Real Food & Natural Living | Kitchen Stewardship

Seeking a Natural, Non-Toxic Carpet Cleaner–Do You Steam Vacuum Carpets?

January 27th, 2012 · Cleaning, Green Living

I have a few things to say about this photo:

First of all, isn’t that lovely? The image of a job well done.

Second, my apologies.

Normal food bloggers are posting mouthwatering pictures of well-lit, finely staged food and then will share the delectable recipe (that you’ll never get to look quite as good as theirs).

Me?

I’ve got pictures of dirty water.

Oh, yeah. Nothing but class.

At least I’m going to tell you how I did it, too, and you can probably replicate it at home just fine!

Do You Clean Your Carpets?

I’m sure there’s a balance between the philosophy of "a little dirt is good for you" and "I don’t want any germs in my house." I lean toward the former, but when we moved into a new home, it just felt prudent to pretend I was in the latter camp for a few weeks and clean everything really, really well.

With no furniture in the house, how could one NOT steam vacuum the carpets?

[Read more →]

To Find Them Any Fresher You Would Have To Grow

→ No CommentsTags: carpet·green cleaners·natural carpet cleaner·non-toxic carpet cleaner·non-toxic steam vacuum solution

What??? You’re Not Eating THAT??? (Don’t be Overwhelmed by Humongous Dietary Changes)

January 26th, 2012 · Big Changes, KS lifestyle

This post is sponsored by Plan to Eat.

When we decided to go grain-free to see if my husband might have a gluten sensitivity, I admitted here at KS that I was a little nervous, and that I expected some difficulties.

I can’t even figure out which post they’re on, but there were some folks who pretty harshly told me that new diets are easy and I should stop complaining.

I beg to differ.

Cutting something from your diet that you usually eat every day, if not every meal, is far from easy.

I’m no superwoman, and I don’t claim to be.

Going grain-free, or dairy-free, or nut-free, or gluten-free…those are BIG changes. And it’s okay to be scared to death of trying them.

It’s okay to wonder, “What in the world am I going to eat?”

It’s okay to wish you didn’t have to do it.

But it’s also okay to take baby steps and do what you can each day.

If you feel like you should try an elimination diet of some sort, well…you probably should.

Tell yourself you’ll do it for one day.

Tell yourself you’ll do it every lunchtime for five days.

Tell yourself you’ll start next week, then spend this week researching recipes, collecting ideas, making lists, and buying a few new ingredients that you might need. Make a meal plan and just start thinking about it. You’ll be so much more prepared. (More grain-free/gluten-free resources a few paragraphs down…)

[Read more →]

→ 17 CommentsTags: elimination diet·gluten free·grain-free lifestyle·meal planning·menu planning

A Water Filter that Could Get White Off Rice

January 25th, 2012 · Green Living, Natural Health, What to Buy

If I could filter rice, I bet this Berkey could get the white off.

And you know what they say about white on rice…

I’ve been waiting for almost a year to have a Berkey filter in our home. When we were selling our house, it just didn’t seem like a good idea to invite one more large appliance in, since clearing the counters is a priority for house showings.

Of course, I’m not sure “appliance” is exactly the right term, since it doesn’t need to be plugged in (a huge bonus!).

What Does the Berkey Do?

The Berkey filters 99% of everything (a technical term). Winking smile I’m thrilled to get the chlorine, pathogens, heavy metals, and other weird things out of my water. The only thing I know of that it cannot touch is hormones, which are sadly rampant in our water supply because of artificial birth control and hormone replacement. However, from what I understand, nothing can touch that stuff.

I have extra filters to get the fluoride out, since fluoride is, in my opinion, a weird additive that we don’t need to ingest. Fluoride is a byproduct of some industrial process, and really, people who ate well a hundred years ago did not lose all their teeth.

My dental hygienist got a little uptight when I started talking about avoiding fluoride. She basically told us we’d get cavities, and when I said I grew up on well water and have pretty good teeth, she said unequivocally, “You were lucky then.”

A bit lucky, I suppose, since I ate a fairly standard American diet, but I’m not too worried about our teeth. If I want the kids to have fluoride, it will be in their toothpaste (and oh, isn’t toothpaste another story entirely! One I’m still working on…).

Our Berkey Experience

So far, I love the Berkey. You definitely need a dedicated place for it that won’t be under a cupboard, because it’s tall, maybe two-and-a-half feet, but it’s not quite as wide as I was expecting, only about a foot diameter. Our Berkey holds 3 gallons at a time, which has been enough without problem, even with making chicken stock, oatmeal, and company over (as long as we remember to fill it).

[Read more →]

→ 55 CommentsTags: Berkey·chlorine·fluoride·preparedness·water·water filters

Eat Well, Spend Less: The Never-Ending Chicken Broth (Am I "Stocking Up" or Being Greedy?)

January 24th, 2012 · Do It Yourself, Frugality

People are often asking where to start: you know, when they’re first coming over to a real food lifestyle and feel overwhelmed at the laundry list of changes they’ll have to make to their standard American diet (read: processed foods).

Now that I’ve survived the last six months, moving twice, living with my in-laws (which was wonderful, but not my own kitchen), and having a baby, I can say with absolute certainty the procedures I won’t ever stop doing vs. those I let drop for a season. (photo source)

The top three are those that embody the mission of Kitchen Stewardship best:

saves money
superb nutrition
doesn’t take much time

The earth would be one thing I’d compromise on a bit if I had to (sorry, Earth), but even so, all of these practices are gentle on the environment as well.

My Top Three

1. homemade yogurt

I’m excited to be getting together with a few friends for a little yogurt tutorial this week, and I’ll be snapping photos for a more visual, user-friendly, "cliff’s notes" version of the famous Katie’s No Dishes Yogurt Method. I hear that post can be a bit overwhelming, and I’m looking forward to updating it!

2. cooking with dry beans

(although I admit I grabbed a can or two or ten during the craziest of times)

I’ve said all I can say about beans in the aptly titled The Everything Beans Book…

3. homemade chicken stock

This week we’re talking broth.

More specifically, how to make even more free broth from one lousy whole chicken.

[Read more →]

→ 30 CommentsTags: Eat Well Spend Less·Frugality·stock/broth

Get Your Meal Planning on Track…Plan it – Don’t Panic! {GIVEAWAY}

January 24th, 2012 · What to Buy

I’ve figured out the secret to why meal planning is so difficult in our culture.

Cell phones.

That’s right.

Cell phones.

I was thinking the other day as I called my husband to find him at a hockey game, “What did we do without cell phones? Did we all wander around all public places, aimlessly searching for our friends and loved ones? Did we ever buy anything successfully at the store without the ability to check in at home? Did anyone ever arrive at their destination accurately and on time without GPS?”

I realized that the answer to all my questions was planning.

In each situation, those poor people of old without cell phones had to plan ahead. (Or perhaps they sought out one of those classy looking public phone booths from the photo above…)

So I made the logical conclusions that the downfall of all menu planning is…cell phones. Because we don’t know how to plan ahead anymore.

I suppose convenience foods, fast food, and busy schedules might play a role, too (but you can order fast food with a…you guessed it – cell phone!).

Whatever the reason, planning meals is not an easy task for many of you out there.

I’ll fix it: throw out your cell phones.

Or…

Just check out Keeper of the Home’s new eBook, Plan it – Don’t Panic for all your meal planning woes.

How Plan it – Don’t Panic will Help

The eBook by Stephanie Langford is based on a blog series she did at Keeper of the Home last fall that became really, really popular. Stephanie decided to do a month-long meal planning series and challenge because in her own life, she realized that a busy summer had caused her to fall off the meal planning (and budgeting) wagon – right into overspending and the dreaded 5:00 what’s-for-dinner conundrum.

As it turned out, she had company.

[Read more →]

→ 3 CommentsTags: giveaway·meal planning·menu planning

Monday Mission: Do Something New with Stock

January 23rd, 2012 · Monday Missions

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to do something new with stock this month. It’s a Back to Basics for January, advanced level.

Impact Ratings:

Level of Commitment: Baby Steps

We’ve often talked about making homemade stocks and bone broths (I’m using those terms interchangeably here, but they do have slightly different meanings usually):

If you still don’t make your own stock (gasp!), do grab some chicken with bones – whole or parts – and give it a try. You’ll wonder why you haven’t taken the plunge before.

Please? Do it for me.

I’ve always had problems in the past keeping up on my stock. I would end up with 3 two-cup bags of shredded chicken in the freezer from a whole chicken, but I’d be already out of homemade stock.

My new upgrade has literally reversed the problem, and I’m now wondering, “Where’s the chicken?” and using broth in everything because I have so much.

(Top photo is Sausage, Bean and Greens Soup from The Everything Beans Book)

Some Ideas for Your “Something New”

Beef broth: Maybe you, like I was for years, prefer the simplicity of chicken stock and have yet to make beef broth. You’ll love the GNOWFGLINS eCourse Fundamentals II, where Wardeh will teach you (and me, too!) how to make a deep, rich brown broth. I’ve made beef broth two or three times, and this recipe from Kellyguided me.I generally use mine for Kelly’s equally awesome French Onion Soup or a simple beef vegetable soup with whatever I have on hand.

[Read more →]

→ 23 CommentsTags: chicken·Monday Missions·soup·stock/broth

Big Soap Nuts Sales & some Last Chances

January 21st, 2012 · Uncategorized

Have you tried soap nuts yet?

If you’re one who has been waiting in the wings for the right sale, NOW is the time!

Because soap nuts are a natural product, grown on trees, they’re harvested fresh every year (can you say that about your commercial cleaner/laundry detergent?). I find that so cool.

The other great bonus about a yearly harvest is that last year’s batch of soap nuts goes on super end-of-season sale, and it’s happening right now!

Through Tuesday, ALL soap nuts are on sale, up to 40% off! Click on the “year end sale” near the top of the page HERE and look for the little yellow “special offer” tag on the photos. You could get:

160 loads of regular soap nuts for only $15.60 (under 10 cents a load)
320 loads with soap nuts for only $22.80 (7 cents a load)
2 lbs. of “half shell” soap nuts, discounted because they don’t look so pretty (but still work the same) = 320 loads for only $18.20 (5.5 cents per load!)

Compare those to what I remember paying for All Free & Clear back in the day – 32 loads for $3.99 on sale = over 12 cents a load, plus lots of packaging waste!

The 18x liquid is not on sale, but if you buy the 32 oz. refill bottle without any sale, you still get almost 400 loads of the 18x liquid for only $39.75 (10 cents a load). Many people use the liquid as an all-purpose cleanser, in steam vacuums, and MANY other purposes, too. I bet it would even make great homemade baby wipes.

The sale ~~ends~~ ALREADY ENDED AT 1 A.M. Tuesday, January 24th, so hop on it if you want a super deal on soap nuts. Shipping is free if you get up to $100 – the kind of thing you try to gather friends together to do with you!

(Oh – and if you’re not sure what in the world soap nuts are, be sure to read my soap nuts review – every word of which still applies, plus probably some additional good comments that I should update the post with now that I’ve been using them for a few years. Still love ‘em!)

Designed for Wellness Group Run

Just a quick note that Lisa Byrne’s Designed for Wellness course, the only LIVE group run this year, with $185 worth of extras and 5 open coaching calls, closes registration Sunday, January 22nd.

Everyone who has taken any course from Lisa is beyond thrilled with the results. Find out more HERE.

The Economy Hits NaturoKits

Prices will increase on NaturoKits on January 31st (natural inflation and darned market conditions), so if you’ve been thinking of getting one, grab it this week!

Here is an interview with the naturopath behind the product, which is getting more and more use around here the longer I have it, remember it, and realize that it’s working!

Have a lovely weekend!

———————————————

I’d love to see more of you! Sign up for a free email subscription or grab my reader feed. You can also follow me on Twitter, get KS for Kindle, or see my Facebook Fan Page.

If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.

Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

Disclosure: I do work with all 3 companies on this page as an affiliate, but I take great care and lots of time making sure I only work with programs that suit my readers and that I can 100% stand behind. See my full disclosure statement here.

→ 33 CommentsTags: