live plants delivered

I am really excited about my live plants that came from Azure Standard yesterday! I love to garden...I love to keep it simple...I love to buy seedlings when I can...I love it when they are heirloom seeds/ seedlings or organic....I love supporting small business.....so when I saw these I was quite giddy inside...I wasn't sure what to expect....ta da...

Look how pretty!

I have started plants inside before.

 I have had a good year with it before. 

I have had bad results some years.

 It is not my season right now. 

I am ok with that.

Currently, my time is devoted to caring for my family, cooking autoimmune healing meals, homeschooling, and learning how to use my new camera...well. 

Have I mentioned I love taking photographs? 

Love it!

Oh my, I am in love with my 'brown rice crispy cereal'.  It's low sodium, with just a few ingredients. So if I am going to get a prepackaged food, this is my favorite choice. ( I will share my favorite new breakfast soon)    I usually get Barbara's Bakery brand, but I bought this bulk cereal that was significantly cheaper. I will be testing it out, to see if it makes the cut. So far so good.

Azure April

Here is my order for Azure for April: 

Some of these items are for a friend, that is why my order is so big. Potatoes are still a great price!

I am trying my hand at their seeds and some seedling broccoli, so I will report to you on that. Also, I test out some gluten free items at a decent price without having to buy 12, which is nice!

No great picture today.....

Bulk Barley, Hulled, Organic

Bob's Red Mill Biscuit & Baking Mix

Once Again Nut Butter, Inc. Almond

Sarah's Starts Lettuce Variety, Org

Sarah's Starts Sausage Tomato, Orga

Heirlooms Evermore Black Beauty Zuc

Heirlooms Evermore Bloomsdale Long

Heirlooms Evermore Lacinato Kale

Fresh Produce Potatoes, Russet, Org

Bulk Garbanzo Beans (chick peas)

Annie's Homegrown Macaroni & Cheese

Bulk Pumpkin Seeds, (Hull-less), Or

Clif Bar Kit's Cherry Pumpkin Seeds

Santa Cruz Peanut Butter, Dark Roas

EnviroKidz Crispy Rice Bar, Chocola

Sarah's Starts Calabrese Broccoli,

Natracare Curved Panty Liners

Bulk Brown Rice Crispies, Gluten Fr

Azure Standard time...stocking up on healthy staples

I recently discovered Azure Standard for ordering quality organic, sustainable growing products.  I love the ease at which I can search, order and pick up said items.  I love seeing what everyone else is ordering, so here is my bigger than usual list. What's yours?

One of my favorite products available at Azure...10# of blueberries for less than $2 a pound. Although not certified organic, one can be sure it is grown contentiously and only sprayed if absolutely needed! I can live with that and so can my WALLET!

Wilderness Family Naturals Coconut Oil, Expeller Press -Refined	32 oz
Azure Farm Wheat Berries, Soft White, Organic	25 lbs.
Bulk Blueberries, Natural, Frozen, Small	10 lbs.
Fresh Produce Potatoes, Russet, Organic	10 x 5 lbs.
Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas WF & GF	12 x 12 ozs.
Rumiano Butter, Unsalted, rBST Free	1 lb.
Wholesome Sweeteners Coconut Palm Sugar, Organic	16 oz
Ener-G Foods Egg Replacer	1 lb.
Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas WF & GF	12 ozs.
Food For Life Brown Rice Bread, Yeast & Gluten Free	28 ozs.
Really Raw Honey Really Raw Honey (Glass)	1 lb.
Eden Foods Millet, Organic, Gluten Free	16 ozs.
Earth Circle Organics Barley Grass Juice Powder, Raw, Organic	4 ozs.
Lundberg Creamy Brown Rice Cereal, Organic	5 lbs.
Azure Farm Buckwheat, Broken Groat Grits, Organic PS...do you like how I store mine in a mason jar in my freezer? See the cute lid for my jar? Love them!  I keep the big bag in the deep freezer.	5 lbs.

Juice Master

Frozen summer squash.

Life continues to be busy for me, us.  I somehow can download pics again for now...what does this mean exactly?  I have no idea because I have no time for this picture business. 
As you can see, that is my juicer I am using. I really like it but it does get way more foam than my previous juicer, but also more juice, so I am still trying to figure out my final opinion on the subject. 
Braveheart has now been 10 months post transplant.  We are so thankful for how far he has come.  It has been such a bumpy horrible road, yet we have remained optimistic, believing he is healed, holding onto Christ as our rock.  You don't think of the 'what ifs.  You must live for each day.  All the good moments and the bad are a part of our story.  How does one go on without the hope that is Christ?  I often wonder.
 Just when you think B is feeling better and is ready to tackle the world, he then starts to get an ankle pain, a bowel infection, then his blood pressure start acting up...well, this may or may not be a good sign of his kidneys, so we are just keeping faith and holding tight.  I have been also trying to talk with B about eating less sugar. I have had this poor kid on so many diets, I know he is sick of it and he had radiation so I left him alone a bit, not including he still has had many healthy meals in general at home, but I have seen him cut back on treats and now that he got C-Diff again in his gut, we are talking about cutting out milk as it seems to help based on what other transplant kids parents are telling me.  I have long suspected he may have some candida issues after all the meds, treatments, antibiotics etc...
Please pray for us as any big diet change for the the "whole family" takes mental prep.  I have made so many changes for myself and our family but to get B off milk or stop having sugar snacks altogether for the kids or just B, well it is a thing I have to wrap my brain around!

The days go so fast.  I have made many lifestyle changes because my body was in dire need of help after this transplant, my bad knee, my bad feet, adrenal fatigue issues, wt. gain.  I had to put my energy into good food for B and his healing and MINE!  I had no choice.  I have seen marvelous results so far.  My feet and knees are better but not completely healed, I feel better overall but still get fatigued (this can take some time to heal from what I have read) and I have lost 30 pounds!!

Thanks for your prayers!

chia seeds....good

I am always finding ways to add nutrient dense foods and nutrition to our families diet. Recently I have become quite fond of Chia seeds and all they have to offer. They are so easy to store and add to foods we already eat and everybody likes them.  Well, I found this article and wanted to share it with you about Chia seeds.



Enjoy.

healthy ice cream anyone???

Braveheart has been doing so well. We have him on a pretty strict, immune system healing diet right now. That chemo can really destroy ones immune system. Although I did this after his end of treatment, I obviously was not aggressive enough and his illness returned. That 'cancer' (I hate saying that word, it feels like I am giving it power and I don't want to), is really annoying and prowls about like a lion waiting to devour...yes, did you recognize that from the bible? That is what cancer is to me. I am rambling aren't I?
Well, he has been begging for ice cream. Can you imagine giving up all processed white sugar foods? Due to my boy being so diligent, I told him I would make him some 'healthy ice cream" when we got his next test back and it showed more improvement. IT DID!! So I made this ice cream following a recipe that came with my little, cheap, Aldi purchased ice cream maker that you just plug in. I used organic cream, almond milk, organic milk, dash of organic vanilla and honey! Yes, honey, local from a high school fellow homeschooler. Local raw honey is the best kind to get. It actually has anti tumor properties...can you believe it? Now we still wouldn't want to load up on it, but it is a good substitute for all sugar things I USED to make for him. Oh have I been making things for him. I can't wait to share more with you.
Here is the only picture I got unfortunately. I usually take it out of the maker and freeze it a little longer in the freezer. I have a real awesome kitchen dream for someday if I ever get on one of those free kitchen shows!!

more millet cooking

Have you ever cooked with Millet? It is a grain. According to NOURISHING TRADITIONS millet does not need to be 'soaked' like most seeds as they contain very little phytates. Phytic Acid is in all grains and long story short contributes to our being unable to digest most grains. This is where soaking beans started way back when..do you even remember why you soak beans when you cook them? Any whoo, you don't have to soak millet but it needs a good 2 hour cooking. Especially if you can cook it in gelatinous broth. I am experimenting with soaking grains before I eat them and using more non-wheat grains, especially millet. Also, especially non gluten containing grains. I guess you can make millet flour and I am going to buy a huge bag someday and grind some and use for muffins etc...very excited!
I will keep you updated but if you are tired of the same old noodles and want to be done with white noodles... I threw this together very quickly and we all loved it. There is no 'amount' so just throw it in cooks...

I had leftover potatoes
bag of frozen broccoli
couple handfuls of millet
rest of a box of organic chicken broth
package of chicken saugage
salt, pepper, whatever else sounds good in it...
oh was it good...mmmm

Well, I guess I should get something else done around here today...
love me

tasty lemon blueberry loaf

I used a recipe from my friends blog, only I used spelt flour and raw sugar. It was very tasty.

summer so far

water splash action....

new friends being born in our home....

farm fresh eggs, pumpkin I froze last year from the garden....

precious baking helpers....

warm moist goodness...

There is so much happening around here and nothing at the same time. Children at various day and overnight camps, friends over, swimming, keeping the house up, healing a re-strained knee, getting down to the pile of clothes needing sewing repairs. Braveheart caught a nasty virus that really knocked his socks off. He is getting so much better but he still so weak and gets so tired. I think he may have lost weight from this one. My man and I would really like to see him put some more meat on his bones. I am trying, as always, to fill him up with good foods like chicken soup, grass fed beef with all the fixin's, organic fruits, veggies, homemade pumpkin muffins and rhubarb cake with dark raw sugar if he is going to have sugar. Yummy. He doesn't have much of an appetite right now.

what am I making Monday

Well, my boys made it home from camping in caves over the weekend. B held back a little from the more in depth, messy, tiring activities, but came home raving over the food they ate while they were there. Let's just say they ate many pancakes which I believe is a staple at every scout camp out. He is taking prednisone these 5 days which you may already know can cause extreme hunger cravings. Well, last night as B was drifting off to sleep he asked if I could please make more pancakes, so I promised my precious, sleepy, hungry little boy that I would.
I made these buckwheat pancakes. B was a little worried at first that they wouldn't taste good. He could see the darker look to the flour. They are all used to me making altered versions of pancakes. I have just never settle for the white flour boxed kind. Not pointing any fingers, it's just true. Anyway, I have been trying for some time to eat more variety of grains and decrease our gluten intake, not go gluten free, mind you. I am on a mission to use more cancer healing food on a daily bases. This is nothing new for me, I have had a heart for wholesome cooking since I became a mom, but I have regrouped my efforts more toward cancer curing here at this cancer fighting home.
According to Nourishing Traditions, Buckwheat is a fairly neglected grain, falling under the non-gluten variety, valuable for it's high content of cancer preventing nitrilosides.
After loading it with organic butter (only bought due to sale and coupon) and good priced real maple syrup, I let out my breath when I heard B report that they were quite good! Next, I am hoping to order some buckwheat groats for the freezer so I can grind them into flour and pre-make large amounts of pancakes and waffles for my freezer using my Bosch mixer. For now, I bought a buckwheat pre-mix from Bob's Red Mill. I need a little simplicity some days and I know you all know what I mean there.
I hope to share some more here with you soon. Tell me what you are doing to eat more wholesome? My friend Stacy is making yogurt which I plan to try very soon!

Side note:
I have to tell you all that B sat down after eating two of these and made a very important observation; he said that he noticed how my pancakes made him feel more 'filled' after only two verses the 5 he had to eat while camping. This was a good opportunity to teach regarding white flours, filling whole foods and blood sugar spikes!

animal, vegetable, miracle

This is my most recent audio book that I listened to in my kitchen while waiting for things to cook, bake or any other kitcheny task. I really enjoyed this book. It follows a family that is going to eat 'locally' for a year. It is well written and the narrator, which I believe is also the author, is quite pleasant to listen to. My heart has always longed for and attempted home growing, cooking and storing, so this book just really appealed to me. I loved how it went through the whole year as foods are available and how they cook, store, eat and purchase their items. Although a little worldly at times, it is a vision of God's plan for food in the seasons and Barbara has a descriptive gift with words. My only regret is that near the end as she goes on and on about the wonderfulness of all she has written about, you quite fully expect to hear God given all the credit for this amazing creation, but alas...it never comes. Her description of celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas left me wondering how it's True meaning could be so blatantly skimmed over. Even with this and occasional opinion disappointments, however, the book was well worth listening to for it's seasonal, harvesting and local eating accounts.

sprouting

Here is what we were up to before we got sick last week or so. Sprouting. It's quite easy to do and I put my mom in charge of this as I was doing my extensive organizing. Isn't it pretty? It is power packed full of good nutrition and as I like to label these foods...cancer healing and preventative. We pile this on top of our salads and other foods each day. Even the kids were required to eat little bits in their hands and they found it quite tasty. Do you remember when you were little, picking the little purple clover flowers and eating them? Mmmm. Well, now we have to resupply our sprouting seeds.
It's real easy...just check here for sprouting tips.

soothing, cancer healing smoothie

Speaking of illnesses, one of the best ways to help heal one up whether it be cancer or an unknown virus with fever like one of mine had this week, is with a soothing smoothie. There is no end to the ways you can make one. This is one way that I have gotten some extra nutrition into Braveheart during his battle. Although you've all read about these and most likely make your own, here is how I make ours. At least one way. :)


General base that seldom changes:

Frozen bananas (i keep these in freezer)

frugal tip (i buy the .99 cent getting old ones in a bag)

(i often buy organic/ they are nearly same, especially the organic leftovers)

Frozen berries (aldi store has great price on f. berries)

Fruit juice (this can be OJ, apple, pomegranate or

many others)(pomegranate is cancer fighter)

optional:

yogurt/ kefir (gives probiotic and fermented benefits)

flax seed oil

honey

protein powder in the form of whey or goat's milk

coconut oil

green powder supplements: spirulina, wheat grass, veggies..etc..
(there are many varieties and you can't taste it in here and it really adds that extra punch of healing cell nutrition and boosts the immune system.

Just zoom it all together and slurp away!

leftover pork soup

I found the most fun crockpot website that is right up my alley. I love Stephanies conversationalist style and mostly simple and wholesome ingredients. It inspired me to use mine for soup this week. I'm not a gourmet type cook. I love healthy, fast and easy! I love using my crockpot for the throw it in and go mode. I use it to cook winter veggies all the time. I have tried a few of her recipes, all good so far, but this one I just made up as I went with leftovers. Hey, Karl, if you're reading this, first of all it IS pork and we DID think we were going to go to the hospital the next day when we put it in, so don't think we forgot about you. :)
Our friends blessed us with a delicious pork dinner with italian peas and homemade applesauce...yum. Thanks. We put the leftovers to good and extended use. Ahhh... warm soup on a cold day.

Here is my assistant chef. She helped make it and put all the ingredients in the pot. In addition she even served everyone and made a beautiful table that I wish I had captured here. Man I think food is pretty!

Here is what I did.

Added a pat of butter to the pot.

Strip cut the leftover pork and a small sweet onion.

Plopped in all the rest of my organic carrots from the fridge, leftover cabbage, the italian peas, pre-soaked brown rice, salt, pepper and tumeric. (I wanted to add this into our diet as I have read it is a great antinflammatory and good for fighting cancer) I am going to look up more on how it is used as a flavoring. I thought it added a rich golden color and couldn't really tell if I could taste it but the soup was the bomb!! Yum!

I put it on high for a couple hours then low for the rest of the day.

Well, not any kind of new recipe but it was fun and best of all soo easy for any mom who is busy or preparing for hospital admission. I will share my other easy and fun one I tried when I had to cook a roast waiting in my fridge. Let me just say that it has to be super easy right now for me or I don't make it at all. My time is very limited in this area currently.

home milled flour

When I was a little girl, I used to love old fasion type stories and the homemade food they prepared and ate. You could say I have a bit of interest in little house on the prairie type food . Today, people call it a simpler way of life. I am not sure if simple is the right word but there is something in me and many others that is drawn to wholesome, home made goodness. I can't explain it, but I am so glad I have a grain mill now, since I especially want to enrich Bryce's diet more than ever with wholesome foods. Although good nutrition is nothing new in this house I do have to step it up a notch. Admittedly, I have had seasons of increased laziness in this area as well. Now, I am learning and relearning many things about nutrition, cancer and ways to help his body fight that cancer with proper foods.


Last year I invested in a grain mill and waited a long time to get started as it sat for some time this summer as one can imagine. Finally, I have had a day to schedule in a moment to pre-grind some flour for the freezer. The mill does all the work and it's loud so there is no relaxation during that particular part and yet the rich, nutty smell of the flour waifs into my nose...the warm, soft feel of the flour in my fingers after it's done. (the kids love that part) The taste of home made waffles, muffins and other goodies with fresh milled flour...I can hardly eat the store bought now. It is incomparable.


One of the best things I love best about it is having children who love to make things with me. All the kids get their turn, but today my daughter, my 'mini-me' is the icing on the home milled flour...see for yourself.