Have you Seen Food Inc?

Wow. I just watched the dvd Food Inc. If you have never seen it, go right now and rent it. It will change you whole outlook on food. If you have doubts about switching to a real food diet...watch this...you will no longer doubt your choice. I am shocked. I am disgusted with what I saw and learned. I never want to set foot in a grocery store again.

This movie made me want to buy a dairy cow, have some chickens, and so much more. I can't say enough about this movie. It is powerful and painful to find out just how little we know about how our food is produced.

The only down side of this movie? I want to throw out about half of my freezer full of meat and toss everything that is in a package out of my house.

Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Were you as shocked and upset as I am?
One very awesome quote I loved from the movie..." you vote with every dollar you spend." Now every time I'm in the store I will ask myself that before I buy anything!

Once a Month Shopping

Our family has recently switched to a more real foods diet, unfortunately we live in a small town with not a lot of great food options. One of the ways I have found to make the switch to a more nourishing diet is to shop once a month in a large city that has better food options. I plan out a month of meals and write down every ingredient that I'll need. I always shop our pantry first and then make my final list of what we need. I might spend $300 in one day but then the rest of the month I only buy produce and milk.

For more frugal tips check out Life as Mom

What to Do?

I have always dreamed of having my very own farm. It doesn't need to be a huge farm but big enough to have a large garden, some chickens, rabbits, and a small milk cow. Recently, I've been checking the rental homes section in the paper...you know...just in case something would come available to meet "my" needs. Well guess what...something might have. It looks good on paper...3 bedrooms, wood floors, 3 acres, full partially finished basement, wood burner, and we can have all the animals we want. Makes me want to pack up and move in!!!

However, right now we live right next door to where my husband works. We are currently renting from his boss. We loved it here when we first moved but then they expanded the building directly behind our home. The fans run 24 hours a day. There have been other issues but the biggest is the noise. The benefit is that we have no work expenses at all...and job security...who will fire somebody who pays you rent??

So what would you do? We're going to look at the house on Saturday. I almost hope that it is really ugly inside. It looks nice from the outside though. Would you take a chance to live your dream or stay here?

Christmas Planning

This week the theme is Holiday tips and I can't wait to read them all. Here what works for my family...

I make most of our gifts for extended family so I begin planning in June. I keep a notebook that I fill with ideas I find online, books, or magazines. I jot down my list of people I need to get gifts for and then look through my notebook to find what would be the best match for that family.

Here is one of my gift baskets that I'm making...
* lap quilt
* coffee/cups
* gluten free peanut butter cookies
* gluten free fudge

My girls are making air fresheners to put on each basket. We will be making gift baskets for our neighbor, a few friends, my parents, my brother, and small gifts for our coop teachers. I think we'll make a five minute cake mix and include mugs for the coop teachers.

Keeping a holiday notebook of gift ideas works for me

Our at Home Day

Wednesdays are our only day of the week that we are home the whole day, and it has turned into a baking/cleaning day at our home. Here is a list of what we're working on today...

* Complete our homeschool day- finished
* Bake bread- finished
* Make chocolate chip cookies- finished
* Make chocolate graham crackers- finished
* Make vegetable soup for dinner- finished

Our cleaning list-
*Deep clean all bedrooms- finished
* Clean bathrooms- finished
* Laundry- finished
* Hand wash dishes

Tuesday has turned into our milk day and yesterday we picked up two gallons of fresh milk.
I'm looking forward to the day I can afford more milk shares so we can have four or five gallons per week!!

Ohio Voters Vote No on Issue 2

If you live in Ohio then you need to read the following post on why you should vote NO on issue 2 please read and make an informed decision... Here is the link

Do you know someone who lives in Ohio? Make sure they read this before they vote.

Menu Plan Monday

I can't believe it's the first week of November already! Where is the time going? The weather is getting chilly again so we'll be eating some more soups and heavy foods to help us stay warm! Here's what's cooking at our house this week...

Breakfast-
bacon/biscuits
waffles/fruit
hashbrowns/pancakes
homemade doughnuts
cereal...Friday is our homeschool coop day!
pancakes/eggs/toast/bacon
overnight cinnamon rolls

Lunch-
leftovers or soup/baked potato

Dinner-
roast/mashed potatoes/rolls/peas
chicken stir fry/rice
beef and noodles over mashed potatoes
bbq pork sandwiches/fries
stromboli or pizza
chili and other finger foods
shredded chicken sandwiches/snack food

For more menu plans check out I'm an Organizing Junkie