3 | Passionate Homemaking | Loving simple, natural, and intentional living

Training Little Disciples – A Work of Grace & Patience

by Lindsay on Jul 23, 2010 in building the family, faith & womanhood

“But you, O Lord, are compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” - Psalms 86:15

I have two little disciples – one sweet boy and one sweet girl. They have been specially assigned to me. I’m training little hearts today through my every word and deed. Daily I struggle to instruct, nurture, and guide my little disciples with grace and patience. But these little eyes are watching me. How easy it is for me to erupt in frustration when I must repeat a command after multiple attempts, and my own laziness delays a prompt response. These are the moments I must stop, step back, and remember, these are my disciples. This is my assignment: train these little disciples to love and follow Jesus. Can they see Jesus in me?

Jesus is our example. His twelve disciples continually had so little faith in His power, they fought over positions of glory, before abandoning Him altogether in the garden at His deepest hour of need. And yet, Jesus patiently loved, taught, confronted, and exhorted them. He gave three years of unceasing devotion to equip them in turn to go forth and make disciples. Our little disciples are watching us – they need patient instruction even if it has to be repeated on multiple occasions and locations. The same was true of Jesus. He faithfully planted the seeds which in due time following His accession into heaven, it bore much beautiful fruit for the Kingdom.

Patience and humility go hand in hand. The reason I loose my temper is tied to pride. It is when I feel I need to be in control, or things do not go the way I plan or prefer, that my children don’t behave. Confess your weakness and be open and honest before the Lord in repenting it. Fruit is born when we stop and acknowledge our short comings and apologize before our children. That is when they are attracted to such grace and humility in Jesus.

Never cease praying for patience and grace. Pray daily! Pray at the start of each day that God would supply you with divine grace and patience in your mothering. He is faithful to answer and equip you for the task. God gives such supernatural strength to those who ask.

Stop dwelling on the “tough” portions of your day and focus on the beauty around you. Look at the sweet gifts around you and the little blessings that took place during your day. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord! It does wonders to our spirits.

I deserve the wrath of God because of my sin, and yet God extended such patience and forgiveness again and again. Likewise, can I not extend mercy and patience when such love has been lavished on me?

It is said of the Proverbs 31 woman, “When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness (Prov 31:26)”. Is kind speech flowing from my tongue today?

I’m training little hearts today, through my every word and deed.
May they see Christ in me, and by grace be understood.

I can rejoice today because training these little disciples is all apart of that greater beautiful picture of God’s divine grace, pruning, and refining in my heart – equipping me each day to be a better mother tomorrow.

Meditate further: Proverbs 14:29; Ephesians 4:26-27, 31; James 1:19-20; Galatians 5:22; Romans 15:5

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Natural Summer BBQ: How to BBQ a Whole Chicken

by Lindsay on Jul 21, 2010 in recipes & kitchen tips

Do you want to learn how to BBQ a wonderfully moist chicken? The key: stuff the chicken under the skin! This simple technique imparts such a lovely moisture and flavor that is beyond delicious, especially when that stuffing is butter creamed with roasted garlic and freshly grate Parmesan cheese, seasoned with herbs. As the chicken roasts, the herb butter melts beneath the skin imparting flavor and juiciness to the meat. This chicken is an excellent main course served over mashed potatoes with gravy from the juices. This recipe can be prepared in a similar fashion in the oven or crockpot. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 – 4 lbs)
1 head garlic
4-5 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, including parsley, chervil, basil, rosemary, oregano, and/or chives
3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
coarse salt and black pepper

Directions:

Garlic Butter:

1. Wrap the garlic head in tin foil (or in a small covered glass oven safe pan), and place in the oven/toaster oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until softened. Allow garlic to cool to room temperature.
2. Place the butter, herbs, and Parmesan in a small mixing bowl and beat with a spoon until light and fluffy. Cut the garlic head in half through the cloves and squeeze the garlic from each half into the flavored butter. Season with salt and pepper and beat to mix.

Stuffing the Chicken:

1. Remove the giblets from the body cavity. Rinse and dry the chicken.

2. To stuff the chicken, start by working one finger under the skin at the top of the neck cavity. Carefully loosen the skin from the meat, guarding against tearing the skin, if possible. Gradually widen the gap between the skin and meat until you can fit two fingers followed by your whole hand. Loosen skin from the breast, thighs, and drumsticks.
3. Spoon the garlic butter by hand under the skin. Spread the butter all over the chicken meat by gently rubbing the skin with your fingers.

4. Dash the exterior of the chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper. Ideally, you will want to truss the chicken at this point, but up till now we have got away without it.

5. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a drip pan in the center. For our charcoal grill, we light the charcoal and form two heat zones by raking the coals into two piles at opposite sides of the grill. Our weber performer grill has baskets, which makes this easy to divide the coals evenly between the two, placing the drip pan between.

6. Place the chicken, breast-side up, in the center of the hot grill grate over the drip pan and away from the heat, and cover the grill. Grill until the chicken is deep golden brown and the meat is cooked through, 1 1/4- 1 1/2 hours. If using a charcoal grill, you’ll need to add 12 fresh coals per side after 1 hour. Internal temperature should be 180 degrees.

7. Transfer chicken to a platter to rest for 5 minutes. Carve as desired.

8. Pour the juices from the drip pan into a small pan on your stove top to prepare a gravy. I add arrowroot powder, salt and pepper to thicken and flavor as needed.

Recipe adapted from How to Grill by Steven Raichlen.

This is a continuation of our Natural Summer BBQ series. Check out our BBQ tools recommendations & our steak marinade.

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Plan a Declutter Party!

by Michele on Jul 19, 2010 in frugal & simple, making a home, natural & green

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Summer is a great time for visiting with friends, as well as tackling projects around your home. Combine the two, and invite your friends for a “Declutter Party!”

A “Declutter Party” is a wonderful opportunity to simplify your home by clearing out unnecessary items, as well as providing a frugal option for obtaining some needed things. (Plus having fun with friends at the same time!)

I have enjoyed participating in a few of these events over the years. In pursuit of wise stewardship, it is nice to be able to “recycle/reuse” items when possible.

In essence, a “Declutter Party” functions as a swap. You can bring/take home any number of items. Participants will “shop” through all the items for free. Any leftovers can be donated to charity.

Event Ideas-

Women’s Clothing Swap- Set up tables with spaces marked for the various sizes. Provide changing areas for trying on clothes. Make sure to invite women of different sizes; as guests bring too big/too small items, there will be enough for everyone. You can include shoes, purses, and accessories in this swap, too.

“Anything Goes”- A “garage sale style” event; neatly set out items in “categories.”

Craft Supply Swap- This is a great opportunity to simplify your sewing/craft cabinet, reevaluate your hobbies, and find some new creative inspiration for the kids. (Have a project that’s been unfinished for the past 10 years? Let someone else have the joy of competing it!)

Planning Tips to Consider-

Guests: Is it just for women or will it be a family event?

Theme: You can have a specific focus for your items (such as a women’s or children’s clothing swap) or an “anything goes” garage-sale style event. Clearly communicate the swap guidelines in your invitation.

Focus: Do you want to highlight a charity or have a ministry emphasis? A clothing swap can feature modest wardrobe ideas or a devotional on modesty for young ladies. A crafty swap can make/sew items for local or international ministries (such as baby items).

In a swap with friends last year, I was able to pick up some wall shelves and more cute glass jars to use for my sewing storage! (I organize the supplies for my sewing business in attractive glass jars at my sewing area in our living room.)

It was so nice to put these unused items (my friends’ “clutter”) to good use in blessing my family with a tidy home. At the same time, I cleared out a large bag full of unused items from our closets!

Have you participated in a similar swap? I’d love to hear if you have, or if you’re planning one!

Michele and her husband Calvin live a simple & sustainable life in rural Washington with their two (busy!) little ones. She takes joy in the daily ministry of delving into creativity, traditional homemaking & hospitality, homeschooling in everyday moments, and smooching her husband in the woods. Michele loves encouraging women and equipping them for frugal, natural living through her blog, Frugal Granola.

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Developing a Family Mission Statement

by Lindsay on Jul 16, 2010 in building the family

“Every decision we make is ultimately governed by some kind of interest or goal or objective or value or principle, whether we know it or not. A Family Mission Statement is an effort to bring to an explicit level what your goals and values are so that people are on the same page.” – Stephen Covey

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he,” which has always challenged me in the importance of casting a vision and mission for our family. Without vision and direction, we could easily wander aimlessly through life and waste precious hours and moments that could be invested in the things of the Lord. We can get easily distracted in the superficial issues and lose sight of the greater purpose. I am often such a person, desiring great things in my heart, but never practically writing this out on paper and making a purposeful plan to review it regularly.

A mission statement is not something that is developed overnight, but it is invaluable frame of reference to use in making the everyday decisions in addition to the long term goals and plans. It is the inspiration that can encourage you when you have a challenging day. It can help refocus your family when you get off course. It answers the question: where are we going as a family? Where are we gifted that we could facilitate greater service to one another and the world around us? How can we purposefully accomplish that?

Where to Begin?

I encourage you to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey as an excellent source of inspiration and purpose for beginning this assignment. Here is the steps we took to develop our family mission. Make sure to make this a family affair, if possible, or if your children are young, you and your spouse. We will be far more effective if we seek to work together as co-labors in the mission God has assigned us.

1. Pray

Developing a mission statement cannot be completed without prayer. Spend as much time as necessary on this step, just seeking the Lord as to the direction he would desire for your family to take. Spend several days in preparation in this manner. We spent several weeks praying and thinking about the questions below individually before coming together to discuss it.

2. Ask Questions

Sit down together with your spouse and family and evaluate your passions and desires with these questions. Take lots of notes.

Where are we going as a family?
What are our priorities?
What are our strengths, gifting, talents?
What is the main purpose of our home?
What are practical ways we can serve each other?
What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?
Name three things you think you could do better as a family.
What would people say today about our family as a whole?
What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?
If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
How do you want to build relationships in your family?
Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.
If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?
What characteristics do we want our children to have as they grow up? What do we want them to be skilled in?

For further questions to evaluate, check out Simple Mom & Family Cornerstone list.

Make note of any quotes or verses that stand out to you. Consider how you might incorporate these as well.

3. Narrow it Down

After evaluating the above questions, we narrowed our list down to our top ten priorities. Here is the list we compiled for our family based upon evaluating the questions above and our priorities:

God must come first (“Unless the Lord builds the house the workers labor in vain”)
Proactively seek to confess sins, love, and be quick to forgive each other
Kind and not ashamed to show affection with one another
Mission minded – joyfully serving the Lord together
Living simply in order to give generously
Love for learning
Good stewards
Hospitable (caring)
Using gifts for the kingdom (computer programming, writing, teaching, music, etc.)
Grateful

4. Write Your Statement

Then we took those priorities and goals and compiled it into a mission statement. Our statement is still in process, but this was our first draft. I seek your help and accountability in sharing this. We do this not for our own sakes for the greater purpose of God’s glory:

We will keep Christ at the center of our home.
We are committed to each other and will proactively practice humility, forgiveness, unconditional love, and share affection and encouragement with each other.
We are committed to living a missional lifestyle by living simply, giving generously, demonstrating hospitality, and cultivating gifts within each member of the family that can be used to further the Kingdom of God.
We will be good stewards of the earth that God has entrusted to our care.
Our home will be a place where grateful hearts abide and where a love for learning is always nurtured and encouraged.
We are raising our children as disciples that love to learn, give, work, serve, and in turn send them out to share Gods love with the world.

Ours is more lengthy at this point than it needs to be. Our short purpose statement has always been: living simply in order to give generously (read more about this passion in my original series Our Journey to Simple Living). Yours can be as short or as long as you desire. Stephen Covey’s family statement is as follows:

To create a nurturing place of faith, order, truth, love, happiness and relaxation and to provide opportunity for every person to become responsibly independent and effectively inter-dependent in order to serve worthy purposes in society through understanding and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. Create Action Statements

With each priority listed, develop one or more action steps to complete over the next six months, year, or as you see fits best with your family. For us, we had to ask: how will we keep Christ the center of our home? By having regular family devotions, praying together at meals and the beginning of the day, and evaluating everything we do in our home to make sure Christ is honored. We will live missionally by reaching out in hospitality twice a month, welcoming new neighbors into our community, etc. By making action statements, you will be actively making steps towards the fulfillment of your goals in your home.

6. Set a Plan for Review and Evaluation

Mission statements will not go far without purposing to review them and evaluate your progress. Make a plan for this. Set up reminders on your computer to review it. We plan to review on a yearly basis when we do our year end evaluation, but also when we get away on vacation throughout the year.

With each and every thing we consider adopting or committing to as a family, we need to ask: what has this to do with that? Asking this in light of our mission statement and the glory of God.

7. Pray Again and Never Stop

Finally, dedicate it to the Lord. Commit your mission to Him and trust that He will guide you in the fulfillment of it. Do not trust on your own strength, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (Prov. 3:5).

Since beginning the process of developing our family mission statement, it has provided such clarity and direction to our daily lives. We know what our purpose is and we our passionately working together to accomplish it. By God’s strength, we want to be laborers in the extension of His Kingdom!

For further inspiration: The Benefits of Having A Family Mission Statement by Stephen Covey

God bless your efforts to live purposefully for His glory!

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Gnowfglins Fundamentals & Sourdough eCourses: Pay as You Can!

by Lindsay on Jul 15, 2010 in news & giveaways, recipes & kitchen tips

I was blessed to be a part of the promotion of Wardeh’s original launch of her eCourse discussing the fundamentals of a real food diet, and I am excited to share the continuation and expansion of her courses. Wardeh has a heart to share information, tools, tips, and recipes and making the real food diet practical at any level. She has changed her structure to make it accessible to all whatever your budget with her new “pay as you can” pay structure. Each course is accessible at all times, without any limitation, making it very feasible to complete in your own time frame.

She is currently offering two different eCourses: the first is her Fundamentals eCourse, which focuses on the basics of defining whole foods, culturing, soaking nuts, seeds and grains, sprouting your grains, homemade stocks, skillet dishes, and more at an easy introductory fashion.

. Her second course is all about Sourdough, which offers simple lessons on preparing nutritious and tasty whole-grain sourdough options. You will learn how to prepare and maintain your own sourdough starter followed by a plethora of sourdough recipes: tortillas, cinnamon rolls, bread, biscuits, donuts, pancakes, pizza, pasta and much more (over 20 different recipes)!

Each course offers videos, print materials and recipes!

Membership at GNOWFGLINS eCourse comes with these benefits:

Class enrollment doesn’t close. Enroll at any time.
Lifetime membership to all classes.
Total access to all available lessons from the get-go.
“Pay What You Can” toward the experience.
Exclusive monthly thank you gift for any payment.
Lessons presented through multi-media tutorials.
Exclusive members-only forums.
Weekly email reminders (optional).

Read: More on the benefits of membership (and eCourse format).

You can find testimonials of the eCourse here.

If up to this point, you have been wanting to take one of the eCourses that have launched around this focus of whole food preparation but have not be able to afford it, this is the solution for you! Pay as you can and be blessed by the rich materials offered by Gnowfglins.

Remember: enrollment is always open and materials continually accessible- making it possible to work with any schedule! I cannot wait to learn more about sourdough through Wardeh’s wealth of experience!

Check out their Fundamentals & Sourdough eCourses today!

Thank you to Gnowfglins eCourse your July sponsorship!

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Giveaway Week Winners!

by Lindsay on Jul 14, 2010 in news & giveaways

Thanks for all your wonderful participation in our week of giveaways! We are excited to announce the following winners:

FBS Books Preschool Pack goes to…

#86 -SPKarenO – ke_osborn@…: She shared: I homeschool my older child, so as much as possible, and as much as her interest/attention span will allow, I include my preschooler in her sisters lessons. We do lots of things together and I don’t sweat it if she wanders off or does some other activity at the same time. Preschoolers learn by osmosis – it doesn’t take much!

FBS Books is offering free shipping on all orders! Enter: FREESHIP at checkout.

Naturally Knocked Up eCourse membership goes to…

#50 – Amanda -aleighsweb..@…: “After two miscarriages this year, we are ready to begin the process again. A healthy outlook would help me prepare physically as well as mentally.”

There is still time to register for the eCourse: 12 weeks of natural fertility and pregnancy help for all woman. Registration ends July 16th. Learn more here.

A Fruitful Vine Blush Undershirt goes to…

#76 – Jaime - jaimebenoi@…: The Blush is definitely my favorite item on there. It is so practical!

And finally…

The 4 tray Excalibur dehydrator from Cultures for Health with over 1200 entries, goes to…

#882 – Jennifer Nichols. She shared: Wow, why would I love a dehydrator? Because I’ve had one on my “list” for two years or so. I am a mother of three, soon to be 4, and have definitely gotten more granola. We currently in our freezer have local, blueberries, strawberries (both we picked), peaches, plums and pumpkin. I love banana chips and would love to be able to actually make them at home, making a healthier version as well. I would love love love love love a dehydrator. My aunt has even said she’d like to get me one. This would be great. Not to mention the money we could save, plus it would be more uses for all the fruit and veggies we have. Oh, it would be great! Especially after the last two days I’ve had. I spilled chilli in my van yesterday, dropped my cell phone in a pot of water yesterday and today the van got a flat tire. Winning a dehydrator would just ROCK!

I am totally excited for you Jennifer! Check out Cultures for Health for everything you need for culturing dairy products (kefir, yogurt, etc), kombucha, fermenting vegetables, dehydrators, books, and more!

Thanks everyone! God bless!

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Healthy Gingersnap Cookies

by Lindsay on Jul 13, 2010 in recipes & kitchen tips

I recently discovered that my husband’s favorite cookie is gingersnaps. Why I have not figured this out prior to our fourth year of marriage is beyond me, but with this discovery began the quest to develop a delicious healthy variety. This is a very adaptable recipe depending upon your desires – bake for a shorter time for a soft, moist gingerbread style of cookie, or bake longer for a crisp gingersnap…whatever suits your fancy. Whatever your preference, this cookie is rich in flavor and nutrition, especially with the high iron and calcium content of molasses to the powerful effectiveness in ginger for preventing cancer to migraines, not to mention the many health benefits of coconut oil. Enjoy!

3/4 cup coconut oil, solid state
3/4 – 1 cup sucanat/rapadura
1 egg
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
2 cups whole wheat flour, sprouted is preferred (or replace 1 cup with unbleached white flour for a higher rise)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream the coconut oil and sucanat/rapadura.

3. Add the egg, and whisk until incorporated and somewhat light and fluffy. Pour in the molasses.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Add to the liquid mixture and stir until combined.

5. Scoop by tablespoon into small 1 inch balls. Dip each ball into additional sucanat/rapadura if desired.

6. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies have spread and tops have cracked.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

General Announcements: Last opportunity to enter the dehydrator giveaway! Ends tonight! Check it out! Also, the Naturally Knocked Up eCourse is open for registrations up till Friday, July 16th. Learn more here about preparing your body to be a healthy home for your little one.

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How To Prepare The Day For Our Children

by Kat on Jul 12, 2010 in building the family

Photo Credit

This post is written by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Kat.

Preparations

We set out their clothes, make their breakfast, and tidy the house so that our children can start the day off well.

But there is an even more important preparation we need to make before the day begins.

We need to prepare the day for them. To pave the way in prayer. To prepare our hearts and attitudes to welcome them to a day full of potential.

They take their cues from us. If we wake up late and grumpy, there’s a good chance they’ll be grumpy. If we greet them with a smile and hope for the day, there’s a good chance they’ll be hopeful and happy too.

We don’t need to wake up 2 hours early. 5 minutes will do wonders. Just a focused window of prayer, thanksgiving and a little “pep talk” from the Coach before the “game” begins.

I love to meet the day before sunrise (or kid-rise or husband-rise). In the early morning, It’s a truly blank canvas. The day laid out in all it’s vastness – full of possibility.

3 Steps For Preparing The Day For Your Family

1. Start With A Grateful Heart
I’m not always chipper in the morning. I don’t always feel like praying. It’s amazing how much my attitude changes after just a minute of thanking the Lord for all the wonderful blessings He’s given me.

2. Focused Prayer for Each Person
I use this calendar to pray for my husband and this calendar to pray for my children. In the fog of the early morning or the rush of a late morning, they give me direction and focus as I pray for my family.

3. Worship
One of my favorite songs to listen to in the morning is by Christy Nockels and it’s called Invade. I’m pretty sure Christy could sing Father Abraham 128,897,979 times in a row and I think I’d soak in every single repetitive note. She has such a gorgeous voice. Combine that voice with these amazing lyrics and that makes for a wonderful morning anthem.

Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy…
Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade…

Welcoming Our Children to Today

What an honor we have as moms to greet our children with all the hope of a fresh, brand new day.

Today could be one of the best days of our entire lives.

Today could be the day our patience overtakes our impatience – for good.

Today could be a day we make memories my children will laugh and talk about for 50 years.

Today could be a day God uses us to change someone’s life – forever.

Let’s take seriously our opportunity to prepare our children for the wonders of Today.

Kat blogs at Inspired To Action, a site dedicated to helping moms develop the habits and skills they need to effectively manage their homes and raise children who are prepared to change the world. Kat and her husband Jimmy live the great state of Texas and have 3 children ages 7, 5 and 2. Kat loves music, running, technology, Jesus and Tex-Mex food. Not necessarily in that order.

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6 Reasons Why I Love My Dehydrator & Giveaway

by Lindsay on Jul 09, 2010 in news & giveaways, recipes & kitchen tips

I was recently blessed to receive an Excalibur dehydrator from the generous folks over at Cultures for Health, and boy, have I been having so much fun exploring all the wonderful uses of this machine. There is no end to the creativity that can be developed as you learn to use this machine to significantly cut down on food waste in your home while making such wonderful nutritionally dense delights for your family!

Why do I love my dehydrator?

1. Get the most out of our food

I love how the dehydrator will help to preserve and protect the nutrients in our food. According to “Preserving it Naturally” (the companion guide that comes with the dehydrator), “Dehydration is the best way to preserve the essence of raw fruits and vegetables. When raw food is heated to an internal food temperature of 118 degrees or higher, for an extended period of time, its nutritional values begin to deteriorate, especially enzymes. Dehydrating does not subject food to the high temperatures associated with cooking, or traditional canning methods.”

The effects of water removal of dehydrated food is minimal except that some vitamin A and vitamin C are lost. I can also soak and dry my nuts and help break down the enzyme inhibitors that help our bodies digest them more effectively. Sprouting grains is another task that can be completed in order to break down phytates. There is an endless list of food ingredients that can be dried – fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains – practically anything that has water in it.

2. Create fun, healthy snacks for our family

With a few simple steps, I can create granola bars, fruit leather, and jerky and let my dehydrator go to work. Thus far we made yummy soaked granola, fruit leather, and soaked nuts for homemade trail mixes and munching. What fun!

3. Save money

After the initial investment in the machine, you can prepare goodies at half the cost of store-bought brands. Plus, the dehydrator will take significantly less electricity than an conventional oven to prepare our food, cutting back on costs and helping be a good steward of our environment. According to the manufacturer, an Excalibur Food Dehydrator only uses $.04-$.05 of electricity per hour!

4. Easy to use

The Excalibur comes with a delightful book (Preserving it Naturally) with detailed instructions, recipes, and helpful hints on how to create anything and everything my heart desires. I just adjust the temperature as needed and the machine will do the rest.

5. Perfect balance in drying

Unlike many other dehydrators, the Excalibur has the fan in the back of the machine enabling balanced and even drying. All trays get the same even heat.

6. No waste!

The dehydrator helps me to avoid food waste in my home. When veggies or fruit start fading, I can simply lay them out in the dehydrator and preserve them for future use. There is definitely some nutritional lose, as it is preferred to dry fresh ingredients, but they prevent them from going in the compost or trash. Stale bread can be turned into croutons. Old crackers that are starting to get soft can be re-dried to refresh their crispiness.

I have the 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator so that I can prepare many things at once and save on electricity and time in preparation. You can prepare nearly 25 pounds of vegetables in one day in this machine! It is large, but fits nicely on a shelf in our garage. It quietly hums in the background, and fills our garage with wonderful scents. The Exalibur dehydrator is definitely very sturdy, well made, and comes with an excellent warranty. Plus it is BPA free.

The only two things I do not like about this machine:

- The door – I wish it were able to pop open and slid in, but you have to remove it entirely. Not a big deal just annoying at times.
- The lack of a timer – there is no timer on this machine, but a simple fix of purchasing a small timer that plugs into the wall is a cheap alternative.

Protecting our food budget and getting the most out of our food, make this machine a valuable addition and worthwhile investment to any homemaker’s kitchen!

Now for the exciting news!

Cultures for Health is offering you the opportunity to win a 4 tray Excalibur dehydrator for your kitchen (retail value of $150)!

To Enter:

1. Visit Cultures for Health and enter your name and email address. Come back and share why you would love to have a dehydrator and how you would use it.

2. For a second optional entry, share about this giveaway on facebook, twitter or your own personal blog and let us know in a second comment.

3. For a third optional entry, follow @cultures4health and @passionatehome on twitter, and let us know in a third entry.

Note: If the winner would prefer the larger model, Cultures for Health will offer a gift certificate for the price of the 4-tray model so you can apply it towards the bigger one.

Limited to US and Canadian entries.

Giveaway Closed.

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Sponsor Giveaway: A Fruitful Vine Blush Undershirt

by Lindsay on Jul 07, 2010 in bellies & babies, news & giveaways

A Fruitful Vine is a new online store that believes that children are a blessing and motherhood a divine privilege. Their passion is to supply families with top quality resources that help assist women in the art of mothering and homemaking. They adopted their store name from Psalms 128:3, which states: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in your house, your children like olive plants around your table.” They offer a variety of natural body products for mother and baby, nursing covers, baby carriers, cloth diapering accessories.

Today A Fruitful Vine would like to offer a Blush (Topless Undershirt) to one special winner! This accessory garment serves a dual purpose for mommy as she is expanding for the growth of her baby but also as she is adjusting back to her original size. It helps cover your belly from exposure while wearing the same wardrobe as you had before, or help conceal that unbutton pair of jeans. Additionally, it can add extra support under your belly. For me personally, it is the perfect accessory to help conceal those postpartum tummy rolls (which are still quite evident even when Titus is 16 months!), or just help guard my modesty with a shorter length top. Chose from the selection of white, black or brown.

To Enter:

1. Head over to A Fruitful Vine and pick out your favorite item in their selection of goodies. Come back and share it in the comments below.

2. For a second optional entry, complete one or both of the following: become a fan of A Fruitful Vine on Facebook or follow on twitter @AFruitfulVine and let us know below in a second comment.