shopping cart challenge

New Years is upon us. What not a better time to create some ridiculous goals that can probably never be achieved to full completion. Here I go. Things I want to achieve for 2010- Stick to a Budget Keep my receipts and do something with them (see 1st goal) Pay my bills on time (read: NO late fees!) Do not eat out more than once a month Start cooking and following nourishing traditions more closely Cut refined sugar out of the diet Successfully make mozzarella cheese Finish recovering greenhouse Start a new compost pile Recycle more Make a conscious effort to use less plastic packaging I could go on for days and days, but these are the big things. I would ...

I added a To Do list to my notebook. A weekly schedule of sorts. I made a list of things I need to do every day i.e. cook dinner, clean out sink/do dishes, and things I need to do a few times a week i.e. work for the business, vacuum/sweep, clean bathroom, and things I need to do once a week i.e. meal plan, grocery shop, go to library/bank/post office.There were 26 different items on my list. I labeled them A, B, C, ...

Lately I have been trying new things when it comes to health and food. Today I decided I would try to make deodorant. The nice thing about homemade is that is does not come with any type of aluminum in it. I have noticed that when I go for a period of time without wearing deodorant (gross, I know) that I smell like aluminum. I have always wondered if I am sweating it out or what.This recipe uses simple items that you ...

I have been making yogurt for quite a while now. I have made it from powdered milk, 2% milk, and whole milk. I almost always use a lowfat/nonfat plain yogurt from the store. My yogurt always comes out a bit tangy.My favorite yogurt of all times is Greek yogurt. I love how thick and creamy it is. I love to add honey and mix them together. It is better than ice cream or cake in my eyes. It is delicious. Well, I was at the co-op and found a full fat plain greek yogurt that I had never tried. I decided to use it as my starter for my new yogurt since my old one was bad.I took whole milk and slowly brought it up to 110 degrees. I tempered my yogurt and then added it to the batch. I mixed for a minute ...

Last night I went to Safeway to grab some stuff. I have been out of town, so needless to say there is no food in the house. My plan was to load up on produce and add a couple things that we also needed. As I was wondering the store I noticed a kraft $5 deal when you buy 5 items. I looked closer at the deal and then shrugged it off because I could not justify anything listed. I continued on shopping. I grabbed some ...

There are many articles out there about the benefits of eating organically. I have been reading them wanting to go more organic for my family. I try to go less processed anyways so organic is just another baby step, I hope.Well there is lots and lots of advice about organics, one thing I saw many times is the most important things to get organic vs the least important things.These lists have been titled the dirty dozen (the items you want organic) and the clean fifteen (items that do not soak up the pesticides when grown non organically)The Dirty Dozen (after more research the list expanded, but is still referred to as dozen)MeatMilkCoffeePeachesApplesSweet Bell PeppersCeleryNectarinesStrawberriesCherriesKaleLeafy ...