What I've Been Making

Wanting to have a healthier, less expensive lifestyle, I have been trying some new things.

I started making kombucha again.  The continuous brew kind.  Way easier than one batch at a time.  Especially since Josh and Ellie will drink it now.  They like a fruity flavor.  Me too.

I bought yogurt and hung it in cheese cloth.  Why?  To separate out the whey, making a cream cheese of sorts.  And to have whey.

The one jar has elderberry syrup.  The other has milk kefir.

My snack bars, made with dates, raisins, almonds, chocolate and chia seeds, are in the container.

Here is the whey and cheese.  In the background, 

in the bowls are plantain and thyme Josh picked from our yard.  I picked more plantain and made a healing salve.

My beet kvass is in the pitcher, made by putting beets in water with whey, to ferment for a couple days.

The white stuff is my homemade marshmallows.

In the small jar is kombucha, sitting for some extra fizziness.

My beef jerky, made with my mesquite seasoning mix. 

A new recipe I tried.  Homemade coconut flour breaded cod, roasted sweet potatoes, salad with homemade ranch dressing.

I have decided to make my own salad dressings again.  And condiments- ketchup and BBQ sauce.  Next might be mayo and mustard.

We've been trying out some home remedies for Josh's warts.  Dandelion, chickweed, banana skin, tea tree oil, lemon oil, propolis, and clay.  We are currently on the oils, since they are the easiest to apply, coat the warts, and leave his hands free to use without using a bunch of Band-aids or waiting for it to dry.

It isn't a secret that my legs look awful, what with all the spider and varicose veins I have.  I decided to try a vein cream and liniment, before going the chemical dissolving route. 

P.S. I hate compression stocking. 

This is my homemade toothpaste.

It is still a work in progress.

I have another recipe to try.

Josh's grain-free train cake, and plant based colored icing.  The icing I made with cane sugar that I powdered.

And natural candy decor.

We have vanilla beans and vodka waiting to become vanilla extract.

I have also made my own shampoo and lotion, both works in progress.  The shampoo dried out my hair too much and the lotion was too hard.  I haven't looked into how to adjust the shampoo yet, but to make the lotion more soft, I need to remelt it and add more coconut oil.  I did one remelt, but it still isn't as creamy as I'd like it.

With the elderberry syrup, I made elderberry gummies (which are more jellied then I would like,) and vitamin gummies, where I added to much vitamins and didn't turn out right. 

I am making yogurt again, though I still have to get it less runny.  I can then use it to make my soft cheese and whey.  And all I have to buy is a gallon of milk.  So if I am doing the math right, I spend $3.50 (or whatever the price of whole milk is) and get 3 quarts of yogurt, about a pint of whey, and maybe a pint soft cheese.  Pretty good use of $3.50, huh?

I have made my own chocolate, another recipe I need to tweak next time I make it.  A little less honey and add a little milk, I think.

I am trying to decrease the amount of grains and legumes we eat.  And if we eat grains and legumes, I want them to be soaked or sprouted.  

I am trying to use more coconut products, non-grain flours, and healthy fats.  Follow more of the paleo diet, but not strictly.

I am slowly resuppling our vitamins and supplements - probiotics (though the kombucha and water kefir help with that,) vitamin D and C, fish oil (I want to actually take fermented cod liver oil, but I not sure I am ready for that yet, since it's a gel.)  And then we need to remember to take them.

I made beef bone broth, but I plan to make chicken bone broth next.  I have some bones waiting in the freezer.  It takes half the time and I think I'd like it better.

I want to figure out how to incorporate organ meats into our diet, without opposition.  I haven't eaten organ meats before, that I can remember, and the thought doesn't sit well with me.  But they may be tasty.  I have a frozen liver waiting to become pate, but I haven't been brave enough to try it yet.

I am trying to buy some produce organic if it is on the dirty dozen list, and buy grass-fed beef.  Pastured pork and chicken isn't as economical.  Though I am wanting to buy whole chickens more than bags of chicken breasts. 

I probably missed something, and it doesn't end here.  There is always something I find I want to try.