Happy December 1st! The Holiday season is officially in full swing now and this blog is going to reflect that. I love the holidays! Here’s some upcoming posts to look for as well as a question for you to answer.
Christmas Gift Ideas: I did this last year and will do it again this year, sharing items from my bookshelf and kitchen and table. I will also be sharing items on my own personal wish list (some in that “when we have enough money someday” category!).
More Recipes: I am looking forward to coming up with some new holiday-ish recipes for you all, so stay tuned for that! And since we are always on a budget, I will also be sharing more additions of The Health $1 Menu series, with guest posts too.
Handmade Gift Carnival: Don’t forget that you are welcome to add more entries to the many wonderful ones here! This carnival is devoted to handmade gift ideas. It’s a wonderful resource for everyone, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, do! Also, don’t forget that today is the last day to enter into the mandarin orange giveaway!
Pennywise Platter Thursday: We will be having three Pennywise Platter Thursdays for the month of December. Please join us in sharing your frugal meal ideas. I would love to see some holiday recipes going through Pennywise too!
Finally, I wanted to become more effective in answering the numerous questions I get every week by devoting Q & A posts to answering them. I would like to do one soon and would love for you to ask your questions on this post! They will get top priority for this upcoming post. They can be personal, about health, about food, about soaking or other nourishing practices, about this blog, whatever you want to ask, ask away!
What questions do you have? Please ask them and I will gladly consider them for my next Q & A post.
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I live on a remote island where it is impossible to find things like fresh milk (it’s only long-life stuff in cartons) grass-fed meat or even free-range (let alone organic!) eggs. It seems that I have the choice between eating nourishing (but badly-produced) animal products, or going completely vegan! I’ve asked around with local farmers about the possibility of sourcing organic, pastured meat and eggs with them but government restrictions mean it’s impossible. What do you suggest?
What a great question! I will definitely put that one in my next Q & A post. 🙂
I look forward to hearing your views… no-one here has heard of hummus, let alone chia seeds or kelp! 🙂
Also, I’d love to talk about nutrition while trying to conceive, and during pregnancy. What kind of things are important to eat, and how early should they be incorporated into the diet? Do you believe in the arguments for no dairy/seafood/nuts, etc to prevent allergies?
I married a hunter, and we eat venison from deer who have led a free happy life, maybe grass fed? That is my question I guess, I would love to know, if you know, what the health benefits of wild game are, and how they compare to grass fed animals. Thanks. I LOVE your site. You are a great writer and thinker. Merry Christmas
Another great question to answer!
I’m in the market for a food dehydrator, and would love to know your preference (I currently don’t see that in the appliances section of your resources page). Also, do you ever use yours to make yogurt? What else do you dehydrate (other than nuts or grains)?
Don’t bother with the “cheapies”. The best dehydrator is the Excalibur. If you google it, you can find some good prices out there. And yes, you can make yogurt in it. Also, crackers, fruit leathers, jerkies, etc.etc. ENJOY!
Thanks Lydia! Can I bother you with two more question?:
— I have been looking at Excalibur, which seems, hands-down, to get the best reviews. I’m wondering if only the 9-tray version is tall enough to handle a quart jar of yogurt?
— I’ve also read that the 9-tray version is really loud? Are people just being overly-sensitive to the noise, or is it really annoying when it’s on for 12-24 hours?
Hi Katy,
I have the 9 tray, and I think the smaller version will definitely not be high enough. Also, when you get “going”, you’ll want the extra trays, as they can fill up fast.
I am sensitive to noises, so mine is in the garage. My daughter uses hers in the basement. Since we try to keep things “raw”, we use low temps…and it takes awhile, so I just don’t want it in the way. Good Luck!
Hi Katy,
Just wanted to put my $.02 in. I bought a $60 Deni that is literally falling apart. The plastic chips away from each tray with every use. I’ve written to them, and they just said sorry! Anyway, it still works, but not as well as I’d like. So yes, invest in a good one! I dry all kinds of fruits from apples to bananas to blueberries. I also make crackers in my dehydrator too. HTH!
Megan
We are moving back down to the lower 48 in January! Can you recommend mail-order sources for coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut sugar, and water kefir grains (for making “soda”)? What would be a mild fermented vegetable to start with? We do not care for any of the fermented milk products and my family detests sauerkraut (I love it though!!).
Thank you so very much! I am so looking forward to the upcoming posts! In fact this week I am making honey sweetened chocolate covered nuts to send out as Christmas presents!!
Please tell me what coconut sugar is, where you can get it, and where it stands as far as health benefits. I am assuming it is good for you, though.
Two good coconut product sources are WildernessFamily and TropicalTraditions both on-line.
We have tried many of the products – the flour as well.
Many of the less expensive of grass fed meats do well in the crock pot or in soups where you can add all sorts of veggies. Turnips and kohlrabi look and taste almost like potatoes in these.
Do you know of a way to make a “healthy” chocolate hazelnut spread similar to Nutella?
FYI I just happened on this one one day, and put it in my online favorites folder. I haven’t tried it yet though.
I just stopped back and noticed that pasting my link didn’t work.
http://clubfritch.com/2009/05/06/homemade-nutella/
I shouldn’t say “my” link, as I’m not clubfritch. It’s just one I found!
Yes, I would like to know of a good “nutella” recipe as well. Please sahre with us all.
I started my own blog a little more than a year ago and it is devoted to nourishing foods much like yours. How did you become a part of the Real Food Media network? Any advice or comments you have about blogging would be so very helpful and interesting. I actually have my own website but just haven’t had time to transfer everything yet. It is http://www.thegraingirl.com. My sister and I just filmed a DVD demonstrating and explaining the soaking process. We hope it will be the first in a series of DVD’s about real, nourishing food. If you have any recommendations for marketing the DVD I would love to hear your thoughts. I posted pictures from the filming on my blog last week. I love your blog and all the great info!
Hey Amy greeting from another NHH follower! How did the filming go? I’ll stop by to see what you wrote on your blog! Haven’t been by in a while as I lost my favorites list… Good seeing you again!
Hi Peggy — filming went great — you can read about it at http://www.homesteadblogger.com/thegraingirl. Excited about your move!
Sorry for the typo — my website is http://www.graingirl.com. I am so looking forward to reading your Q & A!
My husband is a “meat & potatoes” kind of guy and could really care less about eating organic or “nourishing” meals. He doesn’t mind if I make them (providing it doesn’t change the grocery budget), but he doesn’t really want to change the way he eats. Any good suggestions or recipes that fall into both the comforting “meat & potatoes” and “nourishing” catagories? He is just not into beans (too bad for me…the fugual aspect alone is enough for me!) or other grains. He wants food that still looks completely “normal” to him.
This is a personal question . . .you mention you like to read . . . what are your favorites? Fiction/non-fiction? Do you branch out from food/cooking reading? Favorite devotional type books – i.e. what encourage(s/ed) and sustain(s/ed) you through loss of a child, and then what you’ve noted has been a difficult year? Just curious! 😉
I’d like to know how you make your almond milk and if you have any suggestions for calcium supplements. My youngest son is anaphylactic to dairy and buying almond milk is busting the bank, but it’s one of the few ways I’m getting calcium in him (he won’t eat his greens!).
Love your blog!! Thanks for all you do!!
I love your site, just stumbled upon it this past weekend and I have been up every night going through all your posts. Something I’d really appreciate to see would be more of the “nourishing” and “soaked” BABY-friendly recipes. I have a 14 month old who prefers finger foods and we try to eat wap but vegetarian. Any posts in that regard would just make my week 🙂 Thanks for sharing these great ideas anyway. I love your Q and A on pregnancy etc.
me, too! should I feel guilty every time my 14-month old still eats Whole Foods O’s???? (the guilt currently recedes a bit since she’s the only one in my family besides me who will eat homemade raw yogurt.)
Love your website. I have recently begun preparing food the “Nourishing Traditions” way and your website has really helped!
I’ve been using Bisquick to make quick biscuits but want to have my own biscuit mix on hand – any suggestions and would I soak the flour mixture the day before?
And do you always soak your oats before making granola and dehydrating?
Thanks so much for a great website/blog.
I do enjoy your website and am so glad that you are doing a Q&A. My questions: What if one’s food budget must be very low – how does one eat this healthy way? Also, how can we take foods from the grocery store and make them work for us if we do not have access to local organic foods – especially on a very tight budget? Thank you very much!
Another question . . . I’m in the market for stoneware for baking and wonder if you have any suggestions. I’m fixing to get a sourdough starter up and running . . .
Thought of another one.
Seafood. How often do you work it into your diet? Can you just get it really fresh (and affordable) since you’re in the Portland area? What to do if you live in America’s land-locked midsection? Is previously-frozen or canned the only option (I just can’t do $22/lb for fresh wild-caught salmon)?
How do you go about finding a naturalist? Do you go to a naturalist for health issues at the exclusion of an M.D.? We very rarely get sick in my house, thankfully, and it is even rarer to be sick enough to consider a doctor visit. I am moving, however gradually, into Nourishing Traditions and Real Food methods and am curious how this plays out in the realm of healthcare.
This is a question from my mother, who is rather computer illiterate.
In NT, Sally Fallon writes “The day when every town and hamlet in America produces its own distinctive lacto-fermented brew, made from the local products of woods and fields, will be the day when Americans see the dawning of a new age of good health and well being”p.54. She is wondering if anyone knows any such recipes. She has tried various recipes in NT, and I’ve told her about water kefir, but she is looking for something she can make with more local ingredients (tree fruits are not local, though berries are).