It is always a bit of a shock when someone asks me if something -- apples, pigs, turkeys, you-name-it -- can be grown organically. I've heard the questions so many times over the years that it really should not be a surprise to me, but optimist that I am, I always think that I will never hear the question again. Why? Because every type of food can be grown organically. Prior … [Read more...]
Homesteading and Health
When people ask me why we started a homesteading lifestyle, the short answer is because we wanted to live a healthier lifestyle. But what does health really have to do with homesteading? Why do so many homesteading bloggers write about health? Most of you know that we grow a lot of our own food -- 100% of our meat, eggs, dairy, and maple syrup, as well as a good chunk of our … [Read more...]
Sunscreen: Helpful or Harmful?
Those of us living on farms and growing even some our own foods cannot help but spend a fair amount of time outside. That inevitably brings up the topic of sun exposure. And that brings up skin cancer. As the wife of a man who has survived melanoma, as well we more basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, and dysplastic nevi that I can remember at this point, I cringe … [Read more...]
Cooking Oil: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
After growing all of your wonderful meat and vegetables, you don't want to make it unhealthy by using the wrong kind of cooking oil. It wasn't that long ago that they were telling us that all fats were the enemy, and we should all be consuming as little of it as possible. In fact, a few people are still saying that. However, we now know that not all fats are created equal. Some … [Read more...]
Book review: Restoring Heritage Grains
I keep hearing more and more about gluten allergies. In fact, I learned in Restoring Heritage Grains that over the past 60 years, gluten allergies and celiac disease have become at least four times more common. The book's author, Eli Rogosa became interested in this topic after learning to grow wheat crops in the Middle East. She was impressed by how well these crops grow in … [Read more...]
A beginner’s guide to medicinal herbs
Within hours of starting to read Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide, I had started a tincture and an infusion. It is one of my favorite herbal books for beginners, and I'm not alone in that opinion. It is one of the classics. The book starts with basic info about herbs, then includes a chapter on how to make herbal remedies. She has complete instructions … [Read more...]
How to make herbal tinctures in 6 steps
I grew up in a gardening family. This meant that I learned a lot about taking care of my body while standing on a stool in the kitchen. Both my parents and my grandparents knew a lot about how to use fresh produce to whip up a long list of delicious dishes. They also knew how to preserve the summer taste and nutrition for those long winter days. “Putting up” fruits and … [Read more...]
Are GMOs really safe?
Many people are concerned about genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply, and most people want GMO foods labeled. You've been unknowingly eating GMOs since the 1990s when the first genetically-modified tomato hit supermarkets. Today, about 90 percent of the corn and soybean in this country is GM, which means almost everyone is eating GMOs every day. Corn syrup, … [Read more...]
Gene Editing vs. Genetic Modification
In recent years, consumers, food producers, policy makers, and other advocates have become more aware of the harms of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and calls for GMO labeling have become widespread. A technology which I believe is lesser known, but which also could have devastating consequences for food production, is “gene editing.” Though I had heard the term before, … [Read more...]
Olive oil fraud, adulteration, and deception
Every time I write a book, I have the excuse to dive deeply into researching topics that most of us never think about. For example, I never wondered what was in a bottle of olive oil. I assumed it was olive oil. Right? I mean, seriously, what else could be in there? Why would there be anything in there other than olive oil? Aren't there laws that protect us from … [Read more...]