Living Healthy in the Modern World

Make your own Cough Drops with Coconut Oil, Honey, and Cinnamon

2016-11-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

I know my pic isn't fancy, but this is my day off and I've got it packed with stuff to do to catch up with life. So, this is what you get. :)

Here is the link to The Coconut Mama recipe I used.

The ingredients are super simple - raw coconut oil, raw honey, and cinnamon!

Some folks had issues with their recipe not hardening up. I had no issues. My CO was solidified when I started (pantry runs 68*-72* or thereabouts).

I don't have tiny ice cube trays, so I used my Tupperware ice cube trays and a small Pampered Chef scoop and put a scant scoop in each compartment. Then I pounded them on the counter top to make them settle in and flatten and stashed them in the freezer for the afternoon.

When I took them out of the freezer, they were solidified. They popped easily out of the ice cube tray (over a cookie sheet, I twisted the ice cube tray, turned it upside-down, and most of them came out. For the remainder, I pounded the ice cube tray upside down on the cookie sheet a couple times.)

I put them in baggies and they are in my kitchen freezer door for easy fighting-illness pick-me-ups.

I'm thinking these will be good to add to my morning tea, as well as a soothing throat drop!

After a long hiatus.....I am back! Here's a recipe I made today for Homemade Cough Drops!

2016-11-10T14:08:00.000-08:00

I know I've been gone for awhile. Life sort of got in the way and I've been pulled away to other things. But this month I've been working a bit on writing a very-much-in-the-beginning-stages novel for National Novel Writing Month and the writing bug has bit me in the hind end and I wanted to get back to writing here on the blog again. So maybe this blog post is part procrastination, but it just seemed so much easier than figuring where to go next with the novel. It's still writing....right? ;-)

After this whole election thing and finally finding out the results, I was feeling the need to do something....to make something with my hands. I've been dabbling a bit in some make-your-own type stuff and I know winter's on its way.... I was having a gluten-free cinnamon roll(been a long time since I had one - it was yummy) and I swear by my Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice (decaf) tea to keep me healthy through the sick season.

(Yeah, I know that was a long, crazy sentence up there...)

Anyway, I looked around a bit and decided to try my hand at making my own cough drops/throat drops. I'm not too thrilled by the ones with all the extra junk I wouldn't otherwise consume.

I found 2 recipes, and this is the one I decided to make today: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/11/diy-homemade-cough-drops.html

It was super easy - no need to heat anything up. And my little handmade cinnamon and honey cough drop balls look a lot like the ones on the The Prairie Homestead's site, so I must have done it right!

Now I need to let them sit a day or so to dry and then either wrap them up in wax paper pieces or put them in a container to keep them safe until I need them!

I was able to find Slippery Elm Bark and organic cinnamon at my local health food store (I believe it was from Frontier). I had the raw honey in my pantry already - purchased from the farmer's market.

Spring Chickens

2014-03-21T12:11:00.004-07:00

Finally! An afternoon off work and the sun is shining and we can see the ground!

The chickens get to come outside and play!

A Charlie's Soap Post - Again! (I love this stuff!)

2014-01-24T07:56:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is time for another Charlie's Soap Laundry Powder post.

Why, you may ask?

Because I am scraping the bottom of the bucket and need to buy some more!

I went on Amazon and found it and put it in my cart and found that the last time I purchased it was on March 3, 2011.

That was 3 years ago, folks! That means I have spent $40/year doing laundry.

And it means that, going by the # of loads the bucket says it will do, I have done 333 1/3 loads of laundry each year (that's a lot of laundry!).

I still recommend it. Works well in our hard water (unlike the homemade stuff), doesn't bother my or my kids' eczema-prone skin (like the homemade stuff did), and it's cloth-diaper friendly (if you're into that).

Go get yourself some. They sell smaller containers(cost more/load though) if you feel sorry for your delivery guy or just don't know where you would stash a bucket of the stuff or want to try it before you commit to a 3 year supply. (lol)

(and, no, I'm not being paid to put this out for you all to read. I just love the stuff and am passing the news on to my friends! :) )

Meet Heather: Mesothelioma Survivor!

2013-10-18T05:43:00.002-07:00

Today I would like to share with you a story from one of my readers by the name of Heather. She is a wife, mother, and a mesothelioma survivor. When her daughter was 3 ½ months old, she was diagnosed with this rare and deadly cancer, and given 15 months to live. Her prognosis was grim, but she knew that she needed to beat the odds for her newborn daughter, Lily. It’s been 7 years now and she feels that it is her duty to pay it forward and inspire others.

Her words: "I clung on to hope throughout my whole journey with mesothelioma. When you have hope, it makes the battle easier. I want people to be inspired by me, I want to make them fight; give them something to hold on to when all else fails. That is why I do it. If I inspire one person, I've done my job.

I'm using my personal story to help raise awareness of this little known cancer, and to provide a sense of hope for others facing life’s difficult challenges."

You can read more and watch a video of her telling her story here:
http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather

If you want more information about mesothelioma treatment, you can find it here: www.mesothelioma.com/treatment

For any of us who are struggling with mesothelioma, or any other health issue, I think we can take some inspiration from Heather's words at the end of the video: "Don't give up. Don't take a death sentence as a diagnosis. There is hope."

What an amazing outlook on life. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Heather!

Hatching Chicks

2013-09-16T11:07:00.003-07:00

Here's a glimpse of my day today--our chicks are hatching!
This batch is having a better hatch rate than the last batch we did in the spring.

Home-Grown Watermelon!

2013-08-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well, the garden is a sorry sight this year, thanks to my being extra-busy this summer, our leaving for Colorado for over a week, and now the ragweed season keeping me inside. (I knew I shouldn't have said anything last week when it was going well...think I jinxed myself!)

But....this is the first year we have had a decent sized watermelon come out of our garden! Perhaps they love neglect? I just popped these into the corner of the garden before our trip to CO, watered them, and haven't done much since!

The pic above(thanks to my 8yo for taking the pic) was of our first one that we cut into last night. Could have probably gone a couple more days, but oh well! Totally edible, though.

Not in Love with Ruth Stout's No-Till Garden Method

2013-08-15T16:16:00.002-07:00

Maybe we didn't follow her instructions exactly. Maybe we had higher hopes than we should have. Maybe it's just a weird year (it is). In any case, I don't think I am a fan of Ruth Stout's No-Till Garden Method, unless we make some changes.

I think our greatest error was not to have had the garden completely covered over the winter...It was mulched with grass clippings in part of it(which had disintegrated over the winter) and straw in others (which wasn't completely gone by spring), and that wasn't enough.

With the changes in my availability/ability to work a lot in the garden this summer, I sort of planted the garden on a wing and a prayer. Many things would not germinate well (but we have had a cool spring and summer) and we had more weeds break through the mulch and outgrow our veggies when we were away for 10 days. The okra never came up all three times I planted it (never had a problem before this year, and I tried three times). And then in July we went on vacation(always a negative as far as the garden is concerned). So it had a lot going against it.

We have had far more success with fully tilling the garden(even just once), pulling out any unwanted plant matter, making rows or hills, planting seeds, and then mulching heavily once seeds emerged.

I think we will be going back to our old way of doing things next year.

For this year, though, we do have a couple of healthy sized melons, cukes, green beans, a couple pepper plants, onions, chard(what the chickens don't eat), corn, and hopefully potatoes(if I can find them past the thistles). The summer squash have succumbed to the squash bugs..not sure I will even try next year...maybe I will just plant later...

That will have to do for now. Not much to "survive" on, if we had to, that's for sure. Thankful we are not relying solely on the garden!

Until next time...

Adventures in Gardening, or Trying the Ruth Stout No-Digging Garden

2013-06-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

With me working part time this year, I have much less time to spend in the garden. So, Randy and I decided to try the no-till, no-digging, lots of mulch method used by Ruth Stout, author of Gardening Without Work.

We have long been mulching our garden, for as long as we've lived on the farm. We have plenty of grass/plants that we mow and this makes great material to lay in the garden alongside the plants, both to keep the weeds down and to help retain moisture. This part of the system has worked fairly well for us, with the exception of around our squash---I pull the mulch away from the squash plants, because squash bugs like to hide in the mulch.

So, this year, we mowed and mowed and mulched the entire garden. We pulled the biggest weeds(thistles have been our bane), and a week or two later pulled the mulch away in the rows where we were going to plant, and planted our seeds.

That was about 4 weeks ago. I had planted a variety of greens, peas, okra, cucumbers, squash, beans...oh, and potatoes on the back end...I'd also gotten some watermelons and peppers from the nursery and they aren't doing great either...though they ARE growing... Maybe I'm just too impatient.

So far, I am not impressed. In fact, after I have seen others' gardens this year, I am downright ashamed of our garden! The seeds are just not coming up well at all. The soil is still uncovered by the mulch, so it's not that they are covered up too much. I am thinking it's because the soil is too hard and with the cool weather, it has held onto too much moisture and the seeds haven't done well. We do have a ton of rabbits, but surely they couldn't make it this bad....maybe, maybe not.

At any rate, at this point I am trying to determine whether to have Randy just till everything under and start over, or to simply replant where things haven't come up and hope they come up (finally) and they do well.

Has anyone else tried the no-till method for gardening and had better luck than we have?

Just for kicks, here is a pic of my last year's onions going to seed, and a volunteer sunflower: the most interesting part of my garden so far this year.

8 Little Chicks...

2013-06-07T05:12:00.002-07:00

Sorry to not post yesterday--was away from the computer all day and not able to blog!

As of this morning, we have 8 chicks. There is one more in the incubator whose shell is partially cracked, so we'll see...

Here's a pic of the little critters. Of course, one of them put their head down, so you can only see 7 of their faces! Oh well!

4 Little Chickie Birds.... so far!

2013-06-05T05:21:00.001-07:00

Just like kids, they almost all looked away when I opened the lid a bit to take a picture...

And I got a pic of this little one and closed the lid (don't want them to get cold!).

Hatching Day: Light Sussex Chicks: Take 2

2013-06-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

It took the little bugger all day to get out of the egg, but it finally made it out just before 6pm. I think all the noise of the kids and I helped to encourage him/her to get out all the way. :)

We've got some more starting.......waiting....waiting.....

Here's a pic of the first chick just after he got himself out of the egg--don't worry, he's righted himself now. :)

My daughter is in there, whistling to the chicks. Sweet.

Hatching Day: Light Sussex Chicks: Take 1

2013-06-04T05:13:00.002-07:00

Hubby had his doubts this morning, as he peered into the incubator and nary a chick was hatching.

Hours later, our oldest son got up and checked the egg status. He heard a chirp and then discovered one of the eggs in the process of hatching:

Be back later with an update! :)

On your mark.....get set....GO!

2013-05-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

On Your Mark...

Get Set.....

GO!!!!

As you can see, we are incubating eggs. These are from our Light Sussex chickens that we raised from eggs last year. We are curious to see how it turns out, what the hatching rate will be, and whether we will have chicks with neck issues like last year. Last year's eggs were mail-ordered and we aren't sure how much of last year's results were due to the eggs going through the mail.

We'll see in 21 days or so (about June 4)! :)

Ready....?

2013-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

A Short Chicken Video

2013-04-27T13:06:00.001-07:00

For your enjoyment...

They didn't want to go in when I was ready, so I eventually had to herd them in. They are loving the green grass! We're getting 5-7 eggs a day, which isn't bad for having 7 hens!

I found a cookbook! Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugarfree

2013-04-10T07:57:00.002-07:00

First off---we've had a day or two of really warm weather and our lilac bushes have budding leaves!

My husband and I went to Lehman's General Store last weekend, as we are accustomed to doing about this time most years.

While I was there, I picked up a book that I had regretted not picking up last year: a spiral bound cookbook with the title Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugarfree by Mary Yoder and Deborah Steiner. From the looks of the family picture on the back of the book, I'd guess the authors are Mennonite or Amish.

When I first picked this book up, I was skeptical. I've been eating Gluten-free (with a cheat here and there) for a couple years now, and truly did not expect to find anything non-wheaty as far as cookbooks go in an Amish store. The fact that it was about allergies surprised me as well. I may go into my lunch-and-dinner ventures in Amish country in a different post...

This book is based on the use of a "Four Day Rotation Diet", something that I have read about a lot in my allergy journey, but have not embraced. Part of the reason I have not taken to the four day rotation of foods was that, in the past, I did not have a wide enough variety of foods I could eat to break them up into eating once every four days. Another reason was that I couldn't figure out how to do it; how to sub properly. I didn't have reliable recipes to use--it would have meant more hours scouring the internet for usable recipes.

I feel like I've been regressing a bit with my health/allergies lately. I am sure part of it is stress with adding a paying job to my schedule and trying(and failing) to balance everything, part of it is that spring allergy season is gearing up, and part of it is because I have been eating more junk (read: Easter candy, chips, etc) and not so healthy meals due to a real lack of time to cook said meals when I am at work during the dinner-prep hour. The family only wants so much roast and veggies or stew...

So....I am thinking about incorporating some of these recipes into my repertoire. I'm not sure I want to do it completely, one reason being that I would have to give up my ritual of tea drinking in the morning.... I love my tea...I did pick up some different flours from the health food store and hopefully that will give me a good start.

I like the fact that the authors are at least aware of the corn allergy issue and the gluten issue, and I can adapt the days they have gluten-containing ingredients with the other alternative non-gluten ingredients. I like that, when they use a "gum" in breads, it is guar gum and not (corn-derived) xanthan gum. That, to me, is promising. And I didn't see a whole lot of "gums", which I prefer as well.

So, we'll see how it goes, once I get a handle on it and try some of the recipes out!

A Much Needed Update

2013-03-13T06:39:00.003-07:00

I know I have been absent for a few months. Life has gotten busier and I've not had the time to write here. Sorry!

I've been writing for an online prepping site and have taken a part-time job at the local library. These things, on top of the otherwise normal things that need doing around here, have swallowed up most of my time. We are still adjusting to the changes from my being a SAHM since our first child was born, to my working outside the home these days.

Being a librarian's assistant, I have found many books to read. Unfortunately, I now have far less time to read them! Here's my current stack:

My husband, Randy, has also been busy working his usual printing job, writing, and last weekend decided to take on the task of cutting down the eyesore of our broken pine tree from the big storm we had last summer. Bonus: a bit of firewood. :)

Here is my hubby and our daughter, trying to cut it using the old saw (our oldest boy ran off when the camera came out, lol):

He left the stump at that height, and I think this spring/summer I will use it as a platform to feed the birds and maybe later put a heavy pot of trailing plants on it. I'm going to have to make sure it's good and heavy, because I don't want any coons climbing up and knocking it off!

As far as gardening, I haven't gotten very far. We are still in freezing temps here and I feel it's too early to plant even peas. Maybe in a week or two... I have purchased some seeds but have yet to write out my gardening plan for this year. It's on the list...

Allergy-wise, I feel I've been struggling again. Not horribly, itchy skin mostly. We've been dealing with strep in the household, so it could be I am fighting something and my immune system is just taxed... Trying to eat simply and get through it.

That's all for now! If you're still reading, I thank you for that!

Quick--Order your free 2013 Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog today!

2012-12-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

Last year I snoozed a bit too long in winter and waited too long to request my Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog and they were out in the very very early spring. I had to peruse the catalog online, alas. Not a bad thing altogether. I am glad they have that option for folks that know exactly what they want to jump on and just order.

But I like to write in catalogs, dog-ear the pages and mull over my choices before I place my order.

I really like Baker Creek because they are one of the few places these days to offer truly (tested!) non-GMO seeds (the corn selection is less every year due to their finding GMO genes in the corn they tested). The seeds are heirlooms, so you can grow next year's crop from this year's seed if you want to (can't do that with just any seeds). And, the seeds are not big-company owned seeds like so many of the seeds in the stores are.

So, if you want to get a hard copy of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog for 2013, click here!

Happy planning, and a Merry Christmas to all of you! :)

A GF Aldi Lunch Salad

2012-12-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

Thought I would share my GF lunch using Aldi ingredients. I was tired of the same ol' leftovers and sandwiches and wanted something fresh to eat, so I made this up from my fridge ingredients from my last Aldi run. You can make it with ingredients from any ol' store (or your garden!).

For this salad, I used:

1 1/2 heads of the Artisan Lettuce. I picked one of the reddish heads and half of one of the green heads.
Chopped onion
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
12 or so Pepperoni slices (yep, these are GF!)
Some jarred Marinated Roasted Red Peppers with Garlic Cloves and Olive Oil
Olive oil from the jar of peppers
Pepper and salt ground from my pepper and salt mills

This made for a tasty, spicy lunch. I will probably having something a little more substantial later this afternoon, but this hit the spot for a light lunch!

Thanks for reading!

Making GF Granola

2012-12-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

Today I have been doing the Monday reset of the house (laundry, dishes, general pick-up after the weekend), and between that I have been making granola. We've been out for a couple weeks and I've been missing the easy breakfast. Sadly, if it's not easy, I often just do without. (I really hope my mom didn't just read that.)

Here is the Granola Recipe I posted awhile back. This time around I ended up using brown sugar (out of honey, alas) and sunflower oil, since that's what I had on hand. I also tossed in some dried cranberries after the baking was done.

I have found that putting a cup or so of the granola in a bowl, along with enough water to cover, and microwaving it for a minute or two makes a nice hot breakfast!

Finally--EGGS!

2012-12-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

The day before yesterday, I found myself thinking about our chickens and wondering why in the world we hadn't had any eggs yet. I even went so far as to pray for those chickens to start laying eggs.

Yesterday, my daughter was running late and didn't make it out to water the chickens, so I went out to water them later in the morning.

And I found 3 eggs in the corner of the chicken coop. Not in the nest boxes where the dummy egg and a couple golf balls have been gathering dust the last few months.

Maybe I should have started praying sooner, huh?

Worried that they'd been there for a long time and weren't any good, I put them in a pan and ran water into the pan. They stayed on the bottom of the pan, proof that these were fresh eggs.

Later in the day, my daughter and I went out to check on the chicken/egg status after school and we found one more in the same place! Woo-hoo!

So, we have so far gotten 4 eggs from our chickens. I'm not impressed yet, but if I don't have to buy eggs in the coming weeks I will be happier. We got these chickens to be more than pets!

Hubby thinks that since these chickens are larger than our other chickens, maybe they are not comfortable in the nest boxes we have and that might be the reason for the laying on the floor in the corner. We'll have to see what they decide to do in the coming days and weeks and see about coming up with a setup to make both us and the chickens happy.

Oh, and on the way out to the chickens, I happened to be walking alongside my garden and found a dead mink! No idea how or why it died (maybe a fox?), but this is sign that we do indeed have them around here, and to be extra vigilant about protecting the chickens. We had suspected a few years back when a batch of our young chickens was murdered inside the coop, but now we have proof!

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

2012-10-29T17:27:00.001-07:00

We've already had one round of sickness already this year, so I decided we need to start taking some elderberry syrup both as a preventative and during any illness we may have.

Purchasing name brand elderberry meds can get really expensive, especially for a family of 5. I am finding that making it myself is a much less expensive option!

Elderberry is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, flavonoids, beta carotene, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and a whole host of good-for-you things.

Elderberry has been used to help with flu, colds, sinus issues, and even as a hayfever remedy. (I just recently read about the hayfever usage and might need to consider that next fall!)

For more detailed info as to how elderberry products work, check out Sambucol's FAQ page, for they say it more eloquently than I can this morning. :)

Elderberry syrup is not a new thing--it has been used for generations.

After all of that information, let's move on to the actual recipe!

I used the recipe at Mountain Rose Herbs for reference, leaving out the optional stuff. With my allergy/sensitivity issues, I figure the less ingredients the better.

Since our elderberries at the farm didn't produce well due to the drought this summer, and I used all of the ones I had in the freezer, I purchased a pound of Frontier Organic Dried Elderberries from the local health food store for $14.99. I wanted to order from Mountain Rose Herbs, but they were out and I wanted to get some ASAP.

I also purchased local(ish) honey from the local health food store for $2.99/lb.

Here's the recipe, the way I made it:

Elderberry Syrup

1/2 cup dried elderberries (or 1 cup fresh/frozen)
3 cups water

1 cup honey

sterilized jar with lid
Strainer
cheesecloth (optional)

1. Put the elderberries and water in a pan, bring to a boil and simmer 30 mins.
2. Mash your elderberries. I used a potato masher. You could use a spoon or carefully use an immersion blender or something similar. Be careful--the juice will stain!
3. Strain your elderberry water into your sterilized jar, pressing to get as much juice out as possible.
4. Pour out a small amount of hot/warm elderberry juice into a small bowl and mix with honey.
5. Pour honey mixture into jarred elderberry juice and stir until combined.
6. Refrigerate.

I ended up with a little over 3 cups of syrup. I expected closer to 4 cups, but I left the stove for a bit and came back to a non-simmering pot, then turned it up and it was boiling. Oops.

Dosage: For everyday maintenance, 1 TB daily. When you are fighting an illness, take 1tsp every 2 to 3 hours.

For ease of pouring, I am repurposing a smaller bottle.

Cost to make this batch came to $4.37. That is less than half what a little bottle of Sambucol would cost me!

I actually like this homemade version better than Sambucol!

Most of my family took to this syrup pretty well, but not my extra-picky middle child. *sigh* He loves maple syrup, so maybe I will try making a small batch with maple syrup instead of honey.... more expensive, but if it means he will take it...

Obviously, if you have a little one under 2 years old, you may want to use a different syrup other than honey.

The (Wood) Heat is On as of October 27

2012-10-29T16:59:00.002-07:00

Well, hubby decided to fire up the outdoor wood furnace this last weekend. The weather has become decidedly chilly (nd windy!) and I guess the house needed a little bit more warmth than we were willing to crank up the propane.

Here's the hubs out tending the fire.

And.....we need more wood! Unfortunately, our usual backup wood supply does not have wood to offer the public this year. Apparently, they weren't able to get into the woods last winter due to the wet, non-freezing weather we had. Bummer!

Honey Lemon - Good for What Ails Ya!

2012-10-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea a few months ago on Pinterest and promptly forgot about it. I was reminded when at the local health food store talking with one of the ladies there and made it the next day!

Our household has been fighting a cold/cough virus, and I plan to be using this a lot!

It's incredibly easy to make this concoction. Some people add Ginger to the mix, but since I am not certain whether Ginger is in the mix of spices I have been having some problems with lately, I left it out. I am told and have read that over time, the concoction turns into a gel-like consistency. For now, two days after making it, it's made a lovely lemon-infused honey to put into my tea!

How to Make Honey Lemon
Gather:
Raw honey
Lemons
Fresh ginger, sliced thin(optional)
Clean jar with lid

Slice your lemons as thin as you can and place in jar. If you're using ginger, place that in as well, mixing with lemons.

Pour honey over the top until covered. The honey will draw out the juices and help fill the jar, so pour slowly! (I kind of made a sticky mess when I poured too much in at a time...)

Place closed jar in fridge to do its thing. If you feel like it, you can turn the jar on its top to help the honey move around and through the whole lemon stack.

When you need some honey-lemon goodness, simply spoon out what you need and replace jar to fridge. I have been adding this to my daily tea regimen, adding it to my black or white tea(you can use green, if you want). For kids(and adults) who may not want true tea, you can just put a dollop of honey lemon in a cup and pour hot water over it for a yummy drink.

Yummy and good for you!

This should keep for months, as honey doesn't go bad, and lemon has plenty of acid in it to help fend off ickies. As an extra precaution, don't go dipping dirty spoons into your jar. ;)

Keepin' it Real!