Lovers4healthylife

#cottagegarden Chronicles No.3, Fall Garden Planting 2022! #healthylifefarm

2025-04-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of Kiwi Growing!! & Spring Tour, #CottageGarden Chronicles #2

2025-04-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

#CottageGarden Chronicles #1~ Homemade Egg White Powder

2025-04-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

OVERDUE Spring/Summer Garden Tour/We Incubated 35 Chick Babies!!

2021-10-08T14:37:00.001-07:00

Grub Terra Review & Our Broody Hen Hatched 2 Chick babies!

2021-05-20T01:05:00.000-07:00

Greenhouse after a freeze/Giveaway Winner!!!

2020-12-06T20:34:00.001-08:00

Emerging Green Review and Giveaway Plus More!

2020-11-22T23:39:00.001-08:00

Homestead Update, Harvesting, Over 60 Garden Freebies

2020-08-21T22:44:00.001-07:00

Poly Tunnel to Chicken Coop, Planting A Chicken Garden

2020-07-03T23:48:00.001-07:00

My 2nd Poly Tunnel & Growing Tomatoes In The Winter!

2020-02-18T19:51:00.000-08:00

Planting David Austin Roses, New Poly Tunnel & More!!!

2020-02-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

2019-06-18T22:14:00.001-07:00

Spring Garden Update/Tour
Treating White Flies & Preventing Blight!

Espoma 3n1 Neem Oil - Click link below

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Garden Emergency Tip ~ Garlic and Squash Harvest After Heavy Rains!

2018-07-16T15:36:00.002-07:00

DIY Garden Growing Station Quick & Easy!

2018-02-24T22:29:00.000-08:00

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Garden Fresh Swiss Chard Breakfast Scramble

2018-02-24T22:26:00.004-08:00

Fall 2017 Garden Update ~ Watermelon Taste Test

2017-12-11T20:41:00.001-08:00

My Secret Garden & Fall Planting Update

2016-10-14T21:39:00.001-07:00

It has been forever since I posted an update here on my blog. If you are reading this post then, I also invite you to follow me along on Instagram @ www.instagram.com/lovers4healthylife where my garden and life updates are more instant ~ "No pun intended"... Let's face it, taking a snap shot of the garden while planting or harvesting could not be easier and you get to share all of your wonderful pictures and show off your awesome photography skills.

There has been a lot of changes in my garden. I've been gardening all organic over the past two years and you can follow my journey via Instagram or YouTube. Here is my most recent garden update video. Enjoy! Happy Gardening & God Bless

Garden Update Video ~ Raised Bed/Greenhouse

2016-03-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

Here is an update video on my garden and my new raised bed/greenhouse. I constructed this raised bed to help grow a few vegetables in a mostly bug free environment.

Honeywell Top Fill Cool Mositure Humidifier from Influenster

2015-12-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

I was so surprised and excited when a very large box arrived from FedEx.

The box contained a Honeywell top fill cool moisture humidifier. I received this product as a complimentary Voxbox from Influenster to test

and review.

With cold and flu season here this Voxbox comes as an early Christmas surprise!

The unit arrived completely assembled as you can see in the picture below and I really appreciated the ease of use.

We are currently using the unit in an upstairs guest bedroom and we keep the door open so that it can humidify the entire upstairs. Currently our winter months has been mild and the air hasn't been too dry. When the home does get too dry, it can exasperates my asthma. The Honeywell cool moisture humidifier puts moisture into the air whenever the air in the room becomes drier then your humidity setting. I also love the automatic shut off whenever your desired humidity level is reached. It also turns off and the orange refill indicator will light up letting you know to refill the two tanks. This humidifier is much bigger then most of the humidifiers I've seen in the past and the color dark grey color is not my style, but it is overall a very well designed unit.

The quick start guide that was right on the box flap and

makes starting and using the humidifier so simple.

Wondering What's for breakfast tomorrow? Try this "Swiss Chard Scramble"

2015-06-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Wondering what to prepare for breakfast tomorrow? Try this " Swiss Chard Scramble". It's super easy because you don't have to worry about making that perfect flip. Add your own favorite vegetables to create your very own unique scrambled egg omelette. I've been eating this for breakfast or lunch almost everyday for the past 18 months. My husband loves it too. The best part of all is that we grow the Swiss Chard in our organic garden.

Below are just a few pics of our organic garden. We started our organic garden journey February 2014 and we really enjoy this wonderful and exciting new garden adventure. You can follow our journey @ http://www.youtube.com/user/lovers4healthylife I will also be posting more updates, pictures and tips about our organic gardening journey. Until next time, happy gardening and God Bless!

Elephant Garlic: This was my first time growing garlic(super yummy)

Click on picture to watch me harvest!

Honey Glazed Turkey Breast Fillets

2013-10-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

Organic Turkey Breast Fillets sauteed in portobello mushrooms, kale, onions, and fresh garlic cloves, w/a carrot & almond honey glaze.

Ingredients:

4 Turkey breast fillets (approx 1/4 inch thick)
4 tablespoons of coconut or olive oil
1 cup of sliced portobello mushrooms
1 1/2 cups of shredded fresh kale

1 medium sweet onion sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
1/2 cup of honey or 3 tbs of honey powder
1 large carrot (shaved)
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
Seasonings: garlic sea salt, black pepper, thyme, paprika, oregano (I use mostly organic seasonings*)

Preparation: Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add sliced garlic, saute for 60 seconds. Add fillets, and cook for about 3 minutes on both sides until done. Transfer fillets to a plate. Add 1 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil to skillet. Saute onions, mushrooms, bell pepper until slightly brown, and add seasonings to taste. Add fresh shredded kale and saute for about 2-3 minutes longer. Return turkey fillets to skillet and toss.

Glaze: In a seperate small nonstick skillet add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil, saute shaved carrots and almonds. Add cinnamon, ginger and honey and saute for 1 more minute. Pour over fillets and serve with steamed rice, salad or other sides. .

Below are some pictures of a few of the organic seasonings I use daily.

Quick Garden Update

2013-07-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

An unusual soggy summer has taken its toll on my garden. We've had more rain during the months of June and July then all of 2012 combined; however, my bush beans, bell peppers, and tomatoes are doing fairly well even with the record high rains.

Fruit trees/bushes seem to like the heavy rains so far this season.

Pictured above is my new baby blueberry bush.

Raised bed garden update 06-29-13: This year is my first year of doing raised bed gardening and I think I'll be doing a lot more of raised beds in the future. I've had to plant a few sections over, due to the rains, but for the most part I'm happy with my newest garden project of raised beds. Here are a few pictures taken since my last post.

Raised bed garden update 07-26-13:

Finally emerging are collards, green leaf lettuce, cabbage and spinach.

The far left raised bed are pumpkins and melons.

Basic Gardening Essentials

2013-06-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

Thinking about starting a small vegetable or flower garden this summer? Here are a few basic gardening essentials that may help to ensure your success. Before you get started grab a notebook and pen. Go outside and take a walk around your yard. You may need to grab a chair and sit for a moment and imagine what you would like your garden to look like or basically what your favorite vegetables and/or flowers are.

The size of a garden really has no limits. Gardening can be done in pots or plots or even indoors as long as there is plenty of light, rich soil and water. With light, rich soil and water you'll have all the basics you need to become a thriving gardener. Of course you'll need seeds too.

When shopping for garden seeds, you may first want to print out a vegetable planting chart for the region you live in to make sure you are planting the proper seeds at the appropriate time and before a freeze date for your region. You can just google your state for a planting chart. This is a before picture of my vegetable garden.

Below are a few pictures of my garden growth progress. Pictured are my bell peppers and bush beans. This year I decided to plant an organic garden using organic seeds, plants and organic fertilizer.

Flowers Attract Pollinators - Bees!

They are also simply beautiful to look at.

Adding flowers to the garden is sexy!

I was so excited to be able to pick my first green bean harvest this year.

Green beans slowly steamed with fresh sweet onions are one of my favorite dishes.

I also planted a few more garden favorites. Tomatoes are just about the easiest to grow and can be grown in pots right on your front or back porch. I grow my tomatoes in my garden, but I also grow in pots. There are so many different types of tomatoes. Last year I made a mistake of planting purple tomatoes which weren't very tasty. This year I stuck with my favorite grape tomatoes for salads and big beefy tomatoes for sandwiches.

My next garden update, will be on raised gardening. After my first failed attempt this summer for planting lettuce, spinach, and cabbage, I decided to do raised bed gardening for these vegetables. Some vegetables thrive in almost any type of soil, like tomatoes. There are other vegetables like lettuce that prefer a more rich, loamy soil that contains plenty of organic matter. Below is a picture of my current garden project, my raised garden beds. I'm still in the process of planting a few more. As you can see my seedlings are already bursting through after just 5-6 days of planting. I'll be posting an update soon, so be sure to check back and happy gardening!

Spending Less Time In Kitchen! Black Bean Soup

2013-01-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

With the cold winter days and nights now in full swing, I've been falling in love with my crock-pot. I had no idea that one of the least expensive appliances in my kitchen, could turn out to be so invaluable. I've been spending a lot less time in the kitchen, which gives me more of "me time"! One of my favorite crock-pot recipes is my black bean soup. This recipe will really warm you up!

Ingredients:

2 cups of dried black beans, (soaked overnight, rinsed and drained)

2 large green bell peppers, sliced

1 large red bell pepper, sliced

2 celery stalks - chopped

2 onions, chopped

4-5 bay leaves

5-6 garlic cloves, chopped

(2) 32 oz containers of organic low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups of water
2 tsp of cumin
2 tbsp of organic brown sugar or molasses
2 tablespoons of olive oil
*1 tsp of Bragg's amino for flavoring - great for flavoring almost anything!
*Add additional vegetables for taste (I added some of my dehydrated sweet corn, tomatoes, etc...)
* Optional ingredients

Combine all ingredients in 6 quart crock-pot, cook for 6-8 hours on low (remove bay leaves)

Serve as a soup or over rice!

Find Your Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

2012-11-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

Interactive video to help you choose your own perfect Thanskgiving turkey recipe.