Try out Emergency Essentials Food Storage Analyzer!

This is an amazing tool to help you figure out if you're on track and where to go if you aren't. You can search by foods that are high in dietary fiber, vitamin A, C, and more. It allows you to add your own foods, grocery store foods and create a list for your next order while calculating food weight, calories, days and more.

Now THAT is what I call a handy dandy little web app! Check them out now and see just where you stand in terms of preparedness!

Girl in Bloom

My garden is growing! My garden is growing!! :D I'm not sure that I should be as excited and proud as I am but I have just bouncing with excitement! I'm loving my masters but am super happy to have officially turned in the last assignment for this semester. I have a 6 week break between semesters and have setup a "Be a Better Suzie" program! :D Next Tuesday I'm taking a sushi making class, in June a soap making class, I've found a gun range to practice and train at and so much more! I got a head start on the diet/exercise portion of it today and feel so good. In addition to the diet and exercise part, I'm working on being at least 6-8 months younger biologically through face care and supplements.

Needless to say, I'm pretty darn excited! I can't wait to see what six weeks of hardcore focus will produce :)

Bam! She's back!

SO I've been off the blog for a...long time. BUT I have definitely been collecting quite a few experiences and have learned a lot! I started my own garden and am beyond happy about it. It's going pretty darn well! The thought of being able to know exactly where my food comes from is so exciting. At times I feel like I'm just treading water in terms of my 'real foods' journey. Buying my own home and land is at the end part of my five year plan so while I'm trying what I can and learning everything I can, I still feel like there are a lot of things I just won't be able to do for a while. I've been reading up on beekeeping and having a family cow and at times wonder if I'll be able to have even a smidgen of patience when it comes those two things. I don't just want to do things halfway. I know that in this day and age, it might take a bit of work to get to the point where most or all of what I eat and use in my home is natural or preservative free but it will ultimately be worth it! Plus, it doesn't hurt that the 'old ways' are so appealing to me. I love to crochet and have recently looked into spinning yarn for fun. I think everything I've done so far has been for fun and just happens to have a positive outcome. There's just something so soul satisfying in making my own things from scratch. It makes me happy to see dough rising and seeds sprouting!

Blogging needs to become my forte. :/ I have much to post but never seem to have the time to do the blog justice!

Say Cheese!

I took my first Cheese making class on Saturday and it was amazing! I was battling between going to a local WAPF conference but I chose the cheese making, simply because I've decided to go to the BIG conference in November and meet all of the fantastic bloggers I've been learning from this past year. I'm glad I took the class as I made some awesome contacts!

We made feta, mozzarella and ricotta and i was so much easier than I thought it would be. The class was about 4 hours but that included a lot of down time and some clean up time. I think it'd be much easier my second time and at home now that I know what products to use and bring. I think I might make delicious lasagna with these cheeses.


The next step is finding a farm that sells raw milk that I KNOW what went into the cow feed. I love the idea of making cheeses with no preservatives from grass-fed cows milk. I've been soaking up all kinds of info lately and my GOAL is to get to the point where I know what goes into the majority of the food I eat and/or I make and grow my foods.

One day.

From Nourishing Our Children ~
"The best hot chocolate I have ever had - seriously -- just now, courtesy of Barbara Wetzel, is a must for your family because it is so nutrient dense!

1. Bring filtered or spring water to "just before a boil" enough to dissolve the cocoa and honey.
2. Add raw, organic cocoa (please note post script below), and whisk in raw honey in approximately 2:1 ratio
3. Add raw milk to accommodate the number of people you'll be serving
4. Add coconut oil
5. If you're adventurous, add cayenne pepper, or perhaps some peppermint

Delicious and nutritious!

P.S. Instead of chocolate, carob chips are recommended as an alternative by Sally Fallon Morell: http://thenourishingcook.com/2010/04/carob-chips-are-a-good-alternative-to-chocolate/




"Nourish the soil before you plant the seed" ~ I couldn't have said it better! If you're pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, think about what you're putting in your bodies. Make sure you're giving your babies all the nutrition they need.

Also, a little something to think about ~ If you aren't thinking of getting pregnant even for a few years, the food you take now could effect the baby! If your fat stores are full of trans fats, those fats get transferred to the baby so be sure to keep that in mind when reaching for Zaxby's chickens strips! :p