin C added back in after processing. In our family, we do the best we can with what we have. We do not pay for TV or have expensive cell phones, we drive cars that are paid for, and we do not have credit card debt. It has not always been that way – it was a long hard road, but we did it. We are choosing to live simpler. We are happier. And, we eat really, really good food.

~ Sweet Potato Pie ~

This post is part of The Nourishing Gourmet's: Whole Foods for the Holidays: Side Dish Carnival

 This has got to be one of my most favorite dishes in the whole wide world. I eat it for breakfast its that good. When I was little the sweet potatoes were always candied, with those gross little marshmallows on top and no one could ever figure out why I wouldn't eat them. "They are good, they are like candy"

Even has a five year old I knew that candy was not supposed to be a side dish. I don't have a picture for you just yet, the last one was devoured by the members of our 4H club at the Thanksgiving Family Dinner before I got a picture of it.

 9" baked ww pie shell or coconut crust (1/2 cup melted butter and 2 cups unsweetened coconut meat, finely shredded;mix and bake at 300 for 30 minutes)
5 cups of mash sweet potatoes or winter squash or mixture of both
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup rapadura sugar or honey
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp unsulphured molasses
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice

2 tbsp butter
3/4 cup crispy pecans

 Bake sweet potatoes and/or squash till tender. Use food processor to blend until smooth, add everything else but the extra butter and pecans. Pour into pie shell. Melt butter and pour over top. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

~ To Til or Not to Til ~

This post was written for Fertile Imagination @ http://community.fertilityflower.com/ where I have monthly column. Feel free to visit me over there, too!

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We are coming to the end of the harvesting season and there is always the big question, do we till the soil and get ready for next years planting or just leave the dirt alone. Why, you ask, would you just leave it alone? In most peoples mind, when they think of a garden, they think of the lush, black rows of dirt, freshly tilled, ready to be planted with seeds.
What if I told you that tilling wasn't good for the soil. When first heard this I was a curious, so the kids and I set off to explore the reasons not to deep till (to finely chop up the soil 6" deep) every year.

 The number one reason: Ecosystems. The dirt is a huge ecosystem and is destroyed when we run a tiller through it. Healthy soil should be teaming with plant roots, insects, fungi, bacteria, and animals. Soil is made up of 50% minerals and 50% organic compounds such as water, air, and microorganisms.

Earthworm turn the soil, aerating and fertilizing. When we fire up the rotary tiller and prep the soil for next year, guess who gets chopped up? That's right, our worms. Our hard working, friendly, free organic fertilizers are gone and it will take quite awhile for new worms to migrate in. By the time they do, it will most likely be time to till again.

Tilling destroys all the air gaps that our worms and other microorganisms work so hard to make. Good fungal hyphae gives our soil structure. Another fungi, mycorrhizal fungi form a symbiotic relationship (win-win) with the plant's root system. They produce fertilizer for the plant while eating the plants roots and both the plant and fungi thrive. Those lush black fluffy rows will become hard packed after a few rains because all of the structural support is gone. It has been torn it all to bits. And, all of the weed seeds have been brought to the top of the soil to germinate. The earth does not like to be bare. Weeds grow quickly because the earth/soil is trying to repair itself with a shallow root system to reduce erosion, conserve water, and reduce nutrient loss. We have found that the best way to control weeds is to green mulch our fruits and veggies and brown mulch our perenials, shrubs, and trees. Now, I should say that if you are starting a brand new garden or the garden you have is nutrient deficient, deep tilling is not a bad thing. If you are starting a garden where there was sod before, it is best to cut the sod and remove it first and then amend your soil. If you simple turn the sod over you will be weeding out grass chunks for the remainder of the gardening season and most likely the next season too. Please, do not spray your new garden area with a herbicide to kill the grass. For some, this seems like a no brainer but I have heard it suggested as the easy way to get rid of the grass and its root system.

Using a garden fork or hoe to turn over the soil and add compost is a good thing. You are not destroying the complex system and you are giving your soil the nutrient boost it needs to grow plants for you again next year. Ideas for composting on the cheap can be found here and here.

The second reason I think the roto tiller is not such a good thing, we miss out on a huge oppurtunity to connect to the land. We are displaced by a piece of loud, gas guzzling machinery instead of being down in the dirt getting fresh air, exercise, and well, dirty. In my past experience, using the rototiller just wears me out and give me a headache from all of the noise and fumes. If you are new to gardening or have limited space, I would highly recommend learning about square foot gardening. It is an awesome way to grow an amazing amount of veggies in a very limited amount of space. The Square Foot Gardening Foundation is a great place to start.

My last Purple Cone Flower

"Managing your soils to keep this living system thriving can make the difference between gardening success and failure," according to Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.

~ My baby is TWO!! ~

Happy Birthday!!

~ Our Newest Family Member ~

Meet Duck

I know, not the most "normal" name for a pony considering all the ponies I have know have been Applebutter or Lolly, but the kids think it's great! She is about twelve years old and is more of a pet than livestock due to being an orphan. She wants to be around us every second we are at the barn.

Our farrier, Larry Curell (the best in the business around these parts) gave her to the kids. If you have horses that are in need of some hoof work, look him up (if you need a number, let me know).

We haven't been able to ride yet because it has been rather cold and windy. We have been cleaning up like crazy and still have a few more projects to get done out by the barn before the snow flies, hopefully we will get them done soon being it is November 12 (I really would like to know, where does the time go?)

Our other farm related "before winter comes" task tackled this week was getting the cow's hoofs trimmed. Steve, from Steve's Hooftrimming came out and he was great! Cows are a whole different ball game than horses. He has a tilt table for trimming which makes it safer for everyone involved and was very reasonably priced. I highly recommend him if your cattle need some work done on their feet.

~ Natural Cough Sore Throat Remedy ~

This post is part of the Home Remedies Carnival at Keeper of the Home

As cold season draws closer I make sure I have three things stocked in my fridge and pantry. Raw honey, fresh lemons, and garlic.

Raw Honey is antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, and antibacterial -- it never spoils. See the little flecks in the honey, that is all the raw goodness. When you buy honey at the store it has been heat treated(pasteurized) to make it clear and pourable. The problem is now you have a dead honey that has no life giving properties left.

 
  Eight Health Benefits of Honey
 1. Taking organic raw honey is a healthy way to get an energy boost. Its carbohydrates supply us with energy and strength. It can boost your endurance and reduce muscle fatigue.

 2. Honey is a great aid in relieving morning sickness, reportedly even more effective than traditional soda crackers. It’s also good for sore throats including laryngitis and pharyngitis.

 3. Honey and cinnamon can help in many areas including relief from bladder infections, arthritis, upset stomach and bad breath. It’s even supposed to be able to slow down hair loss.

 4. Raw honey can be used as a medication for men with problems of impotence and women with problems related to infertility. Warm raw goat milk and raw honey is believed to increase sperm count considerably.

 5. A salve made of honey, for diabetic ulcers, has been proven effective when other topical antibiotics are not well tolerated. It can be applied to eczema, canker sores or bleeding gums.

 6. Honey and apple cider vinegar can be used for many ailments like stomach aches, constipation and even migraines.

 7. Honey and lemon goes to work in the body shifting the extra fat stores, thus making it usable energy for regular body functions. And, honey is cholesterol-free. It reportedly can even help to keep cholesterol levels in check

 8. Raw honey has a viscous texture due to its low water content. It also establishes a poor environment for bad bacteria to grow, and is a good natural preservative. Lemons have a hot and dry quality which is the opposite of a cold. It cuts and dissolves phlegm, making it a great agent against the cold and flu. It also alleviates chest congestion and eases coughing fits. Lemon also fights headaches and is a diuretic, helping to flush out your system and those nasty cold and flu bugs.

Garlic is hot in nature and its moisture quality also helps it dissolve and break down phlegm in the throat and chest. Garlic is a broad spectrum antibiotic with powerful antibacterial properties. The active component in garlic is the sulfur compound called allicin. Allicin is the chemical produced when garlic is chopped, chewed, or bruised. Allicin is quite powerful as an antibiotic and a potent agent that helps the body to inhibit the ability of germs to grow and reproduce. In fact, it's said that 1 milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin. Cough Syrup Mix 1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp of raw honey, and 1 to 3 cloves of grated garlic, according to what you can tolerate. If making this for children, start with one clove. Keep in a covered jar in the fridge. Use when ever a sore throat presents itself or at the first signs of cold symptoms. We love to add this to Peppermint or Wild Cherry Bark tea. Both can sooth a sore throat immensely. I have also made this using ginger in place of the garlic and adding ginger in with the garlic. The extra heat will draw out the cold. If we are going to be out and about in one place for an extended period of time them I will give this in advance. Garlic works best at preventing a cold or being consumed right as symptoms begin to show.