Budget

Souping – A Healthier Alternative to Juicing

October 27, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

For years the best-known body system cleanse has been juicing. Juicing involves extracting the juice from fruits and vegetables using a cold-press juicer. The juice is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and phytonutrients all in one easy drink. Juice cleanses have been widely used to cleanse the body and often are suggested as a sporadic fast of several days detox the body and kick start body systems into optimal function. But there have been negatives to juicing, including: the high cost of the fruits and vegetables as well as the expensive juicer you need to prepare the juices; negative symptoms like dizziness, headaches, weakness, and overwhelming hunger; and the high sugar/low fiber content of the juices after pressing.

What Is Souping?

Let’s start with this definition for souping:

It is a soup-only cleanse to heal and nourish your body with wholesome ingredients. It allows your body to detox naturally while simultaneously reducing inflammation, giving your body the nutrients it needs, and increasing circulation.[1]

Today many people have found juice cleanses to be too extreme, and are discovering that souping promises an easier detox than a juice cleanse. Just as there are many different approaches to juicing, so too there are many suggested approaches for souping. These include:

A 24-hour raw cleanse
A 3-day boost to your digestive system cleanse
The 5-day soup cleanse,
Following a prescribed program of specific soups
Choosing or making the soups you use for the cleanse

Each of these approaches share one common feature—you eat only soup for every meal of the day, and you follow this regimen for a chosen number of days.

I can easily see why souping is growing in popularity. There is nothing more soothing to me than a warm, tasty, homemade soup made with homemade bone broth (recipe here). I want to take a closer look at this newer trend, and see if we can see what all the excitement is about!

What’s Healthier: Souping or Juicing?

Which is healthier is somewhat of a preference choice of the individual considering a cleanse. There are benefits and downsides to both. Take a look at some of the qualities of each in the table below:

Souping	Juicing
Offers variety	Raw only product
Can be served in hot, warm or cold	Served fresh (cold)
Contains fiber	Almost no fiber, very high in carbohydrates and sugar
Contains proteins	Enormous amounts of vitamins and minerals
Made from: fruits, vegetables, legumes, and even meat	Made from vegetables and fruits only
More effective in suppressing hunger	Easier to digest
More appropriate for long-term cleanses	More appropriate for short-term cleanses
Lower in calories	Higher in calories

Many people find that souping is more economical—if you are making your own soups. If you have tried juicing in the past, no doubt you’ve discovered that it takes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to get only a couple glasses of juice. Soups are really inexpensive to make, and you don’t need an expensive piece of equipment to make soup. In addition, you can store your soup in the fridge for several days, and for months in the freezer. Soups will not leave you feeling hungry, and you can use a wide variety of herbs, spices, and broth to make your soup.

How Many Days Do I Stay on the Soup Cleanse

There are a number of Soup Cleanse Programs that provide the soups you use and prescribe the number of days you stay on them, including:

While these canned programs are handy to use and provide you with low calorie, low sodium, fiber-rich soups, you will find that they are pretty expensive to use. Since making soup is so easy, it is my recommendation that you take the plunge into making your own great tasting and often healthier homemade soups to use.

If you are making your own soups, and not following a Soup Cleanse Program the number of days you continue eating soups is up to you. However, like any other low-calorie plan, it is not advised that you eat only soups for more than a week or so.

What Kinds of Soup Do I Use?

Soup cleanses uses vegetables that are super low on the glycemic scale, which are also packed with fiber. Great veggies to include are: onions, beets, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and dark, leafy greens and root vegetables. You can add fruits, legumes, and even meat, but this will raise the calorie count, so only 2-4 ounces of protein or legumes are recommended for each serving of soup.

The options are wide open for what you should include in your detox soup. You will want to use the healthiest, freshest ingredients possible. Stay away from any creamed soups, soups loaded with things like beans and beef (think chili), and soups filled with complex carbohydrates like root vegetables. Don’t add any grains (pasta, noodles) to your detox soups.

You can find many recipes for detox soups online. Note: One very important recommendation from me: Use only homemade bone broth as the base for your soups. Some of the variety of soups include:

Vegetable only soup—There are dozens of good vegetable soup recipes online. One that you might want to consider can be found here.
Chicken Detox Soup—Chicken soup is loved by almost everyone, and it really doesn’t take a recipe to make. I love using my homemade bone broth, and throwing it into my slow cooker with some carrots, celery, maybe some onion, and my favorite spices (parsley, basil, rosemary, turmeric). But if you prefer to use a recipe, here is one that makes a great chicken detox soup.
Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup—Traditionally this soup is made with pork or beef. I recommend using chicken or portabello mushrooms instead. You can find a recipe here.
Potassium Balancing Soup—Potassium is one nutrient that can be lacking in a diet. This detox soup pays extra attention to it, and can bring it back into balance.
Detox Green Machine Soup—This soup is all vegetables and herbs blanched, then pureed into a healthy, low-cal, detoxifying soup. (Here)
Carrot, Cumin and Ginger Detox Soup—Carrots are a good source of antioxidant Vitamin A and fiber. Cumin and ginger have curative properties and act as a cleansing agent for the body. You will find the recipe here.

Why Should I Consider a Soup Cleanse?

Are feeling lethargic and fuzzy-headed? Have you gradually slipped off the healthy eating wagon and fell into a habit of eating unhealthy “Comfort” foods? Do you want to get healthier and to live a longer, more vibrant life? Are you trying to heal a chronic condition? Then cleansing is essential to your health and longevity. There are so many benefits to cleansing, including:

More energy
Healthier hair, skin and nails
Less frequent colds and flu
Reduced risk for chronic disease
Mental clarity and a sense of wellbeing
Freedom from food cravings
Freedom from joint and muscle pain and headaches
Sound and restful sleep
No more digestive distress
Enhanced libido
A much younger and more energetic body[2]

My Favorite Soup Recipes

I want to help you get started by sharing three of my favorite soup recipes. These will get you started, and are inexpensive and easy to make. Try them—you will like them!

1. Homemade Bone Broth

Homemade bone broth will be the base for just about any detox soup you make. I am absolutely passionate about making bone broth, and I make it at least once a week, using the bones from our own harvested chickens, or bones I’ve begged or purchased from neighbors, farm stands, farmer’s markets, and have even been known to beg for them from restaurants. I use either my slow cooker or instant pot to make the soup, which actually makes itself—all I have to do is throw the ingredients into the pot.

Items Needed

Slow cooker or Instant Pot (the instant pot is my preferred method now)
Approximately 2-3 good quality, organic bones (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc)
1-2 Tbsp. of raw, apple cider vinegar (like this one)
Vegetable scraps: I use 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 3 cloves garlic, 1 in knob of ginger, handful of herbs, salt and pepper

Instructions for Slow Cooker:

Turn your slow cooker to high. Add your bones and vegetable scraps. Add raw apple cider vinegar (vinegar helps to extract minerals from the bones, but can alter the taste of the broth, so go easy with it). Add water to cover the bones, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top. Let it cook for 24 hours at least—48 hours or longer is ideal.

Allow it to cool a bit, and then pour it through a strainer and allow to cool fully. If you’ve used a lot of bones, your broth will gel in the fridge, but don’t fret if it doesn’t gel.

Instructions for Instant Pot (preferred method):

Add your bones, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, onion, ginger, and apple cider vinegar to your Instant Pot. Add water to cover the bones. Press the “soup” button and adjust the time to 90 minutes. Allow it to naturally release. Cool for a little bit and pour it through a strainer and allow to cool fully. If you used a lot of bones, your broth will gel in the fridge, but don’t fret if it doesn’t gel (mine always gels in my Instant Pot…never in my Slow cooker).

2. Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

There is nothing better than homemade chicken soup to soothe a cold or sniffles or to gobble up on a cold, blustery day. My homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup is adapted to the combination of spices and vegetables that my family loves. You can specialize it to your own preferences for your detox soup.

Ingredients

4-5 cups of homemade chicken bone broth
2-3 lbs. cut up or shredded chicken (we often use leftovers)
2-3 cups carrots, chopped
1-2 cups celery, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tsp, ginger, grated (or use ½ tsp. ginger spice)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
½ Tbsp. basil
½ Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
About 3-4 cups water

Instructions

Put your chicken broth in a crock pot and add your chopped vegetables and spices. Add water to cover your ingredients and leave an inch of water or so above the ingredients (depends on how juicy you want your soup). Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken and shred it (if it wasn’t already shredded). Add it back to the crock pot and cook on low an additional hour. Adjust the salt and pepper before you serve it.

3. Homemade Turkey Soup

I love having enough leftover turkey after a great Thanksgiving meal to make some homemade turkey soup. My mother made sure she bought the biggest turkey available, and make turkey broth the day before Thanksgiving so she could throw the soup together right from the Thanksgiving table. I recommend my homemade turkey soup for anytime—not only during the holidays.

Ingredients

1 gallon homemade turkey stock
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. poultry seasoning.
1 lb. sliced or diced carrots
1 bunch cut-up celery
At least 2 cups reserved turkey

Instructions

Put turkey stock in crock pot. Add spices and cut up vegetables. Mix well into stock. Cook on low 3-4 hours. Add reserved turkey pieces (cut into bite size pieces), and continue cooking 1-2 more hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. This makes a great detox soup, and it freezes well.

Get Started

So…is the new trend of souping something you want to try. It is a pretty flexible plan, and you can make your choices of nutritious, low-calorie soups. Research online to find some of the best recipes you can for your family. You can soup cleanse for 3-7 days, eating only soups for each meal, or you can choose to eliminate one meal and substitute soup. Be sure that you are consuming only the most nutritious, healthy soups and/or other meal items. Be sure you drink lots of water while you are on the cleanse. This will help to move the toxins out of your body. I guarantee that when you finish, the negative symptoms that made you begin will be gone!

Try it—you will like it.

[1] https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/diet-fitness/a14306/everything-you-need-to-know-about-souping/

[2] https://bodyecology.com/articles/your_body_needs_to_cleanse_pt2.php

How to Declutter Your Life

October 25, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

A year ago I read the New York Times Best Seller by Marie Kondo, titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Its principles really grabbed me, and I determined to clean out the clutter of my life. I started with my closet, and didn’t stop until I’d cleaned out clutter from every nook of my house. Then I worked on clearing out the clutter of my mind. It was such a valuable experience for me as I learned how to declutter my life and my mind.

Many of you are recognizing the dissatisfaction found in the excess of things, and are beginning to do some major cleaning. You are simplifying your lives, and as you do you are finding great freedom in owning less. All over the world, people are embracing simplicity as a way of life. There is even a growing trend to tiny house living, which is living in less than about 300 square feet.

One of the top trending topics in the Health and Wellness world right now is just that—learning to live with less. Part of the trend is due to Marie Kondo’s book, but there are so many other contributors to this trend. Some of them are:

The discovery that accumulating more stuff just doesn’t lead to more satisfaction in life.
The rising costs of Living Big, and the parallel rising consumer debt.
The ache in people’s hearts to get back to a simpler lifestyle, like we did.
The clutter of stuff in our homes that just keeps us busier taking care of it all.
The ability to consolidate the kitchen tools needed with one power tool (such as the Instant Pot popularity).
The lack of storage for stuff, such as closet space, kitchen space, storage space in the garage, and rooms too-full of furniture for ease of entertaining.
Seeing your family closeness disintegrate as each member focuses on individual goals for getting more stuff, more technology, the latest iPhone
Growing old and recognizing that you have more stuff than you do friends.

So I want you to take a look at the possibility of living with less—and the benefits it brings you when you do. We’ll concentrate of three steps of how to declutter your life:

Learn why and how to get rid of your stuff.
Find ways to store the things you keep.
Now that you are living with less, focus on things that make you love your new life.

Learn Why and How to Get Rid of Your Stuff

It is important to start with the Whys of decluttering your life. That’s where I had to start. I had to ask questions like:

Why did I buy all these clothes?
Why do I spend time looking through catalogs and online stores even though I have so much already?
Why do I envy the things I see others able to accumulate?

To be successful at decluttering your life, you must begin by decluttering your mind. Maybe you buy all the latest styles in clothing because as a child your mother could only afford to give you hand-me-downs from garage sales and used clothing stores. Maybe you envied the got-everything girl in your high school class, and determined that when you were leading your own life, you’d find a way to get everything you wanted. Maybe you missed out on real family closeness as a child, and as you grew you learned to satisfy the longings in your heart with stuff instead of relationships.

Asking yourself some hard questions about your reasons for having stuff isn’t easy. It makes us wonder about the true motivations that drive us to the actions we take in life. But until you recognize your cluttered thinking, and take steps to declutter those thoughts that drive you to accumulating more stuff, you won’t be successful at decluttering your home.

When you are ready to move on, you will probably discover that you really don’t know How to get the job done. How do you start? Where do you start? Marie Kondo says this:

Tidy in the right order. There are only two tasks involved—discarding and deciding where to keep things. Discarding must come first. Be sure to completely finish the first task before starting the next. Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding.[1]

So how to get rid of the stuff in your home and life is a lot like how you eat an elephant—you do it one bite at a time. You might want to download the free “Konmari” APP so that you can keep track of what you have done and what you need to do next.

Let’s take a look at how you can find the right order to begin your decluttering. There are two guiding principles you can use:

Think in concrete terms so that you can vividly picture what it would be like to live in a clutter-free space.[2]
Take each item in your hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t dispose of it.[3]

What is the right order for you?

The right order for you is very likely to be different than the right order was for me. Maybe you start with where you have the biggest mess. Maybe it’s where you don’t have enough room? Or maybe it’s where you know in your heart that you have simply accumulated too much.

For many women the place to start is likely to be the clothes closet. Some women have clothes from every fashion trend, in every size, from every big box store’s sale of the year. So many clothes that there isn’t any room for more—and there hasn’t been room for your husband’s clothes in years. So start here, and be ruthless in your cleaning. Sort your clothes into categories: tops, bottoms, underwear, outerwear, purses and accessories. If each piece of clothing doesn’t give you joy, or it’s stained, ripped, too big or too small, or unworn for a year, decide now to either give it away or toss it.

When you have finished your ruthless assessment of your clothes closet, finish this category by finding more effective ways to store your clothes. Not everything has to hang on hangers. Fold what can be folded, and have bins in which you rotate your clothing according to the seasons. In order to stay true to your new less is more philosophy, make it a rule that every time you bring home a new piece of clothing, you discard one in the same category from out of your closet.

(Here’s a quick folding tutorial video from Marie Kondo)

Follow this way of ordering your decluttering for each area in your home. Probably the next biggest stuff problem is in the kitchen. The kitchen gets heavy traffic, and is often overused, overstuffed, and over dirty. You have too many dishes, too many kitchen appliances, too many pots and pans, and too many bulk items in the pantry. Start here by sorting the kitchen into categories, and then tackle each category one by one—not stopping until you are finished with this one. Get rid of items you don’t need, appliances and kitchen tool you never use, duplicate dishes and pots and pans (duplicates that are not needed), and stuff you have too much of: mugs, food containers, storage containers, pot holders, countertop clutter, and stuff stored on top of the refrigerator or on its doors (pictures, etc.). Don’t forget to clean out the fridge, freezer, and pantry. It’s likely you have items with expired dates, freezer-burned foods, and spices several years old.

Find new and better ways to store things

Then tackle the second step of organizing and finding storage solutions for what you keep. I love using mason jars for storage, and other large, glass storage containers. Because plastic containers have been proven to leach chemicals into our food and drink, I do not use plastic in our kitchen. Glass and stainless steel are much safer options.

Determine that you will continue through the categories of items in your home that need to be considered for discard. Don’t stop until you have finished with everything. Years ago my mother told me the story of the woman who was given one white rose. She sat that rose on her kitchen table, and immediately thought, “I can’t leave it there with all those dirty dishes and things,” so she proceeded to clean her kitchen table, then her stove, then her sink, and finally her entire kitchen. Then she took that one white rose in to sit on the living room side table beside her favorite chair. The same thing happened, and she proceeded to clean up her entire living room. Then she continued until her entire home had been dejunked, cleaned, and was sparkling clean. Visualize your home without any distracting clutter. What would it look like?

Now that you are living with less, focus on
things that make you love your new life.

The magic of decluttering lies in the newfound joy of discovering all the stuff you really can live without! You will find greater contentment in your life, and in the growing relationships you now have time to build upon. I believe there are at least four important principles for learning to be contented with less. They are:

Live beyond the temporary—I like the verse in Matthew 6:20 (niv): “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Learn to give—Giving expands our heart and helps to keep our hands open to receive gratefully and to give cheerfully.
Grow a thankful heart—Change your focus from what you don’t have to what you do have. Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.
Live within your means—That is a practice that Frank and I are attempting to incorporate into every day of our life. For example:

Our farm pickup is years old, rusty, dirty, but perfectly suited for what we use it for.
I still buy the majority of my clothes from second-hand stores.
We try to live sustainably, using the things we raise and grow instead of shopping at the high-priced and unhealthy big box food stores.
We love to furnish our home with gently used or repurposed furniture, loving the look of what I call our shabby chic home.

If you put your house in order now, you will be able to pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life. Life truly begins after you have put your house in order.[4]

[1] Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2014), 35.

[2] Ibid., 36.

[3] Ibid., 41

[4] Ibid., 204

Natural Holiday Gift Guide

December 4, 2015 by Jackie Ritz 1 Comment

I’m partnered with some wonderful companies this season and have a wonderful list of some of my favorite product and created a Natural Holiday Gift Guide!

I’m a huge fan of supporting small businesses and many of my favorite companies provided an exclusive coupon for The Paleo Mama (Natural Homestead) readers!

I hope you enjoy this list and have a wonderful season of giving.

Best of all – I order these products myself! Further, by visiting these companies and purchasing through these links, Natural Homestead may receive a small commission for the sale which helps support the work I put into this website. Thank you for supporting Natural Homestead and the companies I believe in.

Real Food Resources:

Scroll down to each category!

Superfoods
Fats & Oils
Butter & Ghee
Flours & Grains
Meat & Seafood
Dairy & Cultures
Natural Sweeteners
Salt, Spices & Condiments
Prepared Foods & Meal Planning
Personal Care
Natural Home
Snacks & Treats
Beverages
Kitchen Supplies
Organizations We Support
Homeschooling Supplies

Superfoods

Cod Liver Oil. Extra-virgin cod liver oil is fresh and a rich source of vitamins A, D and Omega fats and is one of the best superfoods you can have in your diet. You can purchase it here. RECEIVE 10% off at Radiant Life by using the coupon code PALEOMAMA before 12/25/15!

Butter Oil. Extra-virgin butter oil is a natural source of vitamin A, E, K2 (MK-4), Butyric Acid, Wultzen Factor and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). It is extremely potent it its levels of Vitamin K2 and supports bone and heart health. You can find it online here. RECEIVE 10% off at Radiant Life by using the coupon code PALEOMAMA before 12/25/15!

Gelatin. Gelatin is so great for hair, skin, nails and digestive health. It’s a healthier alternative to protein powders and you can add it to smoothies and even tea or coffee for a nutritional boost. We like this grass-fed beef gelatin in recipes and cooking that need to gel or thicken. We prefer grass-fed beef collagen in hot drinks like coffee and tea (it dissolves quickly and has no taste). Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Probiotics. Fermented foods and cultured dairy products are a great, real food probiotic that promote a healthy gut, but our family, also, uses a therapeutic-grade probiotic. You can purchase an adult one here (10% off with coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10), a kid’s probiotic here and an infant probiotic here (10% off with coupon code PALEOMAMA) .

Prenatal Vitamin. When I’m pregnant, nursing or trying-to-conceive, I use this prenatal vitamin. Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Liver Capsules. One of the world’s most sacred foods, liver from grass-fed cattle contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. You can purchase desiccated liver capsules here. RECEIVE 10% off at Radiant Life by using the coupon code PALEOMAMA before 12/25/15!

Elderberry Syrup. I make my own elderberry syrup (recipe here) and use it for immune boosting during the fall and winter. If you don’t want to make your own, you can purchase a great one here. Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Vitamin D3. Vitamin D is essential for immune support, supporting healthy moods, and supporting healthy bones and joints. We prefer the D3 drops and the kids have no problem taking it. You can buy the drops here. Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Essential Oils. We use essential oils for many, many things around our homestead, including immune support, homemade cleaning recipes, and making your own homemade beauty products. THIS MONTH ONLY I am giving away a full-size diffuser, Frankincense and other essential oils if you purchase a qualifying kit. You can purchase them here.

Colloidal Silver. We use colloidal silver to boost the immune system, fight infection, and improve skin conditions. It can be used internally and externally and can be purchased here. Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Si Jin Bao. This is a full-service Chinese herbaceutical company specializing in custom formulations and proprietary herbal blends. Our Pediatrician in Orlando turned us on to this amazing stuff and now we order the Air Tea and the Open Air Tea online here.

Magnesium. We use magnesium to boost our magnesium levels, promote a healthy night’s sleep, and support healthy moods. I love using a magnesium supplement that I can mix right into my water and I use a magnesium oil to apply to my skin and make my magnesium butter with. Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Herbs & Teas. I order my herbs and teas in bulk from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Fats & Oils

Olive Oil. Olive oil is one of the most adulterated oils in the world. I order first-pressed olive oil that is hand-picked, milled within 48-hours of harvesting, and grown on a small family farm in California. You can purchase it here. RECEIVE 10% off at Radiant Life by using the coupon code PALEOMAMA before 12/25/15!

Lard, Tallow, and Duck Fat. I use lard from pasture-raised pigs and tallow from grass-fed cows for homemade soap and salves and for cooking (find them here). We raise our own ducks for all their delicious benefits and use their duck fat for cooking and frying. I know everyone can’t raise their own ducks, so this rendered duck fat is the one I recommend.

Coconut Oil. Coconut oil has a high concentration of fatty acids which makes it a great oil to cook with at a high heat temperature (frying). I order all of my coconut oil from Tropical Traditions. They have really amazing sales and frequently offer free shipping. You can purchase your coconut oil here.

Ghee. Ghee is clarified butter that has had the milk solids removed and it has a mild, nutty flavor making it a great option for those with dairy allergies. You can purchase my favorite brand here from Pure Indian Foods. Use discount code thepaleomama to get $5 off your purchase over $25 from Pure Indian Foods!

Cold-Pressed Nut Oils. These oils aren’t for cooking with, but they are great for finishing over salads and vegetables. A few that I love are pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, sunflower seed oil and flax seed oil. You can purchase them here. RECEIVE 10% off at Radiant Life by using the coupon code PALEOMAMA before 12/25/15!

Butter & Ghee

Butter. Butter…oh sweet butter. This is my favorite fat to cook with. If you can’t find a good local source of butter made from raw milk or cows that are grazing on green pastures then you can purchase some online here.

Ghee. Ghee is clarified butter that has had the milk solids removed and it has a mild, nutty flavor making it a great option for those with dairy allergies. You can purchase my favorite brand here! Use discount code thepaleomama to get $5 off your purchase over $25 from Pure Indian Foods!

Ghee and MCT Oil. If you take your coffee “Bulletproof” like I do (see my demo), then you might be interested in Coffee++ from Pure Indian Foods. It’s a combination of ghee and MCT oil which makes it easy to spoon into your morning coffee or tea! You can purchase it here. Use discount code thepaleomama to get $5 off your purchase over $25 from Pure Indian Foods!

Flours & Grains

Almond Flour. It’s so important to know that the almond nuts are soaked to remove phytic acid before grounded into flour. If I use almond flour, I prefer to use this one.

Coconut Flour. I get most of my coconut products from Tropical Traditions including coconut flour. You can purchase it here.

Arrowroot Powder. I use arrowroot in place of corn starch in my sauces, gravies and stews. I like this one.

Einkorn. If you cook with grains then I highly recommend Einkorn flour. It is an ancient grain that is a lower gluten alternative to modern wheat. You can purchase it here along with products made with einkorn like spaghetti or various pastas.

Sprouted Heirloom Flour. Sprouted flour means that the wheat berries were soaked and rinsed for days to allow the wheat to sprout. This removes much of the phytic acid and makes the flour more digestible. I like the heirloom Turkey Hard Red variety from the 1870’s because of it’s rich history. You can purchase it here.

Sourdough Starter. Want to start making your own sourdough bread? I got my FREE sourdough starter that is over 160 years old from a man named Carl Griffith. You can get your own for free by going here.

Meat & Seafood

Grass-Fed Beef & Lamb. We grow most of our meats on our farm, but when we don’t have something, I source it locally at our farmer’s market or through Eat Wild. However, if you are having a problem sourcing it, you can purchase grass-fed beef, bison, and lamb online.

Pastured Poultry. We grow all of our chickens, duck, turkeys and geese on our farm, but you can source your own locally through Eat Wild. If you are having trouble finding a local farm, then I recommend your purchase it from Wellness Meats.

Pasture Raised Pork. We purchase our pork and bacon through a local farm. Check out Eat Wild to see if there is a local pork farmer near you. If you can’t find one, then you can purchase delicious bacon and pastured pork online (click here).

Bone Broth. Bone broth is one of your most healing diet staples and we drink it, almost, daily in our traditional diet. I make my own (watch my demo here) but you can purchase it if you do not have the time or energy to make your own you can purchase it online here.

Sustainably Caught Fish. The pickins around me for wild-caught seafood can be rather slim. We purchase lots of seafood online when we have a hard time finding it locally. You can purchase sustainably caught seafood here.

Grass-Fed Beef Gelatin. Instead of protein powders, we use gelatin that is sourced from grass-fed cows. We use it in our homemade marshmallows, jell-o, thickening sauces, and even in our coffee. We use this gelatin for things that we need to gel and this gelatin for adding to drinks and smoothies (it doesn’t gel). Receive 10% off at Perfect Supplements by using the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 !

Fish Sauce. Fish sauce is a good source of minerals and additive-free flavor enhancer. Most of my dishes are splashed with my favorite fish sauce. I frequently splash my bone broth with fish sauce to add some saltiness to it. You can purchase my favorite all natural, first-press fish sauce here.

Diary & Cultures

Raw Milk & Cream. Our family has our own dairy goats and milk cow. We consume their delicious raw milk, use the cream for our coffee and homemade sour cream, and make lots of gut-friendly cultured dairy products. You should check to see if there is a local farmer near you with grass-fed raw milk or ask around at your local farmer’s market.

Milk Kefir Grains. Kefir is a traditional fermented dairy food that is similar to yogurt but thinner and offers a delicious tart flavor. You might be able to find someone in your area who sells extra kefir grains but if you can’t, you can purchase them online.

Yogurt Culture Starters. I use mesophilic cultures in my cheesemaking and and a yogurt culture to make our weekly batch of homemade yogurt. You could, also, use store-bought, organic, non-additive yogurt as a starter.

Natural Sweeteners

Raw Honey. We are lucky enough to have our own honeybees and lots of delicious raw, unprocessed honey. If you’re not so lucky, or ready to be a beekeeper, then ask around at your local farmer’s market or purchase some online here.

Unrefined Cane Sugar. Unrefined cane sugar is much different than white sugar. It is rich in minerals and and can be used as a 1:1 substitute for recipes with white sugar. It, also, could be labeled “sucanat” or “rapadura“. You can purchase it online here.

Coconut Sugar. Coconut sugar is very low on the glycemic index and comes from the fresh coconut tree sap and is a rich source of potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and B vitamins. You can buy it online here.

Other Sweeteners. We use a few other sweeteners that are rich in minerals like grade B maple syrup and blackstrap molasses.

Salt, Spices, and Condiments

Salt. Salt is, truly, the spice of life and we use it unsparingly on our homestead. I recommend unrefined sea salt that is hand harvested in the coastal region of France. You can purchase it online here.

Spices. I prefer to buy my organic spices in bulk for the deeper discount. I get them from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Condiments.

Ketchup
Coconut Aminos (substitute for soy sauce)
Mayonnaise
Fish Sauce

Tomatoes. I try to grow my own tomatoes or buy them locally to throw in soups, chili and homemade marinara. When I can’t grow my own, I buy sun-dried tomatoes for scattering on top of salads and omelets, tomato sauce to use when I don’t have time to make my own, and diced tomatoes to throw in recipes when the garden is closed for the winter.

Fermented Food. We enjoy lacto-fermented foods and use them like condiments. Some of our favorites are sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, and atchara

Prepared Foods & Meal Planning

Pete’s Paleo. Farm fresh and gourmet Paleo meals delivered directly to your doorstep! I’ve used this service during moves and to gift to new moms who are on a Paleo diet. You can check them out here.

Real Plans. Whether you eat Paleo, grain-free, traditional or vegetarian, Real Plans is amazing at offering simple recipes to you each week. Click here to see Real Plans.

Personal Care

Deodorant. Sometimes I feel like making my own, sometimes I don’t. It’s important to me to use only non-toxic, aluminum-free deodorant and I find that this brand actually works.

Toothpaste. When my kids were younger they loved this toothpaste . Now we all can’t get enough of doTERRA’s OnGuard toothpaste.

Skin Care. I use the Oil Cleansing Method for my face and neck. I use almond oil and essential oils and you can watch my demo here.

Feminine Products. I, personally, love my diva cup, but, also, use organic cotton tampons. These pads are great if you prefer using pads.

Sunscreen. We prefer to use Badger sunscreen. It ranks very low in toxicity on the Skin Deep website. You can purchase it here.

Lotions. I make my own Lavender Body Butter and Healing Salve but you can purchase wonderful skin care products from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Perfume. I stopped buying over-the-counter perfumes and just buy the real stuff now. I use all essential oils and even love creating my own perfume blends. You can buy essential oils here.

Hair Care. Morrocco Method offers a wide-range of raw, wildcrafted hair care products including shampoo and conditioner, as well as henna, which is a safe and permanent way to dye your hair.

Makeup. Bare Minerals has some low-toxic products that rank pretty good on the Skin Deep website. You can buy them here.

Sew Grown Purse – If you enjoy essential oils, as much as I do, and need a beautiful carry purse to hold them when you are on-the-go, then Sew Grown has all you need! Use the coupon code 10g2015 for 10% off $30.00 or more (expires 12/31/15)!

Natural Home

Natural Cleaning. Branch Basics offers a non-toxic, plant-based, hypo-allergic and cruelty-free natural cleaner concentrate that is a multi-tasking workhorse. You can use it to make hand soap, bathroom cleaners, all-purpose cleaners, and it’s even safe to wash your baby with it.

Water Purification. Radiant Life has got you covered for all your water purification needs. They have complete home systems or if you are on a tighter budget, then the Berkey Royal is amazing and what my family uses!

Aromatherapy. We’ve traded in our toxic plug-ins and candles for aromatherapy. We use water diffusion to disperse essential oils into the air. You can purchase all your essential oil needs and diffusers here.

Sew Grown Purse – If you enjoy essential oils, as much as I do, and need a beautiful carry purse to hold them when you are on-the-go, then Sew Grown has all you need! You can purchase from here. Use the coupon code 10g2015 for 10% off $30.00 or more (expires 12/31/15)!

Bainbridge Farm Goods: I love these modern, farm signs that you can put throughout your home, farm, or garden. You can purchase these from here. Free shipping on orders over $14.95. Go to their website and you will see a popup.

Snacks & Treats

Nick’s Sticks. 100% grass-fed beef and free-range turkey sticks without any MSG or gluten! Purchase them here. Use the coupon code NATURALHOMESTEAD10 to get 10% off from Nick’s Sticks (expires 12/31/15)!

Nut Butter. I use nut butters that are presoaked, sprouted and come from organic nuts. You can check them out here.

Soaked Seeds & Nuts. It’s hard to find nuts and seeds that have been properly soaked (and sprouted) to remove excessive phytic acid. I purchase mine from here.

Chocolate. A natural, non-gmo chocolate that is so good. Buy it here.

Non-GMO Popcorn. Who doesn’t love popcorn? We use non-gmo popcorn and make it ourselves on the stovetop in coconut oil and top it with butter and celtic sea salt. Yum!

Coconut Butter. Don’t buy this. You don’t want to become addicted like our family is. Coconut butter is the whole coconut meat in a concentrated form. It’s sweet and can be used like peanut or almond butter. You can purchase it here.

Beverages

Coffee. I get my fair-trade, organic coffee from a local farmer who roasts it in small batches. However, you can purchase coffee online.

Tea. I buy loose tea from Mountain Rose Herbs .

Coconut Water. My kids enjoy something other than water and raw milk at times. Coconut water is a natural, rehydrating drink filled with beneficial electrolytes. My kids like the flavored kind from here.

Kitchen Equipment

Instant Pot. Hand’s down my favorite kitchen appliance that you can get. I make bone broth in NINETY MINUTES y’all and it has a yogurt function that I use to make homemade yogurt (watch demo here)! This is a God-send to a real food kitchen. Get it here.

Slow Cooker. What’s that? My Instant Pot has a slow cooker function on it so I ended up donating my slow cooker.

Excalibur Dehydrator. Make your own jerky, dry your own fruit and herbs, and even make homemade crackers. Purchase it here.

Kitchen Aid Mixer. Whip up your own marshmallows, whipped cream, and let it do the hard work of kneading your homemade bread. Couldn’t live without my Kitchen Aid! Buy it here.

Homemade Gift Ideas for the Homesteader

November 14, 2015 by Jackie Ritz 1 Comment

The holiday season has already begun. Every year it arrives, and so often chaos, stress, and uneasiness about gift giving comes with it. But it doesn’t have to be that way for those prepared with several homemade gift ideas for the homesteader in your life that loves the beauty of things “from scratch”.

In this blog I want to get your season started right by sharing some of my favorite homemade gift ideas for those homesteaders-at-heart in your life. You can make these easily for your friends and family and give them healthy, original gifts that are so much better than last-minute store-bought items. I will follow up with a second blog on ideas for making homemade tasty food gifts for your loved ones.

Get your shopping list ready and prepare to impress your loved ones with these great gift ideas. I am including three groups of DIY homemade gifts:

DIY Homemade Beauty Products
DIY Health Supporting Products
DIY Home Cleaning Products

For most of these recipes, you are going to need high-quality essential oils.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE dōTERRA and would love to help you get started using essential oils. dōTERRA is sold exclusively through independent distributors like me. Working from home, these advocates, like myself, introduce, educate about, and sell essential oils in their local markets through person-to-person contact and globally through websites (like this one!). If you want to take a peak at the starter kits which include most of the essential oils you will need for these recipes, CLICK HERE and let me know if you have any questions!

DIY Homemade Beauty & Health Products

(Click here to get my DIY Beauty Recipes eBOOK for even more ideas!)

Sugar Scrub Bars

I love making my own sugar scrub. I, also, love making my life easier which is why I made these sugar scrub bars. All I have to do is grab a bar before getting in the bath or shower. No more opening up a mason jar and scooping out the scrub and letting water get into the scrub. Now I just take a bar and start lathering it over my body. It’s easy to hold and easy to make! (Find Recipe here)

Lavender Body Butter

I have an obsession with making body butter. There’s something about putting together the simplest of ingredients and then whipping it up into this luxurious, natural, and nourishing lotion. This Lavender Body Butter does just that; it’s simple to make, only four ingredients and uses lavender essential oil. (Find Recipe here)

Spiced Chai Lip Balm Recipe

I love chai tea and the way the spices in a chai tea smell. I have been making my own lip balm for years now, usually I just put my Healing Salve on my lips, but I wanted something a little “fancier” so I created a delicious Spiced Chai Lip Balm recipe that I know you will enjoy. (Find recipe here)

Whipped Sleepytime Rub

Winding down at night can be tough at times. I know my mind keeps going for minutes and sometimes hours after I lay my head down on my pillow. The same goes for our kids.

Our nightly routine has become essential at our house. I notice that the nights we go from dinner to bed is CRAZY. The kids are not ready to rush rush rush and then get in bed. So, I stopped expecting it from them and started taking our bedtime routine a little more seriously.

Now we eat dinner at the table as family and then we slowly start getting ready for bed. The kids take a nice relaxing bath, sometimes a detox bath, with certain essential oils in it, and then we get all snuggled up in our pajamas and read books.

During our reading time I apply this Whipped Sleepytime Rub made with essential oils to my kids. They absolutely love this! The 3 main oils I choose to apply are Frankincense, Lavender, and Vetiver because these oils promote a nice, restful sleep. (Find recipe here)

DIY Health Supporting Products

Elderberry Syrup

Elderberries are packed with Vitamins A, B, and C, iron, potassium, and powerful antioxidants. Making an elderberry syrup recipe is a great way to get all the nutrition from these delicious bushes into our body! (Find recipe here)

Comfrey Salve

One of my favorite things about my new homestead is our very own comfrey patch. Of course, you don’t need to grow your own comfrey to make a nourishing salve with it. There are several places online that you can purchase dried, organic comfrey leaves to make this simple and homemade comfrey salve.

Comfrey has been in use as a medicinal herb for more than 200 years. The allantoin content of comfrey aids in healing wounds, sores, burns, swollen tissue, and broken bones. It can be applied externally to bruises, sprains, arthritic bones of any inflamed tissue, and acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. (Find recipe here)

All-Purpose Salve

My goal in creating this recipe is to minimize your medicine cabinet and prove to you that, once again, nature has given us the remedy. This all-purpose salve is good for so many things. The coconut oil and olive oil bring nourishment, while the beeswax is known to lock in moisture, foster cells, and protect skin from damaging environmental factors. For children, the BEST two essential oils to have on hand are melaleuca and lavender.

(Find recipe here)

DIY Home Cleaning Products

Multi-Purpose Floor Cleaner

When it comes to cleaning your floors, you don’t need expensive products to do the job. Essential oils are great at cleaning up the dirt while leaving a refreshing, clean aroma in the air. Cleaning your floors with essential oils is completely safe, non-toxic, frugal, and easy!

The beauty of using essential oils on your floors, is that you don’t have to worry about using a specific oil on a specific service. Each essential oil will work on your floors. This recipe works if you have tile, hardwood, linoleum, ceramic, laminate, and vinyl. You can mix any of the oils I recommend above to make this recipe or use one single oil. (Find recipe here)

DIY Laundry Detergent—$0.02 a Load

I’ve been making my own laundry detergent for years now. I was so scared at first to switch over to natural-homemade detergent because there was this mindset that store-bought is best…store-bought smells better…store-bought makes my clothes fresher. However, when we did our budget makeover, I decided to take homemade detergent into my own hands and come up with a DIY laundry detergent recipe that saves a TON of money. (Find recipe here)

Wool Dryer Balls with Essential Oils

Since I have made the switch to using wool dryer balls, instead of dryer sheets, my pocket-book is much happier, and so is my energy bill! I love my wool dryer balls with essential oils and I know you will making the switch too! Here are some of the reasons why you should try these wool dryer balls:

They can cut your drying time in half
They help reduce static
They save you money on your energy bill
They are chemical-free, unlike dryer sheets
They can be re-used over-and-over again
They increase the fluffiness of your clothes
They are safe to use with cloth diapers

(Find recipe here)

All of these easy-to-make homemade products would make fantastic holiday gifts for your friends and loved ones. You will have fun making them, and your loved ones will appreciate the efforts you make to prepare gifts offering healthy, economical alternatives to the chemically laden products you can purchase at stores.

8 Strategic Steps for Staying Out of Debt

May 12, 2015 by Jackie Ritz 2 Comments

If you have been following The Paleo Mama for a while you have probably read my blog post about how we paid off more than $27,000 of debt in just 6 months! It’s been one of my most-followed posts, and I know it’s because so many people feel buried in a pit of debt and just don’t know how to get out of the debt. We have now paid off more than $50,000 worth of debt and are proud to say that we are DEBT-FREE!

We started the journey to financial freedom nearly 2 years ago, and we have realized that staying out of debt is just as important as getting out of debt. We believe that everyone can do this, but it takes real effort, and not everyone will be able to use the same principles as everyone else. We have different lifestyles, different sources of income, different family needs, and different dreams and goals for our lives.

However, in this blog post I want to give you 8 strategic steps for staying out of debt that we think will work for just about everyone.

1. Make an honest assessment of your spending and develop a budget that supports your family on the income you have available.

A lot of people dread the idea of living on a budget that tells them when and how to spend every penny they make. But that’s not really what a budget does. A budget is your fastest way to take control of your money, get out of debt, and begin moving toward your goals and dreams for your future.

When we became debt-free and were ready to create a realistic budget for our debt-free life, we followed Dave Ramsey’s principles in his book The Total Money Makeover. He has a great “Guide to Budgeting” Tool available online that you can use to set up your budget. There are others available, but this is the one that works best for us.

2. Use the “envelope” system for your weekly cash needs.

Every week we put the budgeted amount we have for weekly needs in envelopes—one envelope for each need. There is an envelope for my personal needs, my husband’s personal needs, groceries, entertainment, and dining out. When the money runs out…it’s out.

3. Carefully plan your grocery spending and meal planning for each week.

As you know, we are an 80 percent “Paleo Family.” It is important to me to provide my family with whole foods that are nutritious, as natural as possible, and free of preservatives and other junk. I’ve developed some secrets to saving money while eating Paleo. Some of these include:

Doing an online meal plan service where they send me recipes each week and a grocery list!
Raising our own meat chickens and egg-laying chickens. Before we raised chickens, I bought only whole chickens. I use every part—even the bones, which makes delicious, healthy broth.
We buy our beef in bulk, purchasing 1/4th-half of a grassfed cow at a time.
I shop local and in season, using coupons wherever possible.
We grow as many of our own fruits and veggies as possible, and if we don’t have them in our garden, we pick our own produce.
I save money in other areas of our life so that I have money to splurge on healthy food.

4. Find economical ways to meet your family’s wardrobe and home decorating desires.

Frank and I are very frugal with our money, and we both come from homes who felt the same. My mother dragged my sister and me with her nearly every Saturday as she made the garage sale circuit. Most of our play clothes, toys, and home decorating items came from garage sales. No, they weren’t old hand-me-downs—many of them were originally high-priced items that had barely been used.

Even today, when it is much more possible for us to shop at first-rate stores, I buy much of what we purchase USED from consignment shops, outlets, local thrift stores, and online websites.

5. Learn to make many of your personal care products and your home cleaning products.

I make as many home products as possible. This is such an important money-saving step, and will free up your budget money for some of those saving and dreaming goals you need to have. Some of the products I make myself include:

Mouthwash and coconut oil bites for oil pulling
Toothpaste
Wool dryer balls
Body lotions, rubs and salves
Facial lotions and beauty products
Shaving cream
Deodorant
Soap
Floor cleaner and other Household cleaners
Laundry detergent

6. Establish a regular method for having an emergency fund and savings plan

Frank and I are not only concerned with having enough money to meet our needs today—we are so determined that we will have a plan for emergencies big and small, and savings for important things like paying off our house, investing for our kid’s college expenses, and preparing for our own retirement.

We have learned that we will only save money when it becomes an emotional priority. It doesn’t matter what you make—you can save money! We were motivated to start saving by studying Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Here is one online lesson to whet your appetite for saving.

7.Find an additional source of income that is home-based and potentially income-producing.

Think about finding a creative way to bring more income into your life. When I first considered this, I began blogging, not sure how profitable it would be, but wanting to do it not only to earn income, but because I was passionate about the things I wanted to blog about. This is something you may want to try also.

When I was introduced to essential oils I became just as passionate about their value to my life, and their potential for providing me with more income. It’s important for you know that it is their health-giving potential that fuels my passion to this day. They have indeed provided me with income far beyond what I anticipated, but it only comes with determination, passion, and hard work! Working with this company has helped retire my husband from his job and come home and join the business. If you are ready to take on a new potentially financially rewarding venture, I can help you get started.

8. Get rid of your credit cards.

Credit card usage has become a way of life in America. Debt is the most aggressively market product in the history of the world. We are not suggesting that you get rid of every single credit card you have, but we are advising you to get rid of most of them and set boundaries on the 1-3 that you hang on to. That includes:

Only buy on credit when you have the cash to pay for it.
Pay off your credit card debt in full each month
Consider only using a credit card for recurring payments like utility bills, cell phones, and other similar expenses.

By doing that, you will not get imprisoned in credit card debt and the high interest rates that steal your money.

I want to close this blog with Dave Ramsey’s “7 Characteristics of Debt-Free people.” This describes who Frank and I want to be, and I hope you will want to have these characteristics also.

They are wise.
They are patient.
They are confident.
They are goal-driven.
They are responsible.
They are not materialistic.
They are willing to make sacrifices

Top 40 Household Items for Your Emergency Storage

May 8, 2015 by Jackie Ritz 1 Comment

In my first post about the need to think about how you would feed your family for a year if some major disaster or emergency eliminated all other sources of food for your family, I mentioned that you also needed to include household supplies, medicine, personal care items and food preparation tools. Today, I want to talk about these non-food items, these top 40 household items for your emergency storage.

We will consider non-food items in three important categories: household, medicine & personal care, and kitchen items.

This is the 3rd post in a series I’ve done on how to get your family prepared for emergencies. The first post was 5 things to consider when stockpiling food for your family. And the 2nd post was a weekly plan on how to use $10 a week to build a years worth of paleo groceries.

Category 1: Household Products

No matter how much food you have stored up for an emergency, it will still be an emergency situation if you do not have things like bottled water, soaps, matches, and toilet paper.

When you are developing your emergency food storage plans, be sure to include essential household products on your master list. There are many economical ways for you to accumulate these. Discount stores, close-out opportunities, dollar stores, and neighborhood garage sales are all possibilities. Just be sure you are adding these to your storage accumulation.

There are several online lists of household products to store that you can find. I have reviewed several of these, and will give you a list of 10 important items you will need for sure. Be sure to do your own research to discover other things you will want to have on hand. Two good online lists you can review are HERE and HERE.

Top 10 Household Products to Have:

Bottled water (we keep a travel Berkey for this purpose)
Toilet paper and paper towels (or tons of washcloths for cloth toilet paper)
Lamp oil and candles
Large boxes of kitchen matches or Bic lighters
Body, Dish and Laundry soap
Assorted plastic bags (food storage, garbage bags)
Bleach or peroxide (I use white vinegar in place of bleach)
Household cleaners
Lighter fluid or charcoal
Mop, cleaning rags, brushes, towels, etc.

Category 2: Medicine and Personal Care Products

Let me first talk about storing medicines. Begin by listing all of the necessary medicines each family member must have available. I am not talking about prescriptions, because it may be next to impossible to have a one-year supply of prescription medicines. But there are other topical medicines, OTC products and things like bandages, sterile pads, and tapes that you may need.

THIS is a wonderful list of items that you should store in a first-aid kit. I recommend that you use that as the start of your own list of medicines to store. This creative mom uses a fishing tackle box to hold her first aid supplies. It is particularly exciting to me to see that right there in the midst of her other supplies are her favorite essential oils. As you know, I love my essential oils, and would highly recommend that you consider their benefits in your emergency storage plan also. Essential oils have been used by thousands throughout hundreds of years, and can be used for many health-related needs and their shelf live can surpass 10 years if stored properly!

Top 10 Essential Oils to Have:

Lavender—Useful for soothing baths, diffusing for a good night’s sleep, applying to cuts and scrapes, and even for minor aches and pains.
“Protective” blend—This is the powerhouse oil to keep your immune system strong.
Frankincense – the most precious of essential oils in the ancient world. It’s a powerful addition to your medicine cabinet.
Melaleuca “Tea Tree” oil- first aid for the skin
“Soothing“Blend – a blend of wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, blue chamomile, helichrysum, and osmanthus which aids in muscle and joint support
Peppermint – relieve minor head tension and use in toothpaste recipe and for pest control
Lemon – natural cleanser
“Respiratory” Blend – helps support your respiratory system and open and clear airways.
Oregano – natural immune support
“Digestive” Blend – helps provide digestive relief

You can purchase all these oils in a wholesale starter kit at a discount price!

Many of the personal care products you may need use the SAME ingredients. So I recommend you have these items on hand so that you can make the products you need in an emergency situation.

Top 10 Personal Care Ingredients to Have:

Coconut Oil – to wash your face with and to use as a base for deodorant, salves, and soap
Bentonite Clay – to make toothpaste, tooth powder, deodorant and baby powder
Shea or Cacao Butter – to make lotions, rubs, and salves
Beeswax – to help lotions and salves hold form and to use to make candles and soap
Essential Oils – to be used in nearly EVERY personal care recipe and home cleaning recipe.
Baking Soda – to make deodorant, laundry soap, and to even wash your hair with
Apple Cider Vinegar – to use as a hair conditioner and to promote many other health benefits.
Olive and Almond Oil – to use as a facial serum or moisturizer and used to make salves

Don’t forget to keep razors, aspirin, tylenol, and personal make-up products on hand if you think you will need them.

Category 3: Top 10 Essential Kitchen Items

The final category of products to be sure you include in your storage plans would be essential kitchen items you will use. It won’t do you any good to have cans of food if you do not have a can opener, and the frozen meat in your freezer will stay useless without the pans to prepare it in.

Here are some of the kitchen items I consider indispensable to me when I’m thinking about my emergency food storage.

Can opener
Cast iron/stainless steel cookware
Roasting pans
Cooking utensils
Measuring cups and spoons
Kitchen knives
Dishes or Paper products for serving food
Silverware or plasticware
Kitchen tools like mixers, blenders, graters (Be sure you have some non-electric ones in case of widespread power outages.)
Quantities of plastic bags, foils, wax papers, or plastic wrap.

You can find more information in these kitchen items online HERE.

Now you are ready!

If you will incorporate some of the information I’ve given you in these three blogs on an Emergency Food Storage plan, and begin your own stockpiling, you will be ready for whatever comes our way. It would be our hope that it never becomes necessary to have only our cache of food and supplies to live on, but as with many other things in life today, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Best sure to check out the rest of the blog posts in this series:

Resources

https://www.granny-miller.com/use-this-tool-to-help-plan-a-years-worth-of-food-supplies/
https://www.granny-miller.com/a-years-worth-of-food-supplies/
https://thesurvivalmom.com/38-must-have-kitchen-items-for-any-survivalist/