Greater Strength

... and better sleep.

Since adopting better nutrition the past several years ... and using the lavender oil every night on my pillow for sleep, I can feel the joints in my hips and leg bones have more strength in them.  I was a sorry mess, in pain .. always tired .. foggy headed .. sore this and sore that prior to using the farmacy as my medicine cabinet.

There were countless food allergies .. sleepless nights .. creaks in my knees .. tender tendons in my shoulders ... did I mention no energy? 

My farmacy includes using only whole foods at home, buying eggs and meat that are not tainted with drugs and GMO's .. getting to know my local farmers and how they feed their animals.  Buying whole raw milk .. even if I cook with it, at least it started out loaded with beneficial enzymes and nutrition packed.  Growing a garden, buying organic when needed .. sprouting wheat to dry and grind into flour.  It's a pretty serious matter when you consider the ill health of a large percentage of people. 

rich bone broth

This week has been one big temptation after another.  We've eaten out quite a few times between date day with  hubby .. and a birthday dinner for our youngest.  Yesterday, it caught up with me and I was in a sleep induced stupor requiring a mid afternoon nap.  Phooey .. that's enough bodily torture and I don't want to go back to that state of poor health.

sprouts are easy to grow on your counter top in winter months

Are you shopping at a farmacy, have your own farmacy .. or do you have a poor diet resulting in needing prescriptions from a pharmacy? I don't know about you ... but this new socialized health care system could be a bad pill .. keeping healthy and not needing to use it is good proactive medicine.

one of the veggie gardens at The Thrifty Garden Home

Bone Health ..

I've written about the benefits of making your own beef and chicken stock before.  When we purchase our beef from a local ranch, I always ask for about 15 pounds of bare bones cut in 2 inch pieces (no meat).  These get roasted (approx. 5 lbs at a time and the rest are frozen until needed) in a moderately hot oven (400F) for two hours in a roasting pan .. then added to my enamel canning kettle with 5 quarts of water, 4 large yellow onions, quartered and skins left on, a pound of whole carrots (don't peel) .. and a head of celery (I used the woody parts and leaves from my garden crop) .. NO SALT.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 12 hours .. adding water if necessary to end up with 5 quarts of liquid.  After defatting and straining the liquid, it can be frozen or canned for later use.  This year I canned it due to limited space in my freezer.  When refrigerated is congeals .. so you know that it's got lots of nutritional properties.

chicken stock

It always amazes me after making soup and consuming this broth for several weeks, that I notice less and less aches and pains .. and cricks in my bones.  My shoulder injury from a year ago spring is healed as well.

For chicken stock, buy whole chickens and save the backs and wing tips.  Freeze wrapped individually in plastic wrap until you have about 8-9.  Fill a canning kettle with the frozen bones, 3-4 onions, carrots, and celery .. you can add a few herbs too .. NO SALT.  This doesn't take nearly as long to make as beef stock, as you don't have to roast the bones, and it cooks in about 3-4 hours on the stove top.  Defat, strain and store same as the beef broth in freezer or by canning.

Forget those little bouillon cubes and broth in a can from the market.. make your own broth from bones that most people throw away.


Be sure when freezing to use freezer safe containers.  I prefer to use straight sided glass jars (without narrow openings as these will crack), leaving about an inch or two for expansion as it freezes.

Broth is beautiful - 

Economical Cooking 101

Mrs. Mac's fresh herb container

There was a time when I'd pour over cookbooks and recipes, buying specific ingredients for meals.  Alas .. since taking up gardening, I rarely pull out a book .. except, perhaps, for a bread or canning recipe.  With a supply of fresh and dried garden herbs, and the pantry/freezer filled from the harvest, most of our meals are cooked from the bounty, locally raised meats, and staples such as single ingredients.   This type of cooking is never the same twice; forever changing.  Instead of relying on store bought boxed/canned goods, usually loaded with preservatives and cheaply made ingredients, it is much easier to just put a meal together by using basic (fairly simple) cooking techniques.

Recently for dinner I made Mexican quiche topped with shredded cabbage and diced cherry tomatoes & green onions.  Everything pulled quickly from the fridge & pantry. The Mexican part of the meal came from corn tortillas .. and a little bit of extra taco meat & beans from a meal several days ago.  With the price of food .. leftovers get turned into something brand new.  Hubby raved about the meal several times .. thinking I had used a new recipe.  Cooking off the cuff or from scratch with what is on hand and without a written recipe .. is a good economical skill to master and gets easier as time passes.  This type of cooking does not involve extensive meal planning, is more nutritious and contains more fiber.  Now that the freezer and pantry are stocked, our food bill is shrinking.  We could go for many weeks without having to set foot into the market. 

Mexican Quiche

Preheat oven to 350F
Serves 3-4


3-4 corn tortillas
2 tsp. cooking oil
5 eggs
2 Tablespoons half-&-half (or milk)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp thyme (or your favorite green herb)
one diced jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup taco meat and/or refried beans

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella .. but cheddar would be good)
1 cup diced/shredded cabbage
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
sprinkle of green onions (or chopped red onion)
salt & pepper optional



In a medium 10 inch cast iron skillet heat oil and cook the tortillas flat over med-high heat until tender (barely crisp).  Turn off heat.  Arrange the tortillas so a little of the edges go up the side of the pan.  Beat the eggs, half-&half, chile powder, thyme and jalapeno.  Dollop the meat/beans in small spoonfuls over the tortillas .. and sprinkle cheese over the meat.  Turn the heat on medium and add the egg mixture cooking undisturbed for a just a minute or two until the bottom is 'set' .. Put the pan into the preheated oven and bake until the eggs are set on top (3-5 minutes).  Carefully remove the pan and top with cabbage, tomatoes and onions.  Cut into wedges and serve with salsa and or a little sour cream on top if desired.



What is your strategy for frugal cooking?

Dabbling In The Kitchen ... again

This has been an exciting week kitchenwise.  First with the arrival of our green coffee beans .. then the wheat grinder .. and today my supply of Tattler reusable canning lids.  Come payday I'm off the get the wheat berries and give fresh ground wheat a try. 

I had such a nice quantity of milk kefir grains (see previous post) that I started to research about using them to make flavored water kefir.  The grains were divided:  half continue to make milk kefir .. and the other half have been designated for water.  So far I'm on my second quart of fermenting the water variety.  I used fresh organic ginger and some organic lemon peel to flavor the first batch .. it came out very refreshing .. now to try it on the family :).  The second batch I hope to flavor with some tangerines.  Soon I'll post some pictures with directions. 

The seeds that were sprouted earlier this week are ready to use in salads .. and I'll start on a second batch to sprout.  They greatly add flavor and crunch to our meals .. as well as good nutrition.

Last year I injured my right shoulder installing 6 foot metal T-steak posts and fencing around our three fruit trees (to keep the moose out) it has bothered me for about nine months.  Well .. after amping up my use of the milk kefir, calcium tablets made from seaweed, and consuming bone broth soups, it is finally on the mend ... just in time for the coming gardening season.  If you have the time .. it's well worth the effort to make your own rich soup stock.

Broth Is Beautiful
Taking And Making Stock
Bone Strength Calcium Supplement
Tattler Reusable Canning Lids

Turkey .. Ten Ways

Turkey sandwich meat .. photo by Mrs. Mac

I'm getting the hang of cooking from scratch.  Making as much from my little kitchen laboratory as possible.  With the food budget money this month I splurged and bought a 18 pound minimally processed .. small farm .. turkey.  It was expensive at $56 .. the price you pay for having plain turkey without all the additives.  This turkey was dissected and made into TEN different turkey products packaged for quick use from the fridge and freezer.

Cajun (spicy) style roasted turkey breast ... photo by Mrs. Mac

Some of the broth, meat & gravy .. photo by Mrs. Mac

1. Cajun style breast meat roasted .. sliced thin for SANDWICHES ... 3 pounds
2. 6 quarts stock for SOUPS
3. 2 half pints of rich pan drippings for GRAVY
4. 3 quarts meat for use in CASSEROLES
5.  and TURKEY SALAD
6. Legs and wings baked TERIYAKI style for dinner and lunch (8 pieces)
7. Leftover teriyaki chopped for use in FRIED RICE
8. neck bones, heart, liver pressure CANNED as a nutritional supplement for our dog
9. Bones boiled second time to make BROTH to serve over my dog's dinner
10. Leftover by-parts/products .. from second batch of broth used to make a gallon of DOG FOOD

teriyaki turkey .. photo by Mrs. Mac

 About two or three pounds of bones is all that got tossed out.  If it wasn't the middle winter with two feet of snow on the ground, I'd have added the bones to the fire pit and used later on the garden.  Maybe next time I'll freeze the bones and do just that.

bread ready for final rise .. by Mrs. Mac

Hubby is reading 'Food Rules' and 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' .. both books by Michael Pollan.  I think I will be writing out the food rules on little 3x5 index cards and drilling him ..  maybe even add a few of my own rules.  It's a step in the right direction.  Yesterday .. he mentioned he'd like to learn to make bread.  There's always hope of reforming a 'Wonder (white squishy) Bread' boy, eh? :)

Today is our monthly budget day.  This, again, is an area hubby wants to gain knowledge of the process .. Oh, yes, he sees the end result .. no debt .. nutritious food on the table .. his cash envelopes filled.  But he is wise to see how it's done and to have a look-see at all the budget categories.  Just knowing that he wants to try and eat healthier when away from home .. or when I am out of town .. and how to manage the finances .. is music to my heart. 

homemade bread .. by Mrs. Mac

This week in the kitchen I'm tackling making and canning chili (meat and beans separately), making waffles to store in the freezer for quick school morning breakfasts, and looking into buying more food items in bulk .. which means figuring out where and how much to purchase, and how to store it all.  Any suggestions for bulk ordering would be helpful. 

Ants are creatures of little strength,
   yet they store up their food in the summer

Proverbs 30:25

Grandma's Remedy

To break up the winter doldrums, today I'm going to try a periodic piece about how I think 'grandma' would have found/fixed/made a solution to a basic need during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Today's problem .. oldest son is sick with a sore throat AND an empty pantry.  Calling me .. he asked if I had anything to eat that would not hurt his throat when swallowing.  He is used to buying canned soups .. which I don't buy.  Not having a tremendous amount of time I threw together something nutritious and comforting that my grandma would have made.

Gr-gr-grandma Minnie

Turkey Spatzen Soup: (small German dumplings)

1 quart turkey stock (I keep homemade on hand in the refrigerator and freezer .. grandma would have canned it for shelf storage)
1/4 cup each chopped - onion, carrot, celery
salt & pepper to taste

dumpling dough as follows - 

one egg, 1/4 cup water, 3/4 cup cake flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp double acting baking powder (organic),
a small pinch of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp dried parsley

To make soup base:

Heat the broth and veggies, salt and pepper to a low simmer.

To make spatzen:

Beat egg in a small mixing bowl with a fork; stir in the water.  In a medium size bowl, add the dry ingredients .. then blend with the liquid.  Mix well with fork.  Dough will be more like a thick batter.

spatzen dough

With stock simmering on low, drop 1/2 teaspoon size amounts of dough a few at a time.  They will sink .. then start to float.  Keep adding a few more small spoons of the batter .. not so much as to cool the soup .. it needs to be at a constant simmer.

Makes about 2-4 servings

turkey with spatzen soup

This soup took less than twenty minutes .. start to finish and can be easily doubled.
Our great grandparents made most of their meals from scratch.  Simple wholesome ingredients were used .. because that's all they had ... hum .. just imagine only having basic whole foods to choose from .. what a concept .. how far we've strayed away from that idea.  Let's get back to basics for the sake of our family's health! 

Brief History of Home Canning
Health Benefits of Homemade Broth (turkey, chicken, beef, etc.)

If you are interested in starting a 'Grandma's Remedy' page each week and want to link up, leave a comment.

Small Steps

Big gains. 


It's hard to remember shopping with store coupons for ready made food products.  Our food bill was about double what it is now.  The change to eating whole foods started off slowly and has snowballed.  A little step here and there has added up to a total makeover with more changes to follow.  Having a set amount of cash to shop with each month, slowly stocking up on single item pantry/freezer goods (flour, eggs, veggies, meat .. etc) .. makes for quick meal preparation and planning.  Purchasing went from several times a week to once or twice a month.  Honestly .. yesterday was big shopping day for the month of November.  Our budget is $400 cash (family of four); this does not include much meat as that is separately budgeted and purchased from a local ranch each summer and kept in a chest freezer.  Having a well stocked pantry, I came home with only four bags of grocery staples.  Milk, cheese, spices, potatoes, tea, chips, etc. leaving me $220 until the end of the month.  Over the summer, the garden and local u-pick farm supplied fresh produce, much of which has been frozen, canned or dried for winter's use.  Buying and growing locally usually ensures better quality.  Getting to know the farmer and their farming practices helps when making choices outside of your own garden.  Separate freezer space allows for extra gallons of milk to be stored until needed, eliminating that dash to the market (that turns into a $20 shopping spree).  Milk and hard cheese both freeze beautifully.  Just remember to pour a little out of the carton to allow for expansion; the extra can be put in a wide-mouth labeled mason jar and frozen.  When we are out of milk it's nice to have a few cups in the freezer to tide us over until shopping day.  Learning to budget food has taken about six months.  Eliminating convenience foods has freed up dollars to buy good quality staples such as flour, oil, milk, produce, etc.  With the exception to canning and bread making, cooking from scratch takes no more time than ready made convenience food with practice.  Adapting our favorite family recipes to be more nutritiously prepared has won over my family to eat better. 

photo by Mrs. Mac

Yesterday's lesson:  Everyday I try to learn something new in the kitchen.    My husband and daughter still prefer those yummy-foo-foo sweetened (FAKE) creamers.  Thinking outside of the BIG BOX store mentality, (and not having the money in the budget for their 'desires') I purchased half-and-half and doctored it up, making it a little less sweet and without all the FAKE chemicals.  We call it Autumn Carmel Spice Coffee Creamer, they're hooked :)  .. I'll drink mine black or with a splash of milk.  You can make flavored creamers using a similar method and your flavor of choice.

Autumn Carmel Spice Coffee Creamer:

1/2 pint good quality half and half (the only ingredients should be cream and milk)
1 Tablespoons organic sucanant (unrefined sugar)
2-3 Tablespoons organic raw sugar
dash of cinnamon
small pinch of sea salt
1 Teaspoon good quality pure vanilla flavoring (watch the ingredients .. they should all be pronounceable and familiar ones:)


Put a few tablespoons of half and half in a small sauce pan.  Add the sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt.  Stir over medium heat for just a moment until the sugars dissolve.  Do not let it come to a boil or the butterfat will separate and float on top of your coffee (bleck).  Slowly add the additional half and half and the vanilla.  Stir until well mixed.  Cool and pour back in the carton .. marking it as flavored coffee creamer.

The road to better nutrition is as individual as each family.  Do you have a favorite shopping strategy?

An Awakening

Nearing the end of gardening season.

Storing (drying) food for winter's use.

... is slowly taking place in the western world.  Perhaps from shoddy goods, a desire for better health, knowledge of big ag's poisonous onslaught, enlightenment of how our food is produced, a desire for REAL FOOD, these and many more reasons (economic) people are sharpening their gardening 'tools' and rethinking how to live a better life.  A life apart from the entanglement of BIG BOX companies that produce FAKE FOOD.  Food that robs the very life from a person's health at the cost of the all mighty buck.  Well .. the buck stops here with my family.  We need to educate and nurture our loved ones back into the 'fold' with good food .. not just served up at the table on a Sunday afternoon .. but how to make better choices when eating and living each day .. even in this fast paced, out of control work system many of us are in.  Standing together, we CAN knit our families a better future; are you game?

The Homemakers Movement

I have been so pleased in recent months to see the number of women making their way .. or deciding from the get-go to be keepers at home.  With that said, there are still areas in my own home that need work. 

Organic Fruit Snack (barely touched while I was away)!

Earlier this month I was gone for nearly four days.  While I was pleased to have the family step up and take care of our youngest (disabled) child, it came at a cost meal wise.  Without my influence let's just say that highly processed foods were consumed.  It would have been best to have had some home made freezer meals available (that was not the case) .. and my family saw this as an 'opportunity' to eat junk.  I must continually teach my family about the importance of good quality food.  When 'mom' is gone, no one seems to care or make the effort to prepare nutritious meals.  More work and training needs to take place about the benefits of good nutrition, and ... yes, while junk food may not harm you if eaten every so often, I need to bridge the 'GAP' (or gape) in my family's food choices when I'm away. 

Tonight there is a sporting event on TV (don't ask ... because I don't remember;) ... pizza seems to be the food of choice.  With plenty of fresh tomatoes available, it will be homemade and healthier than from a pizzeria or the frozen food isle.  

A homemakers job is vital to the well being and health of her/his family. 

In The Dump Diet

If our western society would dump cheaply processed foods, supersized portions, excess sugar and white flour, and anything remotely modified ... get out and work in the garden, mowing the lawn, walking the dog ... moving ... and last but not least .. let common sense be the rule of the day instead of the governments stupid food pyramid, the population would be headed down a healthier path.

Things to chuck out of your pantry:

Any snack that comes in a box.  Replace with a piece of fruit or veggies and a good dip ... or just skip the snack.

Cake mixes and frosting in a can.  Cake should be a once in a while treat .. not something every day of the week.  Making a cake from scratch is not that difficult.  Take time to bake your own.

Anything that says 'Helper' ... such as in hamburger.  It's much healthier to just keep good food items stocked in the pantry and fridge or freezer to make your own quick meal.

Learn to cook.  It's not that difficult.  Practice on your family.  Don't give in to whiny kids pleading that there's nothing to eat.  Teach them how to make healthy snacks.  You will save lots of money and soon they will stop whining (I promise;).

Lastly, just dump shopping with coupons that are for junk food.  Since when does cheap food equate with healthy living?  You are what you eat.   Government subsidized foods are addicting for a reason.  

The Dump Diet is solely my philosophy, however ... continue eating the government recommendations at your own risk.

It's time to wake up from our comatose state and start feeding our families REAL FOOD.

Don't even get me started on school lunches ;(

What have you dumped from your pantry lately?