Real Food eBook Bundle {5 eBooks for $7.40!}

Serving your family "real food" is important, but how do you do it without breaking the budget or sacrificing taste? This week's bundle includes the resources you need to eat delicious, whole foods on a budget. Packed full of recipes and tips, it's sure to be a go-to resource in your kitchen.

And this week only, get all 5 ebooks for just $7.40 (a savings of almost 90%)!

 

Real Food on a Real Budget by Stephanie LangfordIn this 280-page book, Stephanie provides a primer for families who want to learn how to save an average of 20-30% on their food budget ($100-$200 per month for most families), while at the same time serving better quality and more nutritionally dense foods. Based on 6 years of hands-on experience and hundreds of hours of research, Real Food on a Real Budget is packed with practical tips and suggestions to help you become a better a steward of both your finances and your health.

Real Food...Real Easy by various authorsWith more than 70 recipes from 7 authors, Real Food...Real Easy is not only a cookbook, but also a handbook providing in-depth information about real food sweeteners, an introduction to soaking and sprouting grains, recipes for every meal of the day, a list of additional resources and more! 

Real {Fast} Food by Trina HoldenReal {Fast} Food is a treasure trove of time-saving techniques and simply wonderful recipes that are custom fit for you and your schedule. You’ll learn everything from painless freezer stocking and bulk food prep to quick, healthy meals for day trips. Trina teaches you how to think about whole food prep in a whole new way, allowing you to make more real food in less time than you ever imagined, and even giving you the feeling of a “day off” once in a while -- all without sacrificing quality. 

Sourdough A to Z from GNOWFGLINSLearn to put sourdough to work in your kitchen to produce naturally-leavened foods of all kinds, including healthy and nutritious cakes, muffins, pasta, crackers, pizza, cookies and more. Sourdough A to Z is your complete sourdough guide, including 25 lessons to walk you through sourdough baking step-by-step, ingredient and equipment notes, a suggested schedule, the science behind sourdough, how to create gluten-free sourdough, dozens of recipes and more! 

Treat Yourself by Kate TietjeTreat Yourself: Real Food Desserts is exactly what it sounds like: a book filled with delicious, sweet, tempting desserts that fit the real food model. The recipes in this ebook are full-fat, full flavor, and low-sugar. There’s no white flour, white sugar, or vegetable oil to be found. In fact, they’re all based on sprouted flour, soaked flour, or almond flour, if flour is used at all (yes, there are several grain-free and even GAPS-friendly treats!). This ebook shows you how to make delicious desserts with real food, so you can have your cake and eat it too…without the guilt! 

The Real Food bundle is only available through 8am EST on Monday, 3/4. Get yours today:

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Honey-sweetened Orange Curd (with dairy-free option)

I love curd, even though the name doesn't sound appealing... the delicious creamy texture will have you eating it by the spoonfuls straight out of the jar!

Making curd is a great way to use up lots of eggs and enjoy a protein-rich dessert. It is so simple to make and only requires a handful of ingredients... eggs, honey, zest, butter (or coconut oil) and orange juice.

You can even try different fruit juices... I hope to try mango and passionfruit soon. I'm sure they will be so good!

I love that I don't have to spend a lot of money & time to create this nourishing treat and you can use it to dress up just about anything... layer cakes, cookies, tarts and more.

My two favorite ways to enjoy this yummy curd is over ice cream (of course!) and spread over a crust to make bars.

Simple, yet fancy!

Honey-sweetened Orange Curd (with dairy-free option)

3 large eggs or 6 egg yolks

1/4 - 1/3 cup honey

fresh zest of one orange

6 Tbsp butter (or coconut oil for a dairy-free option)

½ cup orange juice

In a medium saucepan, whisk together eggs, honey & zest until smooth.

Add in butter (or coconut oil) and orange juice. Cook over medium heat and whisk until smooth.

Continue to cook & whisk until the mixture thickens and you start to see bubbles popping on the surface.

Remove from heat and pour into a fine sieve set over a bowl. Gently stir the curd through the sieve.

Cover the bowl and store in the fridge for several hours to thicken.  Should keep for about one week in the fridge.

Make the Orange Curd Bars or top it over some homemade ice cream!

Have you made curd before? What flavors?

Linked up at Simple Lives Thursday

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Honey Orange Marmalade Sourdough Rolls

With wonderful bursts of citrusy tartness and creamy sweetness... I have to say these were the BEST rolls I have ever made and I’m totally serious.

I'm not the kind of person who goes around saying "these are the best ever" to anything that tastes good.

No, I save that for the best and these rolls are the best... actually, they are way beyond the best.

They are... delectable.

Slathered with my homemade Chai-Spiced Honey Orange Marmalade (will share the recipe with you soon!), these rolls pair up fantastically with honey & almond butter.

There is just something amazing about the combination of tangy orange marmalade, raw honey & creamy almond butter with anything sourdough.

I discovered this finger-licking combo several months back and simply adore slathering them on sourdough pancakes, english muffins, waffles, butter biscuits and now… rolls!

Oh sweet, delicious rolls!





Yep, I'm convince it is way better than the strawberry cinnamon rolls I made after I first started using sourdough.

Tart, sweet, citrusy...

Sweet goodness! I am going to end up repeating myself trying to explain why it's so dang good… guess you will have to go make these rolls yourself to find out just how good they are.

Honey Orange Marmalade Sourdough Rolls

Dough
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 cup milk, cultured dairy, coconut milk or water
1/4 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil (not hot)
1 teaspoon vanilla or orange extract
2 - 3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Honey Glaze

1/3 cup butter or coconut oil

1/3 cup honey

In a medium bowl or KitchenAid mixture (using dough hook), mix together sourdough starter and milk. Add in rapadura, butter and extract. Stir well. Start with adding 2 cups of whole wheat flour and stir/knead to combine. Take the dough out of the bowl if you are kneading it by hand.

While watching and feeling your dough, add in more flour until you have a dough that is smooth and firm, but not dry. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover and set it aside to sour for 8 hours or more (less if you have a very warm kitchen).

Preheat your oven to 375 F and put the oven rack in the middle slot of your oven.

Add butter to a 9 inch square or circle baking pan. Put it in the oven while it is preheating to melt the butter/oil. Once melted, take out and add in the honey. Set aside.

While your oven is preheating, pull your soured dough out of the bowl and flatten it with your hands. Sprinkle on 1 tsp each of sea salt, baking soda and baking powder. Turn the dough into itself a few times and knead it for about 3 to 5 minutes. Focus on incorporating the 3 dry ingredients.

Once it feels all combined, roll your dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. You can make it thicker, but then it will be really 'bready'. Take care not to let it roll out too thin that it breaks apart as you roll it up.


Orange Marmalade Filling
Butter or coconut oil, softened
Orange Marmalade
Honey

This is where I simply eye-balled it. You really can't have too much filling in your rolls. At least that's my opinion  :o)

If you really need measurements, start with 1/2 stick of butter, a cup of marmalade and 1/4 cup honey. If you think you want more... go ahead! Just remember you've got sweetener in the dough, spread on the dough and underneath the dough as it bakes.

Spread the butter/oil onto the dough. Drop spoonfuls of marmalade and spread it out evenly. Drizzle the honey all over.

Now, carefully roll up the dough up tightly. Take a serrated knife and cut (using a careful sawing motion) the roll in half. Then into fourths and then cut each fourth into thirds. You should have about 12 evenly sized rolls. More or less.

Once cut, carefully move your rolls into the prepared baking pan. Have your rolls touching, but not crammed together. The slight touch causes them to rise up nicely. If you have extra rolls that won't fit in, simply put them in a prepared muffin pan or smaller baking pan.

Put the rolls in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Check on them at 25 minutes to make sure they aren't already done.

When done, flip them onto a plate and serve immediately. They are delicious with creamy almond butter and more honey drizzled on top. Enjoy!!

Am I crazy or do you like this combination too?

Linked up at Simple Lives Thursday

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10 Favorite Chocolate Sweets For Your Valentine's Day

How many of you know the real story behind Valentine's Day?

This somewhat international holiday wasn't always about love, chocolate, strawberries and everything else that goes with Valentine's Day.

According to the Wikipedia, "St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her. Today, Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards."

Hmm, this is very interesting. There seems to be a pattern here... most of the holidays we celebrate start off as a Christian celebration to remember important people, but later became celebrations that have nothing to do with the true meaning of the holiday. Christmas and Easter are two examples of that... Santa Claus and Bunnies? Where did they come from?

Now that I know the real story behind Valentine's Day... I plan to tell my kids the real story behind this holiday.

Of course, we will still celebrate this holiday with some yummy chocolate sweets! Plus, it is my Daddio's birthday... but he usually requests a carrot cake, his all-time favorite.

I will make him my rustic sourdough carrot cake... along with a chocolate tart that I have been experimenting with. Will share that with you when its ready!

So... today I am sharing with you my top 10 favorite chocolate sweets. Hope you enjoy them!!

 Double Chocolate Velvet Pancakes

(sugar-free & dairy-free option)

Tip: Instead of using the Banana Love Sauce... top it with strawberry cream cheese and serve it with more fresh strawberries!

Aquacate del Chocolate

(sugar-free, gluten-free & diary-free)

Tip: Serve with fresh strawberries. If you are throwing a party... serve this smooth, delicious pudding in avocado shells and top with strawberries & coconut flakes!

 Chunky Strawberry Chocolate Ice Cream

(diary-free & sugar-free options)

 Flourless Chocolate Almond Cookies

(gluten-free & diary-free)

 Bizarre Love Triangle Brownies

(sugar-free, gluten-free & dairy-free)

 Chocolate Coconut Sourdough Cake

Tip: Serve with fresh strawberries on top!

 Strawberry Cacao Milkshake

(sugar-free & diary-free option)

 Strawberry Coconut Muffins w/ Strawberry Cream Cheese

(gluten-free, dairy-free & sugar-free)

Tip: I know this isn't chocolate, but drizzling some homemade chocolate syrup on top would be just fab with this girlies... or chocolate chips!

Almund Joye Ice Cream

(sugar-free & dairy-free option)

Coconut Custard Cake

(gluten-free, sugar-free & dairy-free options)

Tip: Another none-chocolate recipe, but trust me... add chocolate chips in the batter and serve with fresh strawberries with more chocolate on top... a kiss on the lips goodness!

What are some of your favorite chocolate sweets?

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Homemade Natural Baby Cloth Wipes

Have you ever read the ingredients in those generic store-bought baby wipes?

Unfortunately, they are full of tongue-twisting names that aren't in my vocabulary, natural medicine cabinet or food pantry... Disodium EDTA, Caprylic Triglyceride, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Iodopropynyle Butylcarbamate, Sodium Hydroxymethlyglycinate and so on.

Why can't they just use normal, real ingredients?!

It drives me nuts that they go through all the work to produce a product that is full of weird stuff and ends up not being safe for our babies' sweet little bums. According to the Cosmetics Database many of these ingredients have been linked to cancer, immunotoxicity, allergies, developmental problems, reproductive toxicity, organ dysfunction, endocrine disruption and cellular changes... Huh?!

Not touching another one of those wipes on my babies ever again!

With all my babies, at home, I used cloth wipes and would simply get the cloth wet with warm water to clean them up, but sometimes felt that I needed a little more cleaning power when dealing with the stinky stuff.

Plus, when we are traveling, I often ditch the cloth wipes and use disposable. After reading the ingredients and knowing what I know now... Won't be doing that anymore!

This pushed me to look for safer & healthier alternatives. There are natural disposable wipes you can buy, but they are pricey and I wanted to be able to keep using my cloth wipes or at least make my own disposable wipes.

On A Mission
I came across several recipes for homemade wipes on google, but most all of them called for baby oil (really mineral oil, a by-product of gasoline), baby soap and baby lotion... not exactly what I had in mind.

Then I remember the solution I mixed together for my Soothing Postpartum Pads... {ding!} The light bulb went on.

I set out to make my own baby wipe solution using the recipe from my postpartum pads as a guide. After some tweaking I was able to come up with this great solution that leaves my sweet little babe's bum soft, clean and smelling superb without any irritation!

Not only do I use this to clean up my baby's bum, I have also found it to be great for cleaning my kids' dirty hands & faces... which leaves them (and mine too!) feeling fresh & clean. I find that it works and smells so much better than the organic hand sanitizer we often use when traveling.

The Ingredients
I like to purchase all the ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs. All their products are high quality and the prices are reasonable. I have been very happy with everything I've bought from them so far. Plus, when I buy these ingredients in bulk... I save a nice chunk of money!

Water: It is important that you use boiled, filtered water or distilled water to help the wipes from getting too musty smelling.

Aloe Vera Juice/Gel: Best known for its natural healing of skin, wounds and other skin issues. Leaves your baby's skin feeling soothed and fresh. Best to use aloe vera juice or gel with no preservatives.

Witch Hazel: A natural astringent and helps heal & prevent painful diaper rashes. I found that Mountain Rose Herbs' witch hazel is better than the ones at your local store because the alcohol level is lower. 

Castile Soap: Gives you a little more cleaning power to clean up the stinky messes. Don't worry, it won't dry your baby's skin.

Essential Oils: These oils will leave your baby's skin smelling clean and kill any lingering fungus or bacteria that can cause painful diaper rashes. I like to use a mixture of chamomile, rosemary and tea tree (you can use lavender instead of rosemary or calendula instead of chamomile, if you prefer). This mixture of oils are gentle on the skin and have wonderful healing properties.

The Wipes

You can use any square cloth. I have a mixture of homemade wipes, bumGenius wipes and Circo washcloths. I have about 40 wipes that last me over a week.

I like to store my wipes in the tall plastic container, as you can see from the pictures. It works great and I can fit all my wipes!

But if you have an old Huggies wipe case, you can use that instead. Here's a great video tutorial on how to fold your wipes for that nice "pop-up" effect:

 

I really do love using reusable wipes over disposables. Here's my 6 reasons why:

1. I know exactly what is in my wipes... no weird, yucky ingredients!
2. Once they are washed and dried, they are ready for you to use them when you are running low on wipes. No need to worry about running to the store to get paper towels if you forgot to buy some when you went grocery shopping.
3. Cloth wipes last for years and so frugal.
4. Less trees are getting cut down for disposable wipes & paper towels (I'm not a tree-hugger fanatic, just considerate).
5. They hold moisture well and you only need to use one wipe to get the job done. Sometimes I even use one wipe for 2 or 3 diaper changes!
6. Great for cleaning dirty hands and faces. Doesn't leave them feeling greasy or smelling stinky.

Traveling with Wipes
If you are traveling and don't want to use reusable wipes. You can use heavy-duty paper towels. I've seen some mamas cut the rolls in half, soak the whole thing in baby wipe solution and store in a plastic container or baggie.

I, on the other hand, like to tear each sheet out, cut them in half, fold them inside a plastic baggie and soak them with the homemade solution. A little more work, but works great for me!

But I do sometimes travel with my reusable wipes and carry along a plastic washable bag that I can store the dirty wipes in. I've found that I can carry about 5-8 wipes in a hard, thin plastic Huggies wipe case and they work wonderfully... especially if I fold them to get the "pop-up" effect.

Now, let's get to work making these wipes!

Homemade Natural Baby Cloth Wipes

2 cups filtered water, boiled or distilled
2 Tbsp aloe vera juice/gel
2 Tbsp witch hazel
2 tsp castile soap
6 drops chamomile or calendula essential oil
4 drops lavender or rosemary essential oil
4 drops tea tree essential oil
about 40 cloth wipes or a roll of paper towel cut in half

Mix everything together in a medium bowl. Put half of the cloth wipes on a large bowl. Pour half the mixture over the wipes. Using your hands, squeeze and stir the wipes until all the liquid is absorbed.

Put the rest of the cloth wipes in the large bowl, stir the wipes solution to distribute the oils and pour evenly over the wipes. Again, using your hands, squeeze and stir the wipes until all are evenly damp.

Take your container, fold (regular or pop-up technique) the cloth wipes and set it next to the diapers. If you are using a container like mine, do not seal the lid tight... it will cause the wipes to get musty fast. Best to let a little air get in to keep things fresh.

There you go! Enjoy using them on your sweet baby's bum!

What you do think? Have you made homemade wipes? What essential oils do you like to use?

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