Good cheap food!

That's it. I have got to lower my food budget! As always the cheapest food is closest to the ground, or closer to its source or growth. No packaging, no instructions on how to prepare and is not in bright colorful eye catching boxes in the mid level shelf at your favorite store. 

My low to the ground food products come in clear plastic bags from my favorite bulk and health supply store Azure Standard. Nevertheless, for all of us some packaged processed food slips in now and then. This is the taming I need to do. As my whole focus in the last year or so has been to go lower, going raw fits that intent but some cooked foods are OK. Such as a nice warm bowl of quinoa with raw almond milk, currants and a little raw honey. Here are healthy, nourishing foods you can always find at a good, low price consumed raw, sprouted or even cooked. 

• No matter what store
• No matter what season
• No matter if you don’t clip coupons.

eggs   bananas carrots corn broccoli lettuce cabbage celery potatoes sweet potatoes   onions can of wild Alaska salmon natural peanut butter yogurt

oatmeal   home made bread   home ground flour   corn meal   quinoa   brown rice   beans   lentils   pasta   spaghetti sauce   sunflower seeds   popcorn (not        microwaved)   string cheese   clover seeds for  sprouting

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

A few more vinegar ideas.....from readers

As I am pursuing a study in natural cleaning methods and products, I am keenly interested in the use of white vinegar (and baking soda-more to come on this) as a cleaning agent. If you have not seen my previous post, check it out here and then let me know of any other ideas that you have come across. Below are some additions taken directly from readers comments.

I use this one all the time to clean the grime left in my microwave when my
dear husband forgets to cover his food. Fill a coffee mug with 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar. Heat in microwave until boiling and let boil for about one minute.
Remove mug and wipe your microwave clean!

If you forgot to clean your paintbrushes the last time you used them. You
can soften the old, dried paint by covering the bristles with boiling white
vinegar and let them stand for an hour.

To remove "wet glass" rings from your furniture, rub them with a mixture of equal parts of vinegar and olive oil.

To remove dirt and grime from heavily soiled hands you can scrub them with corn-meal damped with apple cider vinegar. Then rinse with cool water and dry your hands.

Great ideas, Keep em coming!

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Microwaves and What I Do For Fun!

Microwaves are not the miracle machines they were made out to be and with recent evidence that they are downright dangerous. I bought my first one many years ago and through the years have used it less and less and less. Now, I'm microwave free and lovin' it. I defrost in the kitchen sink and it is as easy and convenient. With so much of our food being raw recently, I simply have no need of it most of the time.

But I've had a hard time getting my kids off the convenience. When your kids are little you do everything for them but when they are man size with man sized appetites keeping them from using the microwave when your back is turned is next to impossible. They love to melt cheese on toast or make themselves mini pizzas late at night. Explaining to them that what happens when food is microwaved seems to willingly go over their heads. (They are actually very intelligent but sometimes have selective reasoning when it comes to food) My oldest son's recent bout with cancer last year walloped all of us to smarten up and take control of our own health and that included unplugging the microwave. (I cannot remove it. It is a built in model)

I love to garage sale (no this is not a change of subject) I have found not only the most unique items but virtually do all my shopping, clothing, household goods and even Christmas and birthday shopping at yard and garage sales. Not only do we save a whole lot of money but we also make money buying and reselling used books and other media that I find at sales. (Another post another day)

My most recent great find is a Flavorwave Convection oven. It uses infrared (an intense spotlight) and acts very similar to a toaster oven but I can do roasts, hamburgers and if I can find round muffin trays, I may even be able to do baking as well. Our first try was pizza and it did a great job. I originally bought it for an upcoming Church Family camping trip but quickly realized that it works very well as a regular oven and I can ditch my microwave for good. Furthermore I have been reading how much gas stoves emit formaldehyde,(Gasp) I am glad to minimize the use of that appliance as well.

So how much did I drop for this baby? guess... I'll give you a hint...originally it was 89.00 plus tax and shipping. The original receipt was included in the instruction booklet and they only used it twice.
Any guesses? Okay, you cannot guess (I play this game all the time when I come home from my Saturday morning shopping sprees) $20.00. Normally I offer about 30% less than the asking price and it is often readily accepted but this time they said it was so new that they would like to keep it at 20.00 but would throw in several cookbooks for the same $20.00. I accepted, I then promptly listed the cookbooks on Amazon for $5.00 and $13.50. If they sell at those prices then I will have virtually gotten my new toy for 2.00! Now that is what I call fun.

Now it's your turn. Has any one else gotten a really good garage sale buy recently? Any garage sailing tips?

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Create a Housekeeping Franchise.

Systems. Every successful business uses systems. Some of the most successful francises today sell their operating systems for huge fees all based on a system of proven success. The Francise fee is not for a product, stock or anything other than the system, and usually training in that operating system.

Keeping a household is simply a system, too. Setting up that system takes lots of work, thinking, planning and trial and error. I have been working on systems for many years and just about feel like I have it into a workable routine that is both workable and flexible for the days that I am called out of town. The routine must be easily picked up again without much stress and back tracking. I have started keeping a day of the week clip board on the wall of my pantry with job lists and descriptions for everyone's use and referral. Here it is below. Each day should only be about a half hour or less so it fits in with our morning routine before we go for a walk.

Maintenance Monday,
Laundry-all dark colors
I keep a rotating household maintenance schedule including monthly chores like changing the furnace filter, emptying the vacuum tank or washing the car. Each Monday the next item on the list comes up. Once per month I have added jobs to be done every 6 months instead like washing the windows.

Terrific Tuesday
Laundry-all ironing and leftover folding of darks.
It is so terrific because we get all the garbage out of the house and out to the road. All the recycle has to be separated, etc

Wipedown Wednesday
Laundry-all grey colors
All vertical items such as fridge, dishwasher and doors and switches are to be wiped. On another clipboard I rotate less frequent jobs like wipe down the freezer lid in the garage, top of fridge and the monthly wiping of kitchen cupboards, garbage cans. Each week one of the above chores comes up on the chart along with the usual doors, etc).

Thorough Thursday.
Laundry-mending and folding leftovers of greys
This is the day that all the bathrooms get cleaned (by me) but the boys do a though clean up of anything that gets left out during the week. All dusting of horizontal items such as lamps, table tops, etc.

Fun Friday
Laundry- all white or light colors
A final vacuum of the whole house and the boys wash the kitchen floor. We usually try to do something fun as well like go to the beach, or more often, go shopping. In the summer that means garage sale shopping and that really is fun!

That takes us right through all the household chores for the week and if all goes well the house is clean by Friday afternoon. Saturdays are reserved for anything that may come up be it fun or work, or leftover work if we had to travel or got behind during the week.

This works for me!

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Make Your Own Vanilla!

I found this recipe in one of my raw food recipe books and decided to try it. It doesn't sound like it should work. Surely the real vanilla that you pay a fortune for in the stores must be a whole lot harder to make than this. NOPE! This is so easy and it works great. The liquid (vanilla extract) is fragrant and flavorful and always ready.

I estimate it to cost about half of commercial extract and it is alcohol free, another bonus.
I get the ingredients from my home delivery coop, Azure Standard, who only delivers on the Pacific coast right now and some inland states as well, but you can also order for UPS delivery if your order is over 40.00. For those of you regular Azure people I've included the order codes and prices for your convenience.

Here is the "recipe"

Cut up (or leave whole) 2 or 4 whole vanilla pods.(HS664 $4.40 oz.) These are dried black long pods and are somewhat rubbery to cut. Don't be confused by the "instructions" on the Azure page. I have not found the beans they talk about being inside the pod. I just use the whole pod.



Add them to a pint of food grade glycerine (NS075 $4.40 pint) and leave overnight. By morning the thick, clear glycerine liquid will have extracted the powerful flavor of the pod and is ready to use. I just leave the pod pieces in the liquid or I guess you could take them out. The liquid will not be dark like the commercial vanilla. I'm not sure why. Perhaps manufacturers puree the pods making the liquid dark, but your vanilla will be perfectly clear and flavorful.

That's it. The pint will cost you $8.80 total and I've even reused the pod pieces in another batch of glycerine with almost the same results. The flavor does seem a little weaker though.
Add to raw smoothies or baked goods. The flavor seems to last either way. Enjoy!

Two recipes- One for Chaos and One for Achievment

The Recipes for Chaos and Achievement
I read this article and a response from Former Elijah company's owner and mom to three homeschooled kids, Ellen Davis in a newsletter I subscribe to and wanted to share it with you. The article is by Dr. Phillip E. Humbert (Copyright (c) 2006, all rights reserved. Contact him at: www.philiphumbert.com or email: Coach@philiphumbert.com.him

We all want lives of achievement, health, happiness and some measure ofwealth. And yet, the vast majority end up leading relatively average, middle-class lives. How can this be? How can so many of the world's most educated people end up working paycheck to paycheck?

I think the answers are pretty simple.

Most of us were never taught HOW to create and live a great life! We don't
study this in school. We admire people who have done great things, but no one
coaches us, no one shows us the way. And so we stumble. We struggle. We ARE
educated, ambitious, educated people and we do the best we can, but without the
basic recipe, too often we get only average results.

So, I want to share with you two of the most important "recipes" I know. I teach these formulas to my coaching clients and I want to share them with you. My price? Only this: If you find them helpful, I ask that you pass them on to at least two other people. Forward this email, or print it out and mail it to two friends. I hope you're willing to do that.

Ok, here we go.

The Recipe for Chaos
The first recipe is what I call the recipe for chaos.
It goes like this:

Impulse + Opportunity = Chaos

Every day, we all have impulses to study or to spend, to do our work or to
watch television. Impulses are merely ideas that pop into our brains and
momentarily catch our attention. The problem is that they are relatively random
and too many are based on casual appetites or unhealthy temptations. There's
nothing inherently bad or wrong with our impulses, but there is nothing
inherently good or trustworthy about them, either.

And, too often our impulses get matched with opportunity for instant
gratification. Here's how it works.

Consider the impulse to spend, combined with a credit card in your wallet.
Too often, the result is casual debt, and that can be a problem. Or how about
the impulse to watch television (just one show), combined with a beautiful new
TV in the family room? Too often, the result is wasted time. You see the
pattern?

Impulses happen. When we surround ourselves with opportunities for instant
gratification, the result can be a life lurching out of control.

The Recipe for Achievement
Now, consider another recipe, the one for achievement.
Here it is:

Desire + Discipline = Achievement

"Desire" comes from Latin words that mean "of the father." Our deepest
desires represent our true longings, our mission or purpose or values in life.
When we are clear about our real DESIRES and combine them with a disciplined
life, the results can be astonishing!

Jonas Salk had the DESIRE to prevent polio and the DISCIPLINE to do the
research, study his notes and make the discoveries. The results changed the
world.

Mary Kay Ash (of Mary Kay Cosmetics) had the DESIRE to help single moms
like herself, and the DISCIPLINE to find a way. She had no money (she started
with $500) and no business experience, but she pressed forward. She changed an
industry and helped millions of women in the process.

Random impulses in a world of undisciplined opportunity can lead to chaos,
debt, and disaster. Knowing your deepest DESIRES and matching them with even
minimal DISCIPLINE, however, is the recipe for achievement. When Stephen Covey
talks about "starting with the end in mind," he's talking about being clear
about your desires. When we talk about written goals, we're talking about strong
desires. When you know what you truly want, and go after it with discipline and
determination, the results are astounding.

That's the recipe for achievement!

Below are my (Ellen Davis) thoughts about this article.

What Does This Have to Do With Home Schooling?

Well, if you're like me, there have been times your home schooling has been chaotic and there have been times you have actually felt a sense of achievement and accomplishment. The same two recipes apply. When I look back on the times of chaos in my home schooling (or in my life, for that matter), they pretty much followed Dr. Humbert's recipe:

Impulse + Opportunity = Chaos.

Except I would add another ingredient to his recipe. Mine would go like
this:Impulse + Justification + Opportunity = Chaos-First there was the impulse.
It usually happened at a bookfair or at a support group meeting. It went like
this...."Oh my gosh! Janey's been using this really neat program that teaches
her kids how to be math whizzes in three weeks! I want to try that with my
kids!"After the impulse usually came the justification. My mind would come up
with all sorts of rationalizations as to why I needed to spend the grocery money
on this new program. "This will give my kids a brighter future. This will allow
them to do better on their ACTs. And besides, I can always sell it to another
home schooler when I'm done with it."

Next came the opportunity. I just log onto a website, pull out my credit
card, and, before I know it, I've bought the $300 math program, rearranged my
whole school schedule, and voila! all of the ingredients have been added to the
mix to create a big batch of chaos. Then comes the chaos.

Six weeks later the expensive math program is sitting on the bookcase shelf
in the garage and I'm trying to restore order to an out of control schedule and
frantically catching everyone up on what we missed in our regular math program
by taking our detour into becoming math whizzes.This isn't to say that we
shouldn't divert from our plans.

When things are obviously not working, it's time to reconsider our options
and regroup. This is called experience not impulse.Or, on a beautiful spring
day, we may want to put the regular school materials aside and take a nature
walk to just enjoy the changing season. This is called spontaneity, not impulse.
The difference between experience or spontaneity and impulse is that experience
and spontaneity occur within a structure of desire and discipline. Dr. Humbert
calls it "disciplined opportunity."Somehow, we've gotten the idea that
"discipline" is a dirty word. It's usually associated with punishment of some
sort.

Chaos is, by its very definition, a state of extreme confusion, disorder,
and unpredictability. Discipline refers to order, predictability, and
clarity.Discipline is simply the act of creating a context of in which order,
predictability, and clarity is more prevalent than confusion, disorder, and
unpredictability. True creativity and accomplishment can only occur in such a
context.

I have a friend who grow up in a very abusive, chaotic home and she has
tended to continually recreate her childhood once she became an adult. She's in
counseling right now, and this week the counselor zeroed in on chaos. The
essence of her advice to my friend was to try and become aware of the process
that goes on when she creates chaos--the feelings, the actions, the thoughts.

In other words, she should start trying to be mindful of how she creates
chaos. Now that we know the recipe, we can also become more mindful of why we
create chaos in our lives. And we can choose achievement instead.

The Dirty Dozen!

Have you noticed?
Everything eatable seems to be going up. The pressure it puts on a grocery budget seems crushing at times. In my goal of reducing expenditures in the grocery cart this quarter, I am focusing deeper and harder on ways to economize and get more value for the same dollar. On the other hand I do not want to sacrifice quality foods- real foods or exchange them for fake white flour, artificial flavors or heated oil versions that may seem like a better deal but will only turn those savings now in medical bills later, not to mention pain and suffering-something I am radically opposed to (the pain and suffering part)

So in a short series of posts I will be sharing what I am doing now and have done in the past to eat (well) without paying (in pain) later.

I'd like to start with what may seem like a contradiction..... buy organic!

Hold on.

There is a balance between paying now and paying later. There are some things that I will not compromise on. One of them is oil. I will not buy grocery store oils. They have been heated (increasing the chances of turning rancid quickly) clarified, bleached and filtered and stabilized to look pretty on grocery store shelves. But using a good natural oil, organic if possible, but certainly cold pressed is absolutely number one on my list.

The next items on my organic list is shown in the Top Dirty Dozen below. If you can, go organic, if not do not fret, but do the best you can. My improvements are in brackets.

beef - and all meat, I presume
milk - raw is best
coffee - limited consumption
peaches - peeling maybe acceptable but is probably not be enough due to the soft nature of the fruit. I'd pass them by if they were not organic. I've seen them spray.
apples - wash well or even peel if not organic
peppers - red is healthiest
celery - Difficult to find organic celery and is often small and tougher when you do
strawberry-I had a naturopath tell me never eat a non organic strawberry
lettuce - grow your own perhaps?
grapes - includes raisins
potatoes
tomatoes - including canned

If you can purchase these items organic you will be better odd in the long run. Next best is at a farmers market where the produce is generally fresher than in grocery stores. And if you can buy directly from the farmer himself you will be even better off because the chances are better that he has a small farm will use more sustainable practices even though he may not be certified organic.

Then to relieve some of the budget pressure if you had to pay a little more for good quality here are the top ten that are not as necessary to purchase organic.

asparagus, avocado, banana, broccoli, cabbage, kiwi, mango, onion, papaya, pineapple (I have yet to see an organic pineapple anyway)

So on to saving money. Keeping in mind the number one organic food on the dirty dozen list I am just about ready to purchase a side of grass fed organically raised beef. I think I have found a really great deal at $2.50 per lb. You cannot even buy regular ground beef for 2.5o per pound here in Seattle anymore.

That brings me to one of my tips. Shop around. I had to research on line for about an hour or more to find this farm, email them, wait for a reply and then place an order but it has saved me perhaps 1.50 per lb. Most of the other places I found charge $3.50 - $4.00 per pound with cut and wrap on top.

So what I will be saving on my meat supply, I will be pouring into some organic produce this summer.

Tomorrow I will share some ideas that may or may not be profound to you but have helped to save over the long run on good clean healthy food.

Notebooking is for Mom, too!

I am still wrapping up a few leftover projects that I had planned for January and I have just finished another one. Yeah. It feels so good to get on top of one more task. One of the annoyances that I've had over the last few years is that my binder of favorite recipes was over stuffed and very inefficient. I could not find certain recipes when I needed them and it was embarrasing when a family member wanted a copy of a family favorite. I knew I had to separate the book into several books and categories and this is how I did it.
I have on hand several extra thick clearview binders-small size. I also have on hand a collection of funny or sweet pictures from magazines and keep them in a file for notebooking or for journals. My collection served the purpose well as I could find relevant pictures for each catagory that I needed. Then I "scrapbooked" the inserts for the covers and spines.
This binder is obviously Main Dishes with tabs marked: red meat, meatless, soups and stews,
poultry, eggs, fish, barbeque and gravy and sauces.

Bread, Muffins, Cakes and Desserts.

Inside tabs include:

cookies and squares

muffins, cakes and quick breads

bread, sweet rolls, pizza dough

pie crusts

desserts and toppings

jams and spreads

granola, pancakes, waffles, breakfasts foods






Salad, Veggies, Dressings and Spice Mixes
Tabs include,
salads

vegetable dishes

dressings, sauces and dips,

spice mixes,

pickles and preserves












This is my Household Management binder which contains Cleaning plans, schedules and requirements, family budget, menu planning, future major purchase list, laundry and cleaning tips, recipes for bug repellant, bone china price lists, food suppliers, furnace filter size and type (this is important when you move often enough to forget what size you need without pulling the filter out each time) etc, everything that is household related.














I haven't officially named this book yet but temporarily it contains all raw food recipes. I may keep this a separate book permanently just so I can find all raw ideas and recipes quick and easily (rather than including each food type in it's own binder.

















Seasonal and Special Occasion is a regular size binder (Not small like the other ones shown) that I keep all sorts of seasonal craft ideas, articles, poems and decorating ideas. It is the larger size because I include many magazine articles, etc, usually too big for the 9X9 size)Tabs include

New Years/Winter.
February/Valentines
March, St Pat's/
Easter
Mother's Day
Father's Day
July Aug/Vacation ideas
Sept/school
Shower/birthday ideas







This is the other half of the above Seasonal and Special Occasions binder containing all the favorite recipes for each special seasons in the year. I include all of the above tabs and include-birthday (cakes, present ideas, and party foods in general)



















And here is the spine shot of them all lined up ready to go in the cupboard. Easy to use, easy to find and easy to add to - The epitomy of notebooking. And we thought that notebooking was only for school subjects!


Tomorrow I'll be posting on the most important weight loss, weight managment tool a health minded person has. And it is free! (no monetary cost)
Any guesses?