Non-Hybrid Seeds and a Greenhouse!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about writing this post! First of all, my apologies for my one-month hiatus. We were on vacation for a week and then spent a month getting back into the swing of things and focusing on a very important project that we are working on.

Anyway, moving on. We must be in a serious mindset of self sufficiency/self-reliance at our house because just like the past few posts, this post fully encompasses that mentality! Prices are going up…on practically EVERYTHING. We’re hearing about it everywhere. I can see how some would be frustrated wondering how to pay for healthy food which in some cases is more expensive. Of course our personal justification for spending more of our money in that area has always been that we are saving in the short and long term in the health costs we DON’T have to pay to doctors, etc. due to our health and well being that we enjoy, but that is beside the point.

In trying to become completely self sufficient and minimally affected by the ups and downs in the outside world, we have been taking steps toward establishing some great habits and acquiring beneficial skills in all areas of our lives. One of those things has recently become the food we are providing for ourselves. Sometimes it can be discouraging at the grocery store when wanting to purchase the healthiest possible food for our families and we have a choice of a regular avocado for $0.88 verses an organic avocado for $2.88 (Just a made up example, but I know you’ve had to make the decision before too.) This isn’t my post about why we now feel strongly about organic foods, that’s coming later, but stick with me.

Many of you have heard of “non-hybrid seeds”, but if you haven’t, here’s the most simple explanation:

“Non-Hybrid or Open-Pollinated seeds allow the gardener to collect seeds from a crop for future planting. Hybrid seeds do not.”

-Heirloom Organics website www.non-hybrid-seeds.com

Have you ever tried planting a seed from something you buy in the grocery store or even from something you’ve grown in your own garden? The seeds are engineered in away that doesn’t allow for a successful second generation crop. So…if prices go up, you are forced to pay more; whether it is more for fresh produce, or for the modified seeds you buy to grow your own.

If you haven’t guessed already, we have invested in some non-hybrid seeds, over 100,000 to be more accurate. We have nearly every variety of everything we could ever want or need. Vegetables, Herbs, Grains, Fruits, Beans, and Greens. And… are you ready for this? They are NOT expensive and they are all ORGANIC! Can you hear me yelling? We are really happy about it and very pleased with the company that sent them to us. (Don’t worry…I’ll share all of the info!)

Now, not only will we have as many different plants as we want/need, but it no longer matters what happens to food prices. Plus, all of the things we just purchased for our long-term food storage we now have seeds for to replenish our own storage supply! We will also have fresh access to great organic produce year round and we couldn’t be more excited! Are you wondering what I mean by “year round” produce? That’s the amazing second part of my post. We are also getting a lovely greenhouse that will enable us to plant and produce around the calendar. Although we live in Texas and the weather is beautiful throughout most of the fall, winter, and spring; there are a few painfully hot months in the summer as well as a cold spell that usually hits mid February. Plus, living way out in the country presents its own gardening difficulties with regard to critters, bugs, bobcats (we’ve seen 2 now), etc. so we felt that in our situation, we will find the most success and have the most control over a greenhouse environment.

Considering doing something similar? Here’s the info. Have at it!

http://www.non-hybrid-seeds.com/

For your information, from this site we ordered the SEED VAULT and from what it was lacking from the larger packages we ordered the GRAINS PACK, the FRUIT LOVERS PACK, the DRYING BEANS PACK, the KITCHEN HERB PACK, and the GREENS PACK. (The reason we ordered the smallest pack was because it seemed the others didn’t offer more for the price than a bunch more of the same seeds and we were planning on getting the other packs as well because many of the things in them weren’t offered in any of the big packs, but of course you can make the choice for your household). Also, just another side note…these non-hybrid seeds are able to be stored long term as well.

Also, after looking extensively at many different sites and companies offering non-hybrid seeds, I personally felt this one had the most to offer and portrayed themselves in the most professional manner, but feel free to do your own research. Happy Organic Gardening!

del.icio.us Tags: Organic Food Storage,Organic Gardening,Organic Food,Greenhouse,Gardening,Non-Hybrid-Seeds,Natural Health

All Natural Easter Egg Dyes

I don't have any pictures to post, but I wanted to share what we will be doing later to color eggs. Yesterday I was walking around in my favorite store, (Whole Foods) and they had a cute Easter table with printed sheets of paper with information on how to dye your easter eggs with all natural food dyes. I knew that there were certain ways, but didn't know all of these.

First, there are two dipping methods. Hot or Cold.

For the "Cold Dipping" method:
1. Boil the eggs and coloring ingredients in two different pots.
2. Let the dye pot cool and then strain it. Dip the eggs in the dye for 10-15 minutes.
3. Dry eggs in carton or on paper towels.

For the "Hot Dipping" method:
1. Add both eggs and natural dye ingredients to a pot and cover with water.
2. Add 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar.
4. Bring to a rolling boil, and reduce to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Run eggs under cool water.

Now, the fun part. I understand that this isn't as cut and dry as opening a package of those candy-looking mystery pills, but if you're wanted to do something different, this is an option. We are doing a little variation of the "Cold Dipping" option above.

Colors:
Yellow/gold - turmeric
Light pink or dark pink - beets or cranberries
Baby blue or royal blue - coarsely chopped red cabbage (they have a note saying the cabbage dye won't work until it cools.)
Chartreuse green - dye yellow, then dye blue
Dark lavender - blueberries

To have deeper colors, we plan to boil the eggs first, then the kids can draw cute pictures on them with white crayon, and then we will let them soak in the dye overnight.

*One thing that is noted is that since these are food dyes, they may affect the flavor of the eggs, so we plan to just use blueberries and beets to make pink and purple eggs that won't be ruined by those two flavors.

We'll post pictures tomorrow!

HAPPY EASTER!

Long-Term Food Storage

After finishing updating our 72-Hour Kits last weekend, it was time to finally update our food storage. Our first step was to calculate how much was recommended for 1 full year of food storage for our family of 4. Here is a GREAT calculator to help you do so. Just put in the numbers and you’ll have a personalized page. Clearly, there are a lot of suggestions on that list that we shy away from eating, so I swapped and replaced where I felt necessary. Along those same lines, I personally feel that a HUGE mistake made when preparing for food storage is buying things that “you’ll only eat in case of emergency” or saying to yourself “well, this would keep us alive in an emergency situation…” BUY THINGS THAT YOU EAT NOW. Just build up an abundance of the things that your family eats on a regular basis (healthy things of course) and then you are continually rotating things through. It shouldn’t be a waste of money because when you do your shopping, what you buy goes to the back of the rotation and you still always have a year’s supply. Make sense?

 

I chose to focus on our dry storage first. I ordered nearly 500 lbs of food yesterday! But with food prices guaranteed to rise over the next few months, I felt GREAT with the accomplishment. There are many possibilities when it comes to purchasing food to store, but of course we wanted to store organic foods, as that is what our family eats, and so why would I spend money on food that I wouldn’t want to cycle through? I found some great resources and websites and I’ll share them below.

 

From www.bobsredmill.com I ordered:

-Organic Quinoa (50 lbs) –This is what we use in place of rice most of our meals. (expect a post dedicated to this in the near future )

-Organic Wheat (125 lbs) –This was less than the recommended amount for a family of 4, but we rarely use flour. The reason I did get it was so that I could start making our own sprouted wheat bread. You can also soak the berries and make delicious oatmeal as well.

-Baking Powder (approx 4 lbs) –For the occasion what I do use this, they carry a “non-aluminum” baking powder.

-Organic Regular Rolled Oats (75 lbs) YUM!

-Organic Flax Seeds (25 lbs) For some of these things with a shorter shelf life, try and judge how quickly you will be able to use them and plan accordingly.

-Organic Coconut Flour (8 lbs) What is this, you ask? You just wait…I am really excited to post about it!

 

From www.bulkwholefoods.com I ordered:

-Organic garbanzo beans (25 lbs) Hummus, soups, etc.

-Organic black beans (50 lbs) We LOVE black beans!

-Organic yellow popcorn (25 lbs) We love air popped popcorn.

 

A few sites that will be helpful in educating you on long term storage of food, shelf life, etc. are below:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2220971_store-food-long-term-survival.html

http://www.cherubimfood.com/en/product-shelf-life.html

http://survivalacres.com/information/shelflife.html

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/information_center/storage_life_of_foods.htm

 

If you don’t see a specific item just Google “What is the shelf life of _____?”

 

There are different options when it comes to what to store these items in once you receive them, and we are opting to use #10 cans. They are supposed to keep food fresh longer because you’re only opening a small, usable amount at a time; rather than opening a big 5 gallon bucket and exposing everything to the air frequently. To determine how many cans or buckets you will need, I found these great sites: (We need almost 100 cans!)

 

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2011/03/10/10-cans-and-5-gallon-buckets-how-much-can-they-hold/

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_a_10_can_hold

 

I hope this information helps you get organized and started in preparing to store food for your family. Storing ahead of time with create a cushion in times of need, and will also help to supplement the rising food prices over the next year. It feels good to be prepared!

 

Other valuable sites available:

http://www.shelfreliance.com/

http://www.providentliving.org/content/list/0,11664,8034-1,00.html

 

del.icio.us Tags: Food Storage,Long-Term Food Storage,Emergency Preparedness,Dry Goods,Black beans,Quinoa,Wheat,Rolled Oats,Coconut Flour,Garbanzo beans,Popcorn,Aluminum free Baking Powder,Flax seeds,Organic Food Storage

72-Hour Kits

I know that I touched on these the other day and so I wanted to go into a little bit more detail as to why we feel the need to have 72-Hour Kits and what we are putting in them. Just to reiterate what I said in the last post, there are interesting things happening all around us. Sometimes it’s difficult to comprehend the intensity or magnitude of some of these events because they don’t occur close enough to us. Truth be told, none of us are immune to disasters. Depending on where we live, it could be anything from snow, rain, flooding, tornados, hurricanes, ice storms, fire, extended power outages, wind, etc. Scott reminded me yesterday of the Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared”. It applies to all of us!

 

We feel that it is important to have 72-Hour Emergency Kits in case for some reason we need to leave our home quickly without much time for preparation. We each have a backpack full of things we could potentially need for 72 hours. Each of our children also have their own backpack. (Obviously Mom and Dad expect to be the ones carrying those backpacks, because they are not light enough for our little kiddos.) Some of you may be thinking that there is no way to put healthy food in a kit that will last. We plan to change the food out every 6 months, so it really only needs to last for 6 months. I am really excited to say that I found some GREAT food to add to our kits that we wouldn’t mind eating in 6 months either. Just to give you a couple of ideas, I found things like:

 

-Organic apple juice, juice boxes

-Freeze-dried fruits and vegetables (make sure to check labels so that you don’t buy some with any preservatives or added coloring/flavor).

-Dehydrated fruits and vegetables (many of the packaged ones are full of artificial additives, so read the labels. Also…look for Organic because since a great deal of the moisture has left these fruits and vegetables, it causes any pesticides that were on the surface to concentrate so you end up eating a chunk of pesticides. –One inexpensive way to remedy this issue would be to dehydrate your own Organic produce and put it in vacuum sealed bags. One last note: since the water content is low it also causes the sugars to concentrate as well, but in an emergency they would be a blessing to have.)

-Kashi granola bars (full of the good stuff, without the extra yucky stuff)

-Instant Oatmeal –Believe it or not, instant oatmeal is usually full of artificial colors and flavors, BUT I found some that wasn’t. Read the boxes and make sure you find some that only has real stuff in it.

-Tuna –In a package, not a can. For an extra bit of protein in case of emergency, these packages of tuna would be easily accessible and you’d just need to rip open the package without the need for a can opener. Read the packages, some are better than others.

-Peanut Butter Crackers –There is a company called “Lance” that makes these crackers without any preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc. They would be good to keep energy up and tummies full.

-Mini water bottles (at least 1 gal worth per person)–Easy to fit a handful of them in the packs.

-Mixed nuts and seeds –Although it would be nice to sprout these, they’d at least give you energy when you needed it.

-Vitamin packets –We like to drink Emer gen-C in our house, and they just so happen to be PERFECT for emergency kits. Each little packet has 1,000 mg of Vitamin C and so you could add them to a bottle of water for an added punch of vitamins, minerals, and energy.

 

These are just a few ideas. Be creative, but scrutinize the product labels as you shop. They need to be able to pack easily and ideally be beneficial to your health, because I can’t think of a more important time to have high energy and an alert mind than in an emergency.

 

Just for your information, I’ll also post a few of the other items that we won’t have to update every 6 months that are present in our backpacks always. Most of these things are packaged small and are therefore easy to fit into these backpacks. Obviously packs for parents will hold things slightly different than packs for kids. (TS means travel size)

            Parent                                                        Child

-Small Flashlight                                                       ”  

-Batteries for flashlight (separate)                             “

-Small fleece blanket (rolled up)                               “

-Emergency blanket (little silver one found in camping department in a tiny package)                                     “

-Rain Poncho (also small package in camping department

                                                                                   “

-Whistle                                                                     “

-Compass                                                                   “

-Current map of your area

-Cash and coin

-Important documents (here’s a great link on these and others)

-Small radio (with separate batteries)  

-Roll of strong tape

-Water purifying tablets

-Lightweight rope

-Hand and feet warmer packets                                  “

-Waterproof matches (strike anywhere)

-Small camping cup (for food or drink)                                                                          “  

-Pocket Knife                                           *depends on age

-Small hand towel                                                      “

-First aid kits (TS)                                                     “

-Sunscreen (TS)

-Hat to shield from sun

-Small fork and spoon (TS)                                        “

-Roll of toilet paper (cardboard taken out)                 “

-Deodorant (TS)                                      *depends on age

-Feminine Hygiene products (good for more than their intended use)

-Shampoo/Conditioner (TS)                                       “

-Biodegradable body soap

-Contact Solution/case (TS)

-Toothbrush/paste (TS)                                               “

-Hand Sanitizer (TS)                                                   “

-Important medicine *We have what are called “Kid’s Kits” A kit with homeopathy remedies for a broad range of needs.

                                                           Small Toys/games

                                                      Diapers –if applicable

-Change of clothing (add sweatshirt in fall)                “

 

I may have missed a few things, but that’s what comes to my head. We’re updating our kits tomorrow! I CAN’T WAIT!

del.icio.us Tags: Emergency Preparedness,72-Hour Kits,Backpacks,Hyland's Kids Kit,Emer gen C,Healthy Food,Food Storage,Holistic lifestyle

72-Hour Emergency Kits and Food Storage

I am aware that a lot of people have different opinions on food storage, but it’s been at the forefront of my mind for a few weeks now. Not an ideal time in our business schedule, but for some reason I have felt a great sense of urgency to “catch back up”.

When I was giving a health class a little over a year ago, one of the questions asked was, “But what about food storage?” I think that there is a misconception that food storage has to be the worst of the worst when it comes to healthy food. Boxes upon boxes of cheap, colorful cereal (because they will last and were on sale!), and cans of a variety of different foods that will last forever because they’re packed with so many preservatives. Believe it or not, it doesn’t have to be that way, and I’m excited to teach you about what we are doing!

Why 72-Hour Emergency Kits and Food Storage? With massive earthquakes in Japan and the resulting tsunamis, crazy winter storms, flooding, droughts, etc. it is extremely important to be prepared. I personally am not sure anyone can logically argue that point. Think about your own preparedness for a moment…what would YOU do if stores were unavailable for more than a week? To give you a recent example. Here in Texas last month, we had some crazy ice and then snow storms. The city shut down for about 4 days. It was the most snow days the schools had ever had. Power companies were forcing rolling blackouts across the state to conserve the available power. It was frigid outside! (especially for Texas!) Trucks weren’t able to transport food and people couldn’t get to the store. Then things finally began to defrost…and people ventured out. When I went to Walmart, many of the shelves were empty because they hadn’t been able to receive shipments. There was only ONE package of toilet paper left in its aisle and I snatched it up quickly because we were out! Everyone who didn’t have food had bombarded the stores the second they could get out of their houses and stocked up on everything. The next day? Another storm. Schools and the city shut down AGAIN! I hadn’t ever seen that happen before, but even something as seemingly small as an ice storm (at first we could still see the roads, but they were just covered in at least an inch of solid ice. It looked like a skating rink.)

A couple of weeks ago, I read about the response to the potential tsunamis in Hawaii. People waited in line for hours to get things like gasoline and WATER! We can’t control the weather, and if you understand “mass mentality”, you don’t want to be in the position of need.

What if it is something as individual as you or your spouse losing your job and not having enough income while you make other arrangements?  It could be so many different things, but if we are prepared, there is nothing to be afraid of.

So here is what we are doing. This weekend, we are revamping our 72-Hour Emergency kits and over the next few weeks, updating our long term food storage (we had quite a bit before we moved and since we are sort of in a transitional period we have just been using what we had up without replacing it. –which actually is great for us this time around because we are making some big changes to the type of food we are storing.)

Alright, the next post is going to be specifically discussing our 72-Hour Emergency Kits; why we have them, what we have in them, what we are adding to them, what we are packing everything in, how many we have…everything. I’ll tell you where I found all of these things and hopefully give you clarity as to how you can confidently make 72-Hour Emergency packs that you will feel good about that will full of good food as well!

del.icio.us Tags: 72-Hour Emergency Kits,Emergency Preparedness,Healthy Food,Food Storage

The truth about drug companies comes out on ‘Shark Tank’

Scott and I LOVE the show ‘Shark Tank’ being the entrepreneurs and business owners that we are, but there was an episode Friday that left me boiling for a couple of minutes. I’ve told you before that when it really comes down to it, the food industry is a business; a business to make money, and of course just as with any business, it will fail without it. It probably won’t surprise you to know that I feel the exact same way about the drug companies!
If you don’t watch ‘Shark Tank’ or missed Friday’s episode, I’ll give you a little background. It’s a show where entrepreneurs, inventors, business owners, etc. approach venture capitalists or “Sharks” seeking money and support to further their business endeavors. There was a particular business owner Friday night who invented a little device to cover the nostril therefore blocking an extremely high percentage of airborne contaminants, germs, viruses, allergens, etc. (It looked almost like a miniature breathable Band-Aid)
Being the business savvy people that they are, the first question of the “sharks” was why this gentleman didn’t try to partner with one of the big drug companies because the product seemed to be in their “realm” of the business world. The following conversation didn’t shock me…but rather confirmed my already solid convictions. I’ll type the conversation below, and if you want to watch the entire episode and see the product, I’ve posted the link below as well.
 
Robert – “Why not just go license it to one of the big drug companies?”
First Defense Nasal Screens –“Because I did that originally. I went to one of the biggest in the United States, and they told me we were actually a competitor, and if they took the product they would shelf it, because why would they prevent it for a dollar when they could treat it for $14?”
 
I seriously sat, jaw wide open for a bit. I turned to Scott and said, “That poor guy is going to get SUED for even saying something like that!” Like I said, I wasn’t surprised, but it still shocked me to hear it! And, at the risk of being criticized, I would venture to say that they don’t want to find a cure for things like cancer either (I personally believe there already is one) because why would they teach the public that they only have to eat diets rich in the right kinds of foods, oxygenating their livings cells and tissues and ridding them of toxins for only what it costs for a healthy load of groceries, healthy water and herbs, when they could treat it for hundreds of thousands of dollars? And if they do find a “cure” it will be in some form of drug they can market and sell because…well…it’s a billion dollar industry! Anyway, enough on that…enjoy the episode! Hope you have a GREAT start to your week!

del.icio.us Tags: Shark Tank,Entrepreneurs,First Defense Nasal Screens,Cancer Cures,Food and drug administration,Drug Companies,Health and Wellness,Natural Health,Holistic Health

Vitamins–Not all create equal!

 

        ?      

Oh blog family, how I’ve missed you! I apologize for the week-long hiatus. If I were to tell you that I’m a mother, wife, homemaker, AND business owner, you’d probably say –Enough Said! On top of that I’ve been focusing a lot of my time and energy on a very special project that we are nearly finished with, but I am still sorry for my absence.

I want you to know that I put a lot of time, research, and preparation into these posts because I want them to be valuable and accurate for you, so you’ll never see me just throw something together thoughtlessly. This post is no different, and that’s why it has taken me awhile. Sometimes there are posts I write that remind me that I could do better as well. This is one of them. (another blessing of this blog)

We’ve been asked since we were kids, did you remember to take your vitamins? I was bummed to learn that all vitamins are not created equal. Some are moderately real, others are moderately synthetic, and other are clearly synthetic (like the ones I accidentally bought a couple of years ago that were PINK…and not because they had beet juice!)

It makes sense. You figure they have got to attempt to take naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, etc. and pack them into a little pill. Of course if you want to enjoy the full range of benefits from different vitamins and minerals, you can rarely expect to get them from a capsule. They go with the fruits, vegetables, grains, and the like, that they are naturally occurring in. So if you expect to supplement your poor diet with vitamins to make up the difference, I think you’ll be disappointed when it doesn’t work! With that said, it does help sometimes to add to the healthy foods we are already eating.

Below are excerpts from great pages of information. After reading the paragraphs, click on them to read the entire article. This first one discusses the difference between some of the compounds you’ll read on the side of different vitamin bottles.

Most vitamins available for sale are synthetic, and are very difficult for the body to absorb.  In fact, they can even be harmful due to the unnecessary stresses they place upon the kidneys, and the overall immune system.  As something unknown and unnatural, chemically synthesized 'vitamins' are potentially toxic, and therefore trigger an immune response, which makes a body fatigued, and more prone to illnesses.

This next article goes into detail about the different compounds found in vitamins. I had never thought of some of these points! Take your vitamin bottles out and read the following article. You’ll see what they are talking about! They also have a chart educating you on how to read the labels. I'll be printing it out for my next vitamin purchases! 

When we say natural or whole food supplements, we're speaking of products that contain the total complex family of micro-nutrients (known and unknown) just as they are found in nature. These micro-nutrients are indispensable for proper vitamin absorption and maximum utilization. That's the only way you can have optimum nutrition. Synthetic vitamins lack this wonderfully marvelous supporting family.

I know…it’s eye opening! These are “vitamins” we read on the side of our cereal boxes, and other boxes of processed food where we are thinking…Look at all the vitamins and minerals found in this food I’m eating! I’m speaking to myself here as well! Just further proof that nature still always knows best!

Here’s one more for the road. It’s full of useful information on discerning which vitamins are beneficial…and which are the opposite!

The problem is that vitamins, when isolated or synthesized are not in their original form (apples, oranges, broccoli, spinach etc.) and they are merely chemicals. Our bodies do not recognize chemical vitamins as usable nutrients, because they don’t work the same way as whole foods.

Foods contain more than just vitamins; they also contain cofactors, enzymes and helper nutrients that allow vitamins to work. Foods are never found in high potency, so you won’t suffer any toxic side effects that have been proven to exist with all chemical vitamin pills. It is nearly impossible to overdose vitamins in its original whole food form.

As always…just some food for thought. I hope that this brings clarity for the next time you’re walking down the vitamin aisle and have THOUSANDS of little bottles staring you down!

del.icio.us Tags: Vitamins,Whole Foods,All natural vitamins,synthetic vitamins,chemical vitamins,Minerals,Children's Vitamins,Prenatal Vitamins,Multi-vitamins