Cultivating Life Giveaway!!

Posted on | May 18, 2012 | 4 Comments

I recently promised on Facebook that if I could reach 500 “likes” by the end of the day, I’d offer a giveaway. We went well over 500 that same day, and we’re now over 600 “likes.” I’m so excited.

So I’ll cut to the chase. I went into our local bookstore & sat & flipped through a few books. They didn’t have the one I went in for, and I didn’t recognize some of them. I came across a few that looked interesting & fell in love with this one.

Sean Conway’s Cultivating Life: 125 Projects for Backyard Living

The projects range from simple to not-so-simple. Gardening, outdoor kitchen-ry, yard decor, etc.

All you have to do is take a lookie at the rafflecopter widget below & complete the (easy) tasks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am not affiliated with Sean Conway, Cultivating Life or WGN. I receive no perks/kickbacks/compensation for or from this giveaway.

Michaela- homeschooling Mom to 3 boys, wife to one wonderful Hubba, kitty-momma, likes gardening/sewing/baking/cooking/a multitude of other things.

I am not in any sort of medical field, be it for animals or humans. Some links might be affiliates. I appreciate your click-throughs to help support the blog & keep it going. Use all advice, recipes, how-to’s & links at your own risk. Please full disclaimers here.

Thanks for stopping by & have a blessed day!

What We Ate Last Week 5/6-5/12

Posted on | May 17, 2012 | 2 Comments

Last week’s nom’s:

Sunday- Bacon taters, baked beans
Monday- Chapati topped with refried pinto & black beans, taco style meat, salsa, sour cream & cheese
Tuesday- Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, gluten-free toast
Wednesday- Tortillas stuffed with stuff. I had 3 1/2 grilled pork chops that I had popped in the freezer. I sliced those & reheated them in a mix of spices, broth, tomato paste, etc. We also had beans, rice & sour cream.
Thursday- Whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas. As usual, this will be another rubber chicken

For the last couple of days, it was just Hubba & I. The kids went off for a fun-filled weekend with one of their sets of grandparents.

Friday- We treated ourselves to Panera Bread
Saturday- Grilled steak and potatoes. I was cooking for 2. I have no idea how to cook for 2!! I only had to peel THREE taters!! THREE, people! Then I added too much milk…

Iced Coffee

Posted on | May 17, 2012 | No Comments

Skeleton in the closet…

I still drink coffee. It’s one of my very few vices.

I’m ok with that.

Yes, I drink teeccino as well…

But….

It’s not coffee…..

You could sub teeccino for coffee in this recipe. It’s good, too!

How Would You Like To Win $140??

Posted on | May 15, 2012 | No Comments

OK, so it’s not exactly $140. It’s $140 worth of products from Cooking Traditional Foods. Why $140? Recently KerryAnn released a Gluten-free eCourse worth $140.

“We’ve packed over 85 videos, 18 Menu Mailers and 11 eBooks containing hundreds of dairy free recipes and gluten free recipes into one neat package that won’t break the bank!  This course is geared towards those new to the gluten free diet and dairy-free diet.  However, those who have been eating this way a while will find plenty to enjoy as well.”

She offers more than just the eCourse, though. With your $140 gift certificate, you may choose the ecourse, several menu mailer options and/or ebooks. They’re sure to please, no matter what you choose.

For those interested in purchasing the eCourse now, you may do so. Use code VICARIOUS to receive 15% off, bringing your eCourse total to only $119. Why do I mention this? If you purchase the course now & do win the giveaway, you’ll be reimbursed. It gets even better. If you win the gift certificate & you’ve purchased it (or any other item) since April 30th, you will get reimbursed. If you win the giveaway & have not yet purchased the ecourse, you can still use the code to receive 15% off. This will leave you with a little left over to purchase an ebook or menu mailer as well.

I’ve seen the products, and they’re amazing. The ecourse covers everything from what to look for when going gluten-free, what you may find in your house that needs to be avoided, plus menu mailers for gluten-free meals! Here’s what KerryAnn says about her ecourse:

“I have been doing real food and a traditional foods diet since 2002. I am a former Weston A Price Foundation chapter leader. I started a real food blog in 2005 and was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2006.  Three months later, both of my kids, then one and three years old, were also diagnosed with celiac disease. My husband, Jeff and I have kept a gluten and dairy-free home since my diagnosis.  In 2007, I launched the Classic Menu Mailer, the longest-running traditional foods men planning service with several hundred issues. I has written many eBooks, print books and thousands of dairy and gluten free recipes.  I create food free of gluten and dairy that is wholesome, family-friendly and delicious using only real food ingredients.

I wrote this eCourse because I spent the first two years after diagnosis trying to get on my feet and figure out how to make real food without dairy and gluten since most of the recipes in Nourishing Traditions are so heavily wheat and dairy-based. We live in a wheat and dairy-dominated culture and most people just can’t imagine life without bread or milk. So I figured out how to bake without gluten or dairy and how to create kid-happy meals that were still real food that my kids could eat along-side their friends without feeling left out.

I wish a class like this had been available when I was diagnosed in 2006. It would have made my life so much easier to have the planning and recipe testing done for me. This series takes you into our home where you learn how to remove the wheat and dairy from your life.  Watch Jeff, the kids and I cook the recipes that will become new family favorites in your own home.”

To view some of KerryAnn’s offerings, check out her blog here. The forum is a fantastic place to chat with other real/traditional/whole foodies. She shares great recipes like Kefired Lemonade & recipes that include sneaky veggies! Her tips include simplifying dinner time, magnesium oil therapy, fermenting, & each Tuesday she runs the Traditional Tuesdays Linky Party!

To win the ecourse, you can do the following, using my rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fine print: I am an employee of CTF. This post contains affiliate codes and/or links. There is no cash option & no “change” will be given in the form of cash. Your information will be forwarded on to KerryAnn of CTF so that when you order directly from her, you’ll be taken care of. Entries will be verified. When you post to social networks, please use the public option so we can verify the link. Contest ends Wednesday night at midnight 5/23/12 (EST).

Stay tuned for another giveaway this week. As promised, there will be a giveaway for a book. I asked for 500 likes on Facebook. I have over 600!! Thank you all!

Michaela- homeschooling Mom to 3 boys, wife to one wonderful Hubba, kitty-momma, likes gardening/sewing/baking/cooking/a multitude of other things.

I am not in any sort of medical field, be it for animals or humans. Some links might be affiliates. I appreciate your click-throughs to help support the blog & keep it going. Use all advice, recipes, how-to’s & links at your own risk. Please full disclaimers here.

Thanks for stopping by & have a blessed day!

How Are YOU Trying To Beat a Tough Economy? Week 2

Posted on | May 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

By now you’ve seen my posts on how OUR family is trying to beat a tough economy. I’m thrilled with the success we’ve been having. Being organized is SUCH a great tool to keeping the bills under control. Now that we’re finally setting from the moves, organization is coming back to me!

It’s that time again! Last week we had some GREAT entries in our very first How Are YOU Trying To Beat the Economy linky party! Next week, I plan to start featuring some of them!

Enter below and let everyone know how YOU are trying to beat a tough economy!

Here are the rules:

-> Be sure your post has to do with some form of frugal living. The possibilities are really endless. Maybe you have a burger recipe that takes the place of eating out? Are you washing your clothes a different way? Have you taken up menu planning to ease your spending? Bartering for much needed (or just wanted) items?

-> Link directly to your blog post. This makes it easier for someone to find the exact post. If you wow them with that post, they WILL read the rest of your blog, too

-> Please link back to this post (or posts), within your post, so others can find the same treasures you have. I’ve made a button if you prefer to use that. The button will link to ALL posts in the linky party. Ever. Just copy it & paste it to your post.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.vicariouslyvintage.com/category/living-on-a-budget/how-youre-trying-to-beat-a-tough-economy/" title="Retro Momma, Vintage Wife" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.vicariouslyvintage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/econbutton.jpg" alt="Retro Momma, Vintage Wife" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

-> Click on & visit some of the other entrant’s blogs. Comment to them if you feel moved (not mandatory, but very nice to do)

-> Think of this as a potluck. You get to bring your one thing (or 3), but you get to enjoy many others offerings. Speaking of which, feel free to link to up to 3 of your posts.

Ready? Go.

Bacon Taters

Posted on | May 10, 2012 | 3 Comments

Yes, taters. That’s just what I call them, but if you want to be fancy, we’ll call them potatoes. Potayto, potahto….

Anyhoo, I made this a bit back when we began getting creative to wage war against an economy that, contrary to mainstream media, is not getting better.

We like it so much, we have it once every week or 2. The taters. Not the economy.

Michaela- homeschooling Mom to 3 boys, wife to one wonderful Hubba, kitty-momma, likes gardening/sewing/baking/cooking/a multitude of other things.

I am not in any sort of medical field, be it for animals or humans. Some links might be affiliates. I appreciate your click-throughs to help support the blog & keep it going. Use all advice, recipes, how-to’s & links at your own risk. Please full disclaimers here.

Thanks for stopping by & have a blessed day!

Overwhelmed? Disgusted? Not Sure What To Believe?

Posted on | May 9, 2012 | 41 Comments

There is so much controversy all over the web. It ranges from health to food, politics to schooling. Today we’re going to discuss food & health.

It seems like everyone is fighting these days. From Whole Foods being a WONDERFUL place to shop, to it being the discount store of health food stores. Do I roast the bones for stock, or do I use vinegar to make it? Do coconuts HAVE to be organic? What are the benefits of beef liver over chicken liver? Do I ferment using a specific (and pricey) vessel or will a mason jar suffice?

So many questions.

So much confusion.

So many people giving up before they’ve begun, because they are scared. They are downtrodden. They have read that that they aren’t doing it correctly. Their families are suffering because they don’t have it “just so.”

I assure you, the only Word of God you’ll find is in the Bible. No blogger is the Word of God. Not even mine!

You can only do what YOU can do. If so-n-so blogger thinks you’re doing it wrong, invite them to do it for you. I once posted in a conversation on Facebook (re: butter) that my kids would LOVE if I let them eat butter by the spoonfuls. I was answered with “Then LET them eat butter by the spoonfuls.” I would if I could, trust me, but I had to remind this particular person that not everyone makes 6 figures a year. We do not make six figures a year. Mind you, the person instructing me to allow my kids to eat butter by the spoonfuls does indeed make 6 figures.

Because I don’t feed my kids butter by the spoonfuls, does not make me stupid. It does not make me a bad parent, nor does it make me any less of a real foodie than others. It simply makes me different. I choose to allow my kids to indulge in all the coconut oil they want, sometimes sweetened with stevia, sometimes salted, sometimes melted over rice & beans or oats. When I can get coconut oil NOT on sale, it costs me about $4 a pound. It’s good quality stuff. A good quality butter will cost me no less than $7 a pound. Do they eat their butter, too? Oh. Absolutely. Just. Not. By. The. Spoonfuls. And I’m ok with that. It’s the best our family can do.

I make my bone broth. As much as I can, I use good quality grass-fed beef bones or carcasses from pastured chickens. I can’t always get that. What do I turn to? Earth Fare. I use “natural” options that claim to not have or use antibiotics, steroids, etc. And I’m ok with that. It’s the best our family can do.

I use mason jars & empty Santa Cruz bottles to ferment my foods & beverages. I would LOVE to have the money to buy some of the pricier vessels used specifically for creating the “proper” environment for fermenting. Keep in mind, our gut health is not the greatest, but nor is it so bad that we need the specific vessels. For others, they may need something that produces the ultimate in fermentation. I don’t condemn their choices. For now, mason jars & glass bottles it is. For us, it works. And I’m ok with that. It’s the best our family can do.

My milk isn’t raw these days, folks. I haven’t found a GOOD source yet. I am waiting though. I have something planned. But I’m waiting for it. For now, I use a non-homogenized milk, with the cream at the top, yellow in colour, that’s VAT pasteurized. And I’m ok with that. It’s the best our family can do.

We rent now, so raising our own chickens isn’t an option. Again, I’m waiting for a source to come through as well. What I’ve found so far is less than satisfactory, too far to drive or unaffordable. For now, I choose cage-free (not to be confused with free-range) from hens that are not given antibiotics (so the label claims). I can’t wait for those baby chickies to start laying. For now, it’s store bought eggs in nifty little cartons. And I’m ok with that. It’s the best our family can do.

No matter where you are, no matter what accesses you have, you can always do better. Simply avoiding white flour (use wheat or an ancient grain instead) to bake your own cookies is better than picking up a package of Oreos. Using the best milk you can afford & get your hands on is better than not. Choosing the best meats & produce is better than canned foods. You don’t have to be as good as “them.”

If all you can do is cook from scratch to avoid processed foods, you are so far up on those still living the Nabisco dream.

Quite frankly it pisses me off to read that if you’re not doing this or that, then you’re just wrong & aren’t doing anything good. Lord knows I keep reading a lot of that all over the web from some certain bloggers that think they’re God. I do what I can afford. I ONLY do the best I can, and if someone else doesn’t like that, they they should just be thankful that they’re aren’t part of my family. I’d hate to do SO wrong for them. No one deserves to tell me something is the only way & I wouldn’t dare make mention, politely, of someone that did.*

Do your own research. Decide what’s best for you & your family. Don’t decide what’s best for everyone else. Last I checked I was the village, and I’m raising my own family. You are, too. Don’t let anyone dissuade you from doing the best you can do. You are not them, and they are not you.

But before you go on a venture to “be better,” make sure your immediate family tie isn’t at risk. You don’t want food to take over. You don’t want to become obsessed & you don’t want to distance or lose your loved ones over this. Start slowly. Do what you can. Don’t break the bank, and don’t get divorced over food. It’s. Just. Food.

Family, friends & love first. Then food. Always.*

*These 2 paragraphs are quoted from a comment I left on a controversial blog post

Peach Kefir Soda Recipe

Posted on | May 9, 2012 | 4 Comments

We whipped this up last week, & oh boy, is it DIVINE!

 

What We Ate Last Week- Menu Plan 4/30-5/5

Posted on | May 8, 2012 | No Comments

Last week’s menu plan included the following (This was the plan, however, due to being sick, it didn’t go as planned.). This was also a Monday-Saturday plan, as we still had company in town until Monday.

• Spaghetti, garlic bread
• Shredded BBQ pork, boiled potatoes, corn, fried onions, garlic rolls
• Whole roast chicken (a’la slow cooker), rice, peas
• Chicken fried rice, egg drop soup We ended up having the BBQ pork leftovers over bread.
• Buffalo chicken dip, crackers, carrot & celery sticks (We ended up having neighbors over for a potluck style dinner, so we ended up making more food & they brought over more)
• Grilled steak & shrimp, mashed potatoes, green beans

 

How Are YOU Trying To Beat a Tough Economy?

Posted on | May 7, 2012 | 3 Comments

By now you’ve seen my posts on how OUR family is trying to beat a tough economy. I’m thrilled with the success we’ve been having. We’ve watched our electric bill drop each month (though we’re anticipating a small increase when we start using the air conditioner come the scalding months of a Southern summer). I’ve been planning groceries & menus very carefully. I’ve been trying new recipes, and for the most part, grocery shopping hasn’t made me cry lately.

My friend, Sher had this wow-some idea that I should do a bloggy linky or challenge and invite everyone to share economical ideas. I’m game.

So, now it’s your turn! Enter below and let everyone know how YOU are trying to beat a tough economy!

Here are the rules:

-> Be sure your post has to do with some form of frugal living. The possibilities are really endless. Maybe you have a burger recipe that takes the place of eating out? Are you washing your clothes a different way? Have you taken up menu planning to ease your spending? Bartering for much needed (or just wanted) items?

-> Link directly to your blog post. This makes it easier for someone to find the exact post. If you wow them with that post, they WILL read the rest of your blog, too

-> Please link back to this post (or posts), within your post, so others can find the same treasures you have. I’ve made a button if you prefer to use that. The button will link to ALL posts in the linky party. Ever. Just copy it & paste it to your post.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.vicariouslyvintage.com/category/living-on-a-budget/how-youre-trying-to-beat-a-tough-economy/" title="Retro Momma, Vintage Wife" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.vicariouslyvintage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/econbutton.jpg" alt="Retro Momma, Vintage Wife" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

-> Click on & visit some of the other entrant’s blogs. Comment to them if you feel moved (not mandatory, but very nice to do)

-> Think of this as a potluck. You get to bring your one thing (or 3), but you get to enjoy many others offerings. Speaking of which, feel free to link to up to 3 of your posts.

Ready? Go.

keep looking »

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