Healthy snacks delivered to your door every month (Healthy Surprise Review)

If you have been around here long, you know that feeding my family nourishing foods is a huge priority for me. Healthy snacks, particularly when we're on the go, can be difficult. So, I have to confess--when I was contacted by Healthy Surprise about doing a review of their service, I was really, really excited.


When you subscribe to Healthy Surprise, they deliver a box to your door each month of truly healthy snacks.

The subscriptions come in different sizes:

• Starter (16-20 servings) -- $38
• Healthy (32-40 servings) -- $66
• Large (50-60 servings) -- $99
• Super (200 servings) -- $333 

The cost includes shipping. The average serving runs between $2.06 and $1.66, varying slightly by month (depending on exactly how many snacks that month's box contains) with the larger boxes having a lower cost per serving.

The box we received was a "Healthy" sized box. I checked the prices of each of the items on-line, and based on what I found, I would not have been able to buy them separately for $66. Ordering most items in bulk and not considering shipping costs (which vary based on the source), I would have paid right around the $66 that Healthy Surprise charges but their price includes shipping and you don't have to buy a ton of each item to get them at that price. 

Our box of snacks before anyone got into it!

When our box arrived, my excitement rubbed off on Katie and Benjamin, who wouldn't sit still for me to get a non-blurry photo of them with the snacks neatly arranged on the table like I tried to over and over again!

As I examined the ingredients on each package, I truly could not have been more pleased. Each snack was actually and truly all-natural and all of them were dairy, egg, gluten, and soy-free. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find pre-packaged soy-free snacks?! And, there were several items in the box for everyone in our family to enjoy, including Ben who is still off of gluten, corn, soy, and tree-nuts/peanuts.

Usually when I buy pre-packaged 'healthy' snacks, I consider them compromise foods. They typically aren't soy-free, they have oils I would not use, and/or they have some refined sugar thrown in. Not the case with the snacks included in our box. Each ingredient was one I would have been perfectly happy to use in my kitchen.

As we ate through the snacks, there were definitely some we enjoyed more than others, but I think there was only one product was one that none of us cared for (and it was a bag of nuts, so Katie and I were really the only candidates for trying it). That's naturally a risk you take when someone else is putting together a package of food for you--but at the same time, you take the same risk when you buy a new-to-you snack at the store. Plus, the snacks change from month to month, so if there's one you don't like, you probably won't see it in the next box anyway.


I realize that it is quite possible to make nourishing snacks from scratch for quite a bit less per serving--and that is typically what I do. However, I can definitely see this as being an great resource for our family during especially challenging seasons--like when I'm in early pregnancy or when we have a newborn (which also happen to be seasons of life when I need to eat a lot!). In fact, I think we will probably go ahead and subscribe for the first few months after our little guy is born--the less cooking I have to do, the more I get to snuggle my newborn babe!

Overall, I was definitely pleased with our experience and would definitely recommend Healthy Surprise for families who need nourishing snacks but, for whatever reason, don't have time to make them from scratch.

Interested in trying Healthy Surprise? Use the coupon code covhome when you subscribe to get $5 off every order you place!

Disclosure: I was provided with a box from Healthy Surprise for review purposes. All opinions in this post are mine.

Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour {Review & Giveaway!}

I have been trying to get us a little less dependent on grains lately. Not that we are going grain-free by any stretch, but I just think it's good to have a variety of foods and not eat grains for every meal all the time. And, at our house, if there's one meal of the day that's heavy on grains, it's breakfast. So, I've been trying to change up our breakfast a bit by using potatoes and/or apples as alternatives to grain side dishes (fried apples, hash browns, etc.). When I heard about Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour, I was intrigued. When they offered to let me try some, I jumped on the opportunity, and I'm so glad I did!

Since receiving my coconut flour in the mail, I have made a few dozen coconut flour muffins, and used it for added protein in our fruit and yogurt smoothies. Coconut flour muffins do have a different texture than regular, whole grain muffins--but Katie and I love them (Ben still prefers wheat muffins)! The coconut flavor is surprisingly not overpowering, adding a really nice flavor. And, in the smoothies, you really can't taste it (the texture is very fine), but it definitely helps a smoothie stick to your ribs a little longer. I add 2 tablespoons when I mix up a meal-sized smoothie for all three of us. Eventually, I'm hoping to try out some of the coconut flour recipes Tropical Traditions has on their site.

Coconut flour has several health benefits, too. It is very high in protein and fiber, and for those with gluten sensitivities, it is naturally gluten free! This week, the coconut flour is on sale at Tropical Traditions. At first glance it may seem sort of pricey compared to wheat flour, but you only use 1/2 cup to make a dozen muffins--about 1/4 the amount of wheat flour used for the same dozen muffins. So, I don't think it works out to being all that much more expensive to use--especially if you watch for sales!

Tropical Traditions has offered to give one 2.2lb. bag of their organic coconut flour to one of you! This giveaway will be open until next Wednesday (June 22). To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. Easy peasy. :)

For bonus entries, subscribe to the Tropical Traditions newsletter, and/or subscribe to the Covenant Homemaking RSS Feed. Also feel free to promote this giveaway on facebook or twitter. Just leave a separate comment for each entry.


Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday.

Homemade Yogurt

I have been saying for months that I wanted to start making my own yogurt. As I've mentioned int he past, we eat fruit and yogurt smoothies just about every day. Yogurt is not cheap (unless I can find it reduced for quick sale or combine sales and coupons), and we prefer to use whole milk yogurt for the health benefits of good ol' animal fat for Katie and us grown-ups, too. At our grocery store, the only whole milk yogurt they carry is Stoneyfield Farms Organic. So delicious, but I've been spending $10+ on yogurt every week. Yikes!

Making my own, I can buy local (though not raw like I'd prefer) hormone and antibiotic free, partly pasture-raised, non-homogenized whole milk at $2.99 for half a gallon and make two quarts of yogurt for less than what I pay for one quart of organic whole milk yogurt. And, it's really hardly any work at all (which is really good for this busy mama). To prove how easy it is, I wanted to show y'all how I've been doing it. I initially tried a crock pot method and it was a flop, so I tried the  method in Nourishing Traditions and I've made it several times with great success. The pull on the spoon when I stir the finished product makes my heart flutter. ha!

First, preheat the oven to "warm". Then, gently heat a quart of milk to 180*. Remove it from heat and pour into a shallow container (glass, stainless steel, ceramic). Cool to 110*. Whisk in half a cup of good quality, live active culture plain yogurt. Cover and place in the oven and turn it off. Leave it alone for 8 hours.

Voila! It's thinner than store bought yogurt, but it does firm up some once it cools in the fridge.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Toothpaste Fail and a Giveaway

Around our house, we do a lot of things naturally. We eat a mostly organic/whole foods diet, we use natural cleaning products, and we don't take much medicine. One area of our lives I haven't overhauled (yet!) is toiletries. This is partly because I can get most of our shampoo, toothpaste, etc., for free or better using the CVS Extra Care Bucks program, and partly because I'm just used to conventional toiletries.

Lately, I have been looking into switching things over, beginning with toothpaste. I have been using natural, fluoride-free toothpaste for Katie as long as I've been brushing her teeth, but Ben and I use the regular ol' sweet fluoride toothpaste for ourselves. I've read about the problems with using these kinds of tooth pastes, but just hadn't gone ahead and made the change.

Katie recently discovered she can carry a stool around the house and reach all kinds of things she couldn't reach before. And, until the other day when I caught her swallowing toothpaste from a tube she had gotten off the bathroom counter, I thought I had just about everything 'bad' out of her reach. I wasn't sure how much she had gotten, though it couldn't have been much since I'd only had her out of my sight for a very short while. But, I was concerned nonetheless and went ahead and called the poison control center (for the first time ever). They said all I needed to do was give her some milk and she should be fine. The lady said the calcium in the milk binds with the fluoride and keeps it from being absorbed. Thankfully, Katie loves milk and that was that.

After that incident, I was especially glad when a box arrived from Tropical Traditions containing my next product to review--all natural teeth cleaner! I have used it, and it's definitely different than regular toothpaste. It tastes WAY different--it's not very sweet at all. When I first had it in my mouth, I honestly thought it tasted terrible, but within one tooth-brushing the taste grew on me and I don't mind it at all. It also doesn't foam up in your mouth like regular toothpaste, but as it turns out, foamy-ness isn't at all necessary to get your teeth clean. It does the job perfectly well, leaves your mouth feeling fresh and clean, AND if your toddler happens to swallow it, there's no need to call the poison control center. All the ingredients in it are perfectly safe for human consumption.

Tropical Traditions has kindly offered to send one of y'all some of their organic teeth cleaner to try for yourselves! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. The giveaway will be open until next Thursday, December 9.

For additional entries, you can follow me on twitter (@mrsmurch), follow Tropical Traditions on twitter (@TropTraditions), tweet about this giveaway and include @mrsmurch and @troptraditions (and a link to this post!), subscribe to the Tropical Traditions newsletter, and/or subscribe to the Covenant Homemaking RSS Feed. Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Incorporating locally grown food into our meals (Menu Plan, November 1-7)

This Saturday, I ventured to the Farmer's Market in 'the big city' for the first time since we moved here last summer. I was able to get some great deals, and it was exciting to buy locally grown produce. I paid $5 for half a bushel of unsprayed green beans! We're enjoying them with meals this week, but I'm blanching and freezing most of them to enjoy through the winter (and beyond, probably--it's a lot of green beans!). I was also able to get some butternut squash for $1/lb. This is a new food for us--Ben and I have never had it! I also got a couple different varieties of pumpkins, which I'm planning to leave out to look pretty for a bit and then I'll cook them up.

Recently, Ben and I also decided to start getting our meats from a local farm. We finally made the plunge after our Kroger went about a month without organic chicken and raised the price of their hormone/antibiotic free ground beef. $6-$7 for ground beef is just too much, y'all! We found a farm nearby that raises their animals naturally on pastures, and they have a meat CSA program. We will get a delivery of beef and a whole chicken every other week. We got the first delivery yesterday and I'm really pleased! It's fun to have a variety of cuts of meat to work with (this shipment we got a chuck roast, T-Bone steaks, stew meat, and ground beef), and the average price per pound works out to less than the "good" ground beef at Kroger, and this is much higher quality! Supporting a local farm and getting higher quality food for less? No brainer!
 
Here's our menu plan for this week:

Breakfasts: scrambled eggs and sausage served with grits, pancakes, or muffins
Lunches: sandwiches (PB & J or grilled cheese), leftovers, rice & beans, smoothies

Dinners:
Monday~We had stew meat and gravy over mashed potatoes with green beans on the side
Tuesday~leftovers, with coconut custard for dessert (haven't made this yet--if it's good, I'll share the recipe!)
Wednesday~Chicken roll-ups with gravy, green beans
Thursday~leftovers
Friday~Italian Roast Beef over pasta with butternut squash on the side
Saturday~our usual homemade pizza night

Tropical Traditions Organic Raw Honey: Review & Giveaway

**This giveaway is closed**

As you have probably noticed if you've been around here long, we try to stay away from refined sugar. The healthy alternatives I typically use are Sucanat (which is dehydrated cane juice) and Organic Grade B Real Maple Syrup, because I can get them at reasonable prices. Sucanat works great for baking and the maple syrup is nice for topping pancakes and French Toast.

One natural sweetener that I've known is very healthy but haven't used much since we moved to Virginia (I had a great, affordable source for it in Florida) is raw honey. It is just loaded with enzymes and other good stuff and is wonderful for baking with (though, of course, it's no longer raw) and using in tea. When Tropical Traditions contacted me about reviewing and giving away some of their Organic Canadian Raw Honey, I was thrilled. We are still working our way through our jar, but I have been quite pleased with the quality and taste of the product, and love using it, knowing all the good nutrition it is packed with.

One thing that amazed me is the strict standards for certified organic honey. From the Tropical Traditions website:

In order for honey to be certified organic, the beehives must be placed in isolated areas miles from the dense population, industry, traffic congestion, and farm fields treated with chemicals and landfills. Second, a bee’s flying range is determined by their natural instinct which tells them to stay within their natural four mile range from the hive location. Finding area which can be certified organic is extremely difficult, which is why there are so few certified organic honeys on the market. 

Tropical Traditions has kindly agreed to let one of y'all try out their delicious raw honey! In order to enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post saying you'd like to be entered. Easy enough, hm? For bonus entries, you can do each of the following, and be sure to leave a separate comment for each one:

::Follow me (@mrsmurch) and Tropical Traditions (@troptraditions) on twitter.
::Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @mrsmurch and @troptraditions in the tweet.
::Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions newsletter.
::Subscribe to the Covenant Homemaking RSS feed.
::Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your post.

The giveaway will close Wednesday, July 13 at 8pm and I will announce the winner shortly after that.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product

This post is linked to:
::Things I Love Thursday.

How to Buy Organic Foods on a Tight Budget: Guest Post

 This guest post was written by a dear friend, Daphne. She is a Christian homeschooling mom of three so far. When she's not tending to her children or working on their family homesteading efforts, she supports the family's at-home business as a freelance writer. 

Photo Credit

You may have a desire to buy organic food for your family, but during tough economic times, it may seem impossible. That’s a myth that’s debunked every day, by ordinary families who face many of the same challenges and difficulties that you do. The difference is that God by His grace has revealed a truth in their spirit that you cannot discern in the flesh: Multi-generational faithfulness, which is the calling of all Christian families, can only be achieved in part by the diligence of God’s people to abstain from things that will defile their bodies. You shouldn’t view buying organic food for everyday use or for long term food storage as optional, but as a sacrifice you make to be healthy and to be around long enough to be used of Christ to build His Kingdom. 

Where to Start

The starting point for any decision in life is God’s Word. He’s told us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Christian families are perishing slowly all around us, for lack of vision.  Most churches today don’t share the biblical vision of Christ’s righteousness filling the entire earth in time and in history, and the role of the family to work towards that. The churches that do preach on it don’t make the connection to the need of God’s people to avoid chemicals in the food and water supply. Non-organic foods contain pesticides and harmful chemicals and toxins that weaken the immune system, cause severe gut issues and negatively impact the brain. Organic foods are free of much of those toxins and chemicals, and you’ll be healthier if you consume organic foods. It’s not a savior, only Christ is. However, He commands us to not defile our bodies. Willingly eating non-organic foods when you have a choice is doing just that. 

So, where to start…Prayerfully ask your husband to write a vision statement for the family, that incorporates the physical health of you, you children and their children. Here’s one example:

“Our family is a vessel to be used of the Lord for His glory, and our pledge to Him is not to be gluttons, but to eat and drink the best quality foods and water available. We look to His promise ‘not to put the diseases of those in Egypt upon us’ as a result.”

Once you have a vision based on God’s Word for His people, and their role to “enter the promised land,” you won’t want to eat any other way again. You’ll stop poisoning your family with your cooking, and you’ll make the sacrifices necessary to have the money to pay for it. 

Sacrifice

Some of you are already pinching pennies and you’ve given up on finding any more areas. There’s always room for improvement, and making changes to live a more frugal life is an on-going process.  Some of you have not even begun to simplify your life and reduce spending, and you can see big results by making a few changes. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, consider making these sacrifices for the sake of your children, their children and God’s kingdom:

·         Dads who work outside the home: start a family home based business and make a plan to work in your business full-time

·         Dads who work at home: start a second business, one that incorporates your entire family

·         Moms who stay at home: help your husband run the family business

·         Moms who work outside the home : go home and help your husband run the family business

·         Single Moms: start a home based business and seek the help of your church for additional support as needed

Before going further, you may be wondering what starting your own business has to do with making a sacrifice, and getting the money to buy organic foods. Isn’t this the worst time to launch a business because the economy is so bad? Working towards strengthening your family economy with a family enterprise is the biblical way. Moms are to contribute to the household by running a home business (Proverbs 31) and Dads are to lead their families in working together (Deuteronomy 6, Ecclesiastes 11). Your goal should be to build three, four, five, or 11 income households, based on everyone in your family working in the family business. 

More Sacrifices

Here are more sacrifices that you should be making if you aren’t already:

·         Sell the furniture, appliances, electronics, tools, clothing you don’t absolutely need on Craigslist, or have a yard sale.

·         Sell books on Amazon, including theological books that you’re not actually applying in your life.

·         Substitute eating out at restaurants with friends and other Christian families for biblical hospitality.

·         City dwellers: grow an organic container vegetable garden indoors and outdoors

·         Town dwellers: grow an organic container vegetable garden, plus a raised bed garden if possible.

·         Cut your entertainment expenses by 75 percent; find free and low cost ways to entertain your family.

·         Stop overpaying for insurance, including homeowners, car, renters and life insurance. Change to the minimum insurance you need in each category, and not the bells and whistles that an agent sold you.

·         Buy shares in a Christian health sharing ministry as an alternative to health insurance if possible, like Samaritan Ministries. It’s permitted under the new Healthcare laws, and it’s a biblical approach to taking care of the health needs of your family and others.

·         Work towards reducing your electric bill by 10%, then 25%, then 40% and finally 50%. Learn how to conserve energy, and consider the use of portable solar panels to charge smaller appliances, laptops and batteries.

·         Raise your own chickens and goats. Even city dwellers can raise chickens in some areas.

·         Buy clothes from yard sales and moving sales. Thrift stores are charging much more for clothing than they used to, but you can still find some good deals.

·         Learn how to sew. Mending garments saves money, and making your own is cheaper only if you buy materials cheap. Yard sales and moving sales are also a good source for cheap fabric and sewing supplies. Keep your eye out for clothes that you can buy cheap and alter, such as converting a mini skirt into a tiered skirt, or old bed sheets into “new” pillowcases.

·         Get rid of cable and satellite television…period.

·         Prepare meals for your husband to take to work if he works outside of the home, so he doesn’t have to buy meals.

·         Cook as many things as possible from scratch to save money.

·         Buy organic bulk ingredients for immediate use and for long-term food storage. Don’t buy cheap canned food storage that will make you sick in the long run.

·         Stay home more. Don’t go from house to house. You’ll save money on car fuel and you’ll avoid the temptation to gossip.

·         Start a homeschool supplies swap at your church or homeschool co-op to get free materials, if there isn’t already one. Buy used books and supplies to save costs. Find free resources (and there are many) on the Internet, and make your own unit studies.

·         Learn and implement online marketing practices for your business to reduce the costs of traditional marketing methods.

·         Wake up early or stay up late when your children are sleeping to earn money as a freelancer or earn more revenue in your home business.

·         Find out all the local farmers who grow and sell organic foods and products and buy from them. Find leads at the farmer’s market.

·         Make household products from scratch, such as window cleaners, soaps and laundry soaps.

·         Barter with family, friends and neighbors for goods and services. Apply the money you save to buy “real food.”

Everything on this list requires more of your time, energy and a change in lifestyle. That’s why they’re sacrifices. Why do any, some or all of these? You will have the cash you need buy organic foods, live healthier and be used of God for His glory. You’re doing it for Him. Ask Him for the grace and comfort it takes to make these sacrifices and do His will in every area of your life. 

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom.

Surviving the First Trimester: Healthy Eating

 
One struggle for me so far during this pregnancy has been making sure I'm eating everything I need to eat to make sure Baby and I make it through these nine months healthy and strong. When you're tired, sick and have ever-changing aversions and cravings, eating healthfully can definitely be a challenge. Nevertheless, a nourishing diet during pregnancy is really important and can prevent a lot of complications during later pregnancy and childbirth.

Our eating habits have changed a lot since my pregnancy with Katie, and I'm not willing to fall completely off the real food bandwagon just because I feel yucky (and especially since what I'm eating directly impacts the health of my precious baby!). From my research, the Brewer Pregnancy Diet is a good plan to follow. While my diet is certainly not perfect, the following are some of the things I've done in recent weeks to survive the first trimester without turning into a junk-food junkie. Hopefully it can help some of you other pregnant mamas who are in the throes of morning sickness!

::Don't freak out. Don't spend your time obsessing about checking off all the items on a list of foods you're supposed to eat in a day. While you should try your best, many (if not most) women have a hard time eating everything they're supposed to in the first trimester, and their babies turn out fine. If your diet is mostly healthy, but you eat the occasional popsicle frozen fruit bar to ward off a vomiting episode, it's probably not the end of the world. Try to take a good quality, food based prenatal vitamin, like Rainbow Light to help supplement any deficiencies you may have in your diet.


::Focus on protein. As far as I'm concerned, getting enough protein is one of the most important aspects of a healthy diet during pregnancy. In addition to being so important for the health of the developing baby, a high protein diet can help prevent blood-pressure related problems at the end of pregnancy. I try to eat at least 80-100 grams of protein per day, and I've been amazed at what foods have decent amounts of protein--it's definitely not just meat! The 100% whole wheat bread I've been getting has 5 grams per slice, an ounce of cheese has 7 grams, and the list goes on! If you make a slight effort to eat foods with protein, it doesn't take a whole lot to get up to 80-100 grams, and eventually, counting protein becomes second nature as you learn the amounts in the foods you eat most often.

::Don't buy junk. No matter how badly you crave something unhealthy, if you don't have it, you can't eat it. Just walk on past the delicious smelling donuts at the grocery store bakery and resist. Often, you can find a healthier option that will satisfy a craving. For example, if you have a few moments when you feel up to it, bake up a batch of healthier cookies or brownies and eat a small one when you have a craving for something sweet that just won't go away!

::Allow some wiggle room in your grocery budget. I know for some people this is not an option, but if it is, it's something to consider. If you have some extra, you can buy that pineapple you wouldn't normally buy because of the price but have such a craving for, or the red bell pepper that sounds so good. A little extra also allows for more meat in your diet, which, if you can stomach it, is great for getting extra protein. Dark chicken and red meat are also great for keeping your iron levels up. Just be sure not to over-buy, because if you're anything like me, what sounds good today might be repulsive tomorrow!

What are you doing/have you done to survive the first trimester while still eating healthy, nourishing foods?

Photo Credit

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Coconut Oil Giveaway!

Remember the wonderful Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil I mentioned in this post? Well, Tropical Traditions contacted me and wanted to offer a 32 ounce jar to one of my readers! For those of you interested in trying out coconut oil, this is a great opportunity.

This giveaway will be open for one week. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post! Easy, huh?

For bonus entries (and as always, please be sure to leave a separate comment for each one!):

::Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions newsletter. They will inform you of specials in their online store.
::Follow Tropical Traditions on twitter. (@troptraditions)
::Follow me on twitter (@mrsmurch).
::Blog about this giveaway and be sure to link to this post.
::Tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include a link to this post and @mrsmurch and @troptraditions.
::Subscribe to my feed on a feed reader or in your email.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Coconut Oil

In attempt to add more healthful ingredients to our diet this year, including healthy fats, I have found a new friend in coconut oil, with all of its benefits. It has high lauric acid content, one of the really healthy components of human breast milk. Coconut oil aids in digestion and is a quick, natural energy source. It has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, aiding the immune system.

It is solid at room temperature, making it an easy substitute in recipes that call for butter or shortening. I melt it on the stove to use in recipes calling for unhealthy vegetable oils.  Adding a couple tablespoons to a smoothie makes for a much more filling breakfast. Coconut oil holds up well at high temperatures, making it great for sauteing and frying.

As a side: Coconut oil is 90% saturated fat, which is why it gets such a bad rap these days. I don't really want this post to turn into a debate on saturated fats, so if you're convinced they're bad, check out this link and click around the website some. Let's just say that in our kitchen, you won't find anything low fat. We drink cream-on-the-top whole milk, eat whole milk yogurt, real butter, and full-fat cheese, and don't feel the slightest bit guilty.

In addition to being great in the kitchen, coconut oil is also wonderful for your skin and hair. While I haven't used it much for these purposes, it is something I am beginning to look into and may begin in the near future. Katie's pediatrician in Florida recommended it as an an alternative to chemical-laden diaper rash cream.

You can probably find unrefined coconut oil at your grocery store or health food store. However, buying it online is probably more affordable. I was recently given a 32 oz. jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions to review and have found it to be of excellent quality. It has a pleasant, but not overpowering, coconut flavor and I love using it in recipes, knowing all the wonderful benefits it has for my little family. They often have great sales and occasionally offer free shipping, making for a better deal.

Mountain Rose Herbs also sells 1 gallon of virgin unrefined coconut oil at a very reasonable price.

Have you tried coconut oil in your home? What's your favorite use?

For more information:
::Donielle has a very extensive post.
::Katie has a great post as well.
::Tropical Traditions has a Coconut Oil FAQ page you may find helpful.

Menu Plan, February 15-21

 

We are officially making efforts to eat healthier, natural, whole foods. We adjusted our grocery budget to allow for this, and I am excited to dive in head first. This menu plan is somewhat based on the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat, but with several modifications.

Monday:

Breakfast: Date with my hubs! :)

Lunch: Coconut Corn Soup, bread & cheese

Dinner: Salad, Chicken w/ coconut peanut sauce, green beans

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal

Lunch: Coconut Chicken Salad

Dinner: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Leftover baked oatmeal

Lunch: leftover chicken salad, fruit

Dinner: Leftovers

Thursday:

Breakfast: Coconut Smoothie

Lunch: Cream Cheese Roll-ups, crackers, carrots

Dinner: Cesar Salad, Beef Stroganoff, Steamed Broccoli

Friday:

Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Lunch: Meatloaf sandwiches

Dinner: Leftovers

Saturday:

Breakfast: Eggs with cream cheese, toast

Lunch: Cream cheese roll-ups, crackers, carrots

Dinner: Indonesian Coconut Steak, fruit, salad

Sunday:

Breakfast: Cheese omelet, toast

Lunch: cheese, crackers, fruit

Dinner: at the farm

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Super Savings Saturday: Quality Meats

High quality meats are a high priority at our house. If you've ever seen Food, Inc., you probably have vivid mental images as to why. In fact, I very rarely buy any meat at the grocery store aside from nitrate free sausage and organic, free range eggs. Lately, we have been eating mostly ground venison which my in-laws have been kind enough to share with us. Commercially raised meats are all-too-often filled with hormones and antibiotics, and fail to provide the same nutritional content of meat from properly raised animals.

That said, I was thrilled to see my grocery store had some hormone/antibiotic free beef on Manager Special this week. I was also quite happy to see they have started carrying organic, free range chicken for only $2.50 per pound at regular price. I snatched up some of each. While both the beef and the chicken were much more expensive than regular, commercially raised meats, the high price is definitely worth it to me. I was quite thankful the Lord provided some higher quality (though not perfect) meat for us this week at a reasonable price. I was also able to get some fresh organic garlic on Manager Special for $0.69, but that seemed slightly incidental compared to the meat. :)

While I love a good deal and the thrill of saving more than I spend at the grocery store, I love even more providing quality, nourishing foods for my family, especially when I can get them at great prices! Be sure to look around at the Manager's Specials and/or reduced for quick sale items at your grocery store. I know at the Kroger I shop at, they often have natural/organic products reduced for excellent prices. The meat, of course, can be frozen or cooked right away to avoid it going to waste. I try to stay flexible with my meal plan and alter it to include items I get at an unexpected great price, too.


This post is linked to Super Savings Saturday.

Good deals on bulk items for your pantry

I just got a great deal on Organic Maple Syrup I wanted to share with you all. I haven't ever seen it for this price before, so I was pretty excited. I paid $16.83 for 32 oz. shipped! If you go to Coombs Family Farms 100% Pure Organic Maple Syrup Grade B, 32 Ounce Jug and choose the "subscribe and save" option, you save an extra 15% on the already reasonable price of $19.80, and shipping is free. You can choose to receive it every 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, or 6 months. Once your order goes through, you can cancel the subscription--or keep it if you want to receive the Maple syrup regularly. 

There are actually several healthy bulk items you can get at great prices this way. Today, I also ordered Organic Coconut Milk and Organic Unsweetened Coconut using the "Subscribe and Save" option. The prices are much more reasonable than our local grocery store and health food store, and with free shipping included, you can't beat it! Ordering food bulk from Amazon has been one of the best ways I've found lately to save money on getting real, healthy foods for my family.

What do you do to provide "real food" for your family at reasonable prices?

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday and Frugal Fridays.