Recycle your juiced veggies!

Summer and Mother Nature courtesy of my Local Farmers Market is cranking out the Fresh, Organic Produce in overdrive. Proverbs31Woman recently got me thinking about ways to make my produce last longer and avoiding food waste. I started considering all the fruits and veggies I buy, especially carrots, kale, apples, stone fruits and peppers (sorry that was a little drool on the keyboard). These goodies mostly go to support a new juicing habit I started with the encouragement and great recipes from a good friend of mine back in Mississippi and after seeing the documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". Turns out most children and adults in the US don't get enough fruits and veggies, and with my sons Autism based sensory challenges I have a VERY hard time getting him to eat these foods. So ... I decided we would invest in a juicer.


In case you have never juiced FYI : It is EXPENSIVE and time consuming . . . but it is worth it !

1. I had to hold a garage sale to afford our new juicer Omega 8006

2. It requires lots of fruit and veggies (4 carrots, 2 peaches, piece of ginger + 2 oranges = 8oz of juice)

3. It requires time to wash, cut and juice all those fruits and veggies.

4. You have a lot of left over skin, peels and pulp.

Now it was #4 on my list that got me thinking. I want to use as much of that expensive produce as possible ... so I gathered up some of my favorite recipes from my kitchen and around the web.

Check back soon for some of my favorite ways to make those leftovers really "a peel-ing ".

Kefir and Community

I've been making a lot of Water Kefir these days. I know your thinking okay...?! 
Water Kefir, how and why would you make Water Kefir? You've seen Commercial Milk based Kefir in the refrigerated section at the store and you know it's healthy but what are the benefits of the new Water Kefir stuff? Well I am by NO means an authority but here is a simple run down:

1. It's NOT milk based = that means Great probiotics without dairy.
2. It's simple = Water and Sugar plus minerals or fruit.
3. Great for your digestion = Kefir will jump start your healthy summer plans. 

There are wonderful quick tutorials available here Flavored Kefir in under 2 minutes and Kefir basics a little more in depth and I would encourage anyone with questions to check these out.

My personal recipe both pretty simple and a little different than both videos:

2 Tbsp Organic Cane Sugar
6 Tbsp Water Kefir Grains
1 Pint Filtered Water
1/16 tsp Organic Dulse leaf Granules

I use a Zero water pitcher to filter our tap water. Mix the sugar and water and warm in the microwave 15 to 20 seconds. I then add the Dulse to replace minerals removed by filtering and last add the Kefir. A little cloth or paper towel over the lid add your canning ring and allow to ferment for 2-3 days. Uuummm!

Important FYI :

DON'T USE METAL SPOONS OR STRAINERS ... Kefir Grains HATE Metal !
Water & Milk Kefir grains aren't the same ... Water Grains make Water Kefir !

Please feel free to contact me to share recipes or grains. 

Happy, Healthy, Bubbly Summer !

Bakery on Main Gluten Free Granola Product Review

You all know the saying "Do you want the Good News or the Bad News?" so you know when it comes to any review, especially one I am doing I am ALWAYS gonna start with the Good News. Again, just to be clear these are my opinions and you are free and encouraged to make up your own mind.

Up for review Bakery on Main Gluten Free Granola Extreme Fruit and Nut:

* Non GMO, Dairy & Casein Free, Wheat & Gluten Free and Low Sodium

* Made in the USA

* Minimal Packaging

* Holy Cow is this Stuff Tasty !!!

* The link to their site gives you a $1.50 off coupon when you sign up for their email

Now for the down side:

*Extreme Fruit and Nut seems pretty darn skimpy on the fruits and nuts

*Can't tell if the packaging is recyclable or not

*12 oz bag sells for $5.49 (a little steep) without the coupon
(or you can also buy the "Family Size" 22oz bag for $10.27 from Amazon)

*I have to sneak handfuls while driving home as my son and I fight over the bag,
  I just get one for me and one for him when I have it shipped straight to our home.

Final vote : (with coupon we will be buying this again) Yup its Good !

Target Gluten Free Product Review (Annie's Mac & Cheese Cups)

Okay, so you all know I live in Spearfish and the nearest Target is in Rapid City (tiny sad noise) but, this is probably a good thing or I would spend WAY TOO MUCH money every month. I happened to be cruising the aisles and came across some very interesting - new to me - Gluten Free products and spur of the moment thought "So how many new GF items are here?!"  Review :

Annie's Gluten Free Microwave Mac and Cheese Cups:

* Gluten Free Pasta and Real Cheese NOT GMOs and fake cheez powder like traditional Mac'n Cheez

* Looks just like all the other brands so we can blend in with the other kids at school

* Really is pretty quick to make 2 minutes 15 seconds plus cooling time

* 100% recycled packaging with a super cute bunny finger puppet, riddles and games printed inside.

Unfortunately:

*The rice noodles nuke up way too "smooshy" and trust me I followed direction to the letter

*Flavor is way too bland (even after adding sea salt texture & taste were just too off putting for my son)

*They do warn you but, the cup itself get way too hot to handle even after the cooling time

*Speaking of the cup it has a 6 on the bottom. FYI Plastic #6 – PS (Polystyrene)
Polystyrene is Styrofoam, which is notorious for being difficult to recycle, and thus, bad for the environment. This kind of plastic also poses a health risk, leaching potentially toxic chemicals, especially when heated. Most recycling programs won’t accept it. Plastic #6 is found in compact disc cases, egg cartons, meat trays, and disposable plates and cups. It is recycled into egg cartons, vents, foam packing, and insulation. I would never have expected Annie's to use this.

*The 2 cups run $3.00 on SALE so this is pricey option for lunch or a dinner side dish. 

To sum up, Annie keep trying you are (almost) there. For now we will Skip this item.

Free Easter Printables

Who doesn't LOVE Free Printables ? We are in the middle of yet another spring storm and the snow is coming down heavy outside my window. So I thought I would make it a little easier for everyone and organize all my favorite Easter Printables in one post. Break out your paper, ink cartridges and a good cup of tea, sit back and relax to the sound of your printer creating more Easter fun than you will know what to do with.

Kawaii Easter card & Egg holders
mrprintables egg hunt
Egg color printable mini book
Make Easter Egg Garlands
Jelly bean colors and matching
Enormous Easter Pack of Activities
Egg mazing
Easter egg coloring pages
Easter coloring place mat & more GREAT ideas
Woodland egg holders and printables

All Natural Easter

What better time to think about Easter than when the temperature is below 0 and you are expecting 12 inches of snow?

I know I will be using the All-Natural Easter Egg I make and I will pick up some organic eggs from my friends Trish and Jeremy at Cycle Farm. The little guy loves to ploosh the eggs into the colored baths and watch them change. We also found these fun little stands to make egg people that I put on my Pinterest and I will list ALL of my Favorite Free Printables in another post soon. I like to be able to look in one place for everything.



I know that we will pull our well loved and often re-used plastic easter eggs (I can't bear to throw them away and I don't know if they are recyclable) out of storage. I am considering having the little guy help me make a door wreath out of them this year. Probably something like this.

I am so excited that there are tons of great GF/CF candies available this year and can't wait to create a really awesome Easter basket. I already picked up a sticker create-a-face book with chicks and bunnies and bees from Target and I can't wait to try making GF/CF Surf Sweets Organic fruit juice jelly bean cupcakes.

Recycled Valentine Heart Crayons

January winters in South Dakota mean only one thing COLD GREY DAYS and time spent dreaming of spring.  Spring promises warmth and growth and wild flowers in all their colors, and of course Valentine's Day!  As bright green shoots and tiny daffodils begin popping up at the edge of my imagination I wonder what we'll do this year for my sons Valentine's Day cards and I come back to an idea.

I had been toying around with and an item you've probably found dozens of times on Pinterest (Recycled Heart Shaped Crayons).  I think one of the original posts for this craft includes a sweet little card printable and tutorial that can be found over at thelongthread.
So we decide to try melted crayon Valentine's this year and I can verify this craft experience was a HUGE hit, at least for my little guy. My son loved everything about this,

Step 1: peel the crayons
(loves peeling stickers so wrappers are almost the same thing)
Step 2: break the crayons into little bits
(need I say more)
Step 3: place all the little bits into the heart shapes in the mold
(just like the organizing exercises at school)
Step 4: Mom puts the mold in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes.

These were so fun we made tons of them.  My only problem is I HATE the fact that these are made with Chemicals and Petroleum (yep, your house will have that gross SMELL like crayons) but  lots of times when I get the urge to try something like this it reminds me why I make the choice to go natural with my products.
Hey we did have fun doing this and that is what he will remember.