We all know that the middle meal of the day is important. In my mother’s family it was the most important meal of the day, called dinner not lunch, a common practice among midwestern farmers. Supper was the evening meal. We all want to make sure that our children have a healthy lunch when they're away from home so here are some ideas to make this easier to figure out. Make a … [Read more...] about Tips for Easy School Lunches
Food/DIY
Belly Butter for Stretch Marks
To help prevent stretch marks and enhance the natural resilience of your skin, add essential oils to your skin-care preparations and massage yourself regularly. Lavender and neroli are particularly helpful in preventing stretch marks. Don’t forget that essentials oils are concentrated and should not be applied undiluted to the skin. Always add essential oils to a carrier oil … [Read more...] about Belly Butter for Stretch Marks
Raw Veggies: the Perfect Snack
My mom used to keep a container of cut up raw vegetables in the fridge: carrots, radishes, celery. She would put them in a bowl of water and they would stay cold and crispy and were just perfect for crunching on the run. RAW VEGGIE BOWL Ingredients: celery carrots radishes Recipe: Cut up the carrots into long, thin spears. Cut the celery stalk into thin … [Read more...] about Raw Veggies: the Perfect Snack
Cucumber Gazpacho
It's hot outside. This is the time of the year for cold soups and my favorite is Cucumber Gazpacho. Here are two easy recipes. QUICK EASY GAZPACHO 3 peeled cucumbers 3 pickled jalapeño slices. 3 Tablespoons sour cream or yogurt Big handful of cilantro Fresh mint (optional) Blend first 4 ingredients in a blender or Vitamix. Don't blend too much: keep the … [Read more...] about Cucumber Gazpacho
Make Your Own Calamine Lotion
Ordinary calamine lotions may contain worrisome chemicals like zinc carbonate, iron oxide, zinc oxide and fragrance. Oftentimes, there are other added ingredients like parabens, alcohol, pramoxine HCl, polysorbate 80 and propylene glycol as well. YIKES! So let’s take the safer route and make our own calamine lotion. Just 5 ingredients provide the same effective and soothing r … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Calamine Lotion
Rice Asparagus Salad
Asparagus is the herald of spring and spring is the only time it's remotely affordable. I planted some last year and and am hoping to have a crop once the roots set down well. Here is one of our family's favorite spring recipes. Serve it nice and cold with roast chicken and buttered carrots or feature it as the main dish. It's also great the next day. INGREDIENTS 1 to … [Read more...] about Rice Asparagus Salad
Sew a Gratitude Banner
Today we made family gratitude banners. The banners have pockets for each family member, plus one for friends and extended family, and another for the universe. Each time someone thinks of something they are grateful for, they can jot it down and stick it in the appropriate pocket. This serves us in many ways. For example, we can visit the banner and look in our pocket to … [Read more...] about Sew a Gratitude Banner
Crispy Quinoa Cakes
Quinoa is good in any season, but I often make it with lentil soup and greens when it's cold outside. I may add some grilled salmon, but the quinoa cakes are a great main dish. Cooking with quinoa is still new to me. I've eaten quinoa as a side dish like rice, added it to salads, and had quinoa cakes at a local restaurant, but it wasn't until I made these Crispy Quinoa Cakes … [Read more...] about Crispy Quinoa Cakes
10 Ways to Add Some Magic
Here are 10 ways to add some magic to your days with your kiddos and turn an ordinary day into a memory. 1. Make some leaf art, like Color Me Katie. She punched out little hearts from dead leaves and then created whimsical vines and such around her neighborhood with them. 2. Wear fancy clothes all day, just because. We’ve had a whole stash of thrift store costumes … [Read more...] about 10 Ways to Add Some Magic
Make Your Own Baby Food
Don't introduce solid food until your child shows a readiness for it—usually sometime between six months and a year old. The current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend that breastmilk be a baby's primary source of nutrition for the first year and that solids not be introduced until a baby is at least six months old. First feedings should be small. Until your … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Baby Food