Lovely Links: "I Survived My Whole30!" Edition

First of all, Happy New Year!

Secondly, I'm on the last day of my Whole30!

(source: instagram.com/whole30)

After indulging this past holiday season (read: cookies for breakfast! Eat all the chocolate!), I decided a Whole30 was in order and started on January 1. For those of you not familiar with the Whole30 program, it's basically a dietary reset. For 30 days, you eliminate grains, dairy, sugar (white sugar, honey, syrup, any added sugar), legumes, and alcohol (that last one was the easiest part for me, Mormon girl that I am, haha!).

What was awesome this time around (this is my second Whole30 -- I did one this past September, in preparation for my family's trip to Hawaii) was that my husband did it, too. Let me tell you, having someone else doing it with you makes it so much easier, even if that other person doesn't think it's all that hard to follow. As I grumbled over zoodles (basically, cutting zucchini into noodles), he was like, "You know, I think I prefer these over pasta!" Grrr.

So, yeah, Day 30 is here. I survived! It was definitely hard at times, but after a couple weeks the sugar cravings subside and you get used to the program. There were definite ups and downs, times when I felt angry and deprived (I found myself sniffing chocolate cupcakes that a neighbor gave us at one point. Seriously.), but more than that, I feel good. It feels good to not have sugar highs and lows. It feels good to eat nothing but whole foods. It makes things taste better. Take fruit, for instance. Once I was off refined and added sugars, eating a strawberry tasted like candy!

Oddly enough, I haven't lost much weight this month like I did in my first Whole30 (I lost 12 pounds in a month that first time!), but I do have more energy, feel less bloated, my skin looks better, and the whites of my eyes are even whiter (and oddly enough, I swear my eyelashes got longer). My husband has noticed a few benefits, too. The main one for him was that his gastrointestinal issues (he doesn't have a gallbladder so it can sometimes cause some GI troubles for him) got dramatically better. It's been cool to do the program with him, because in the past he's not really cared that much about health and nutrition (he let me do all that stuff since I'm in charge of the grocery shopping and meal prep). Now, that's he's done the program, he understands better the value of it all. He was checking the labels on things more even more than I was (I was bummed when he noticed that the Trader Joe's sriracha sauce had sugar in it. Womp womp.).

The biggest pay-off, though, is the satisfaction in knowing that I did it, that I stayed strong and focused.  I definitely have a clearer idea of how I want to eat from now on, too. I'm glad we did it -- it's certainly been a learning experience for my husband and me.

So for this edition of Lovely Links, I thought I'd share what helped me through my Whole30, just in case you ever decide to do one. I highly recommend giving it a try -- these resources will definitely help.

BOOKS

It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig  -- This is a must-read if you're going to do a Whole30. All the science behind it (written in a totally readable, uncomplicated way) and the why and how.  Really, it's a good read, whether you're going to do a Whole30 or not.

Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong -- I love this cookbook SO MUCH. It's seriously one of my favorite cookbooks, period. Everything I've made from it has been so delicious. A few favorites that helped me and my husband with our Whole30 (and my previous Whole30): madras chicken salad, chicken nuggets (no breading and they're awesome!), kai jiao (Thai omelet - so tasty!), curried cream of broccoli soup, uova in purgatorio, and bacon-topped deviled eggs (they've become a regular thing my husband makes -- yum). Her recipes for paleo ranch, Louisiana remoulade, and paleo mayo are delicious and so simple to make, too. You should have this cookbook, no matter what kind of diet you follow. It's that good. (Looking forward to making the walnut prawns recipe next week -- couldn't make it during the Whole30 because it has honey in it. Holy moly, the walnut prawns recipe is sooo good.)

Make It Paleo: Over 200 Grain-Free Recipes for Any Occasion by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason -- This is a good resource for easy paleo recipes -- lots of good basics here. I like the recipes for salad dressings and prepping vegetables as side dishes. One great thing about this book when it comes to the Whole30 is that it has lots of breakfast recipes (a good thing for me since breakfast is the hardest for me to give up. I love my pancakes and waffles. And French toast. And oatmeal. And cold cereal.). Side note: it's worth mentioning that the chocolate chip cookie recipe in this book is surprisingly delicious -- and very NOT Whole30.

Well Fed 2: More Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan -- I kept seeing this book on all sorts of posts about doing a Whole30, so I picked up a copy. This book is a great resource because it complements It Starts with Food really well and almost all the recipes are Whole30 compliant. There are many great ideas on how to keep your menu full of variety by making your own sauces, dressings, condiments, burgers, and sausages. I really liked the Taj Mahal chicken recipe. This book also got me to try plantains (which truly is something for someone who has had a lifelong aversion to bananas. Still do.) -- I totally recommend Trader Joe's plantain chips now.

INSTAGRAM

I love Instagram -- it has pretty much replaced Facebook for me. Instagram has been a great resource during my Whole30, too. Here are a few accounts that I follow:

@Whole30 -- the official Instagram account for the Whole30 program. It's been so helpful to have it give daily inspiration and information, like "on this day, you're probably feeling ____" or  answering frequently asked questions. I also like getting direct info and answers in the comment section from Melissa Hartwig, the creator of the program.

@Whole30Recipes -- Exactly what the name implies, just a lot of Whole30 recipes. It's hit and miss for me -- sometimes the recipes look absolutely delicious, other times not so much. Every week there is a new contributor that posts recipes and it's been a great way to find people to follow.

@nomnompaleo -- Michelle posted posted daily throughout the Whole30, a new recipe for each day. Lots of the recipes were from her cookbook, but there were new ones, too. Plus, she's just funny.

@Amazon_Ashley -- Her Instagram feed is great. Lots of delicious recipes and encouragement. I really love how real she is. Still need to try her sweet potato bun recipe. I bought her ebook when it was on sale -- it's called Clean & Colorful Cooking and it has some really simple recipes in it. I haven't made any yet, but I'm excited to. (Tip: be sure to have the underscore in her name or else you get redirected to a different, much more adult account. Yikes.)

@littlecoconutty -- This is such a beautiful feed (she's a graphic designer, so it makes sense). Recipes and encouragement to be found.

@pretend_its_a_donut -- Just discovered this one this week, looks fun. And I really like her account name.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Dreading Your Whole30? Just start it now (with 9 planning tips) -- Modern Mrs. Darcy
I read this post last year before I did my first Whole30 and it inspired me to take the plunge. PS -- this is one of my favorite blogs, mostly for book-related reasons.

The Round-Up: 30 Days of Whole30 Recipes -- Nom Nom Paleo
Yep, I'm mentioning Nom Nom Paleo again. (I think I may be becoming a NNP fangirl.) But her blog is a really great resource, too.

Spicy Shredded Pork -- The Pioneer Woman
I made this pork shoulder recipe at least twice (maybe three times?) during this month's Whole30. You can find the recipe in her first cookbook, too. I omitted the brown sugar and it was still good. This recipe is great because you can cook up a pork shoulder (I do it in my slow cooker) and then use leftovers in recipes all week -- I particularly like making a salad with it, with a dollop of salsa and guacamole.

Paleo Egg & Chorizo Muffins - Sweet C's Designs
One thing that got tiring for me with the Whole30 is that there is a lot of meal prep, which can be inconvenient if you're in a hurry. These egg muffins (I used loose sausage instead of chorizo) are super-simple to make and you can freeze them. When you want a muffin, you can just reheat it in the microwave or oven.

Pizza Stir Fry Recipe -- Wellness Mama
Friday nights are pizza + movie night at our house, which is a problem when you're doing a Whole30. I will say that this recipe doesn't come close to the deliciousness that is pizza (not that the recipe is bad or anything, but I just really, really, really love pizza), but it definitely helped on Friday nights, even though I still shot more than a few wistful glances at the pizza my boys were eating. Sigh.

The Whole30 Timeline -- Whole30.com
"Day 1: What's the big deal?
Days 2-3: The hangover
Days 4-5: Kill all the things.
Days 6-7: I just want a nap."  This timeline walks you through the ups and downs of the program. I'll be honest, the first Whole30 I did was an emotional roller-coaster for me and I felt those ups and downs hard. This time wasn't so bad, especially since I had my awesome husband along for support. But I still referenced this a lot to keep me focused and to know what to expect -- and I thought it was kind of funny, too.

So, yeah, I made it through my Whole30. It was hard, but not the hardest thing I've ever done. And you know,  I'm going to keep following it pretty closely. I feel that good. That said, tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I'm totally having a (smallish) piece of her birthday cake. What's more, I'm going enjoy that cake and I won't feel an ounce of guilt because I actually feel in control. No more sugar dragon ruling my life. And that is the best result of this Whole30 experience.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

Book Report: What I've Been Reading

One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more books. It feels weird to type that, because I've been a bookworm since I learned to read -- frankly, I'm obsessed with books. Oddly enough, though, I found myself reading less and less over the past few years. I got so busy with all my responsibilities as a mom that I put my favorite pastime on the backburner. Not anymore! This year, I've made my personal reading a priority again and, well, let's just say I wish all resolutions were this enjoyable to keep!

I thought I'd share a few of my recent reads with you -- at least the ones that are applicable to this blog. (If you're curious of all the other books I've been reading/listening to, you can check out my Goodreads profile here.)  

{Pssst! Let me just say from the get-go, any of these books would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift. If you order today with Amazon 2-day Prime shipping, you'll most likely get it in time! Or you could be all old-school and go to an actual bookstore...}

Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes by Catherine McCord
One thing I am adamant about in my kitchen is that I will only cook one meal at dinnertime; I'm no short-order cook. The kids eat what the adults eat (and vice versa).  As I was looking for some more kid-friendly recipes, I  was drawn to the premise of this cookbook: one family, one meal.  I was curious how she could make food that wasn't too intense for kids but not too bland for parents. This book has lots of simple recipes and my family has enjoyed almost everything I've made from it. Particular favorites: the graham crackers (I actually prefer her recipe over the one I've been using from The Homemade Pantry), enchiladas, pumpkin waffles, pesto meatballs, cottage cheese pancakes, and wonton soup. This cookbook is definitely a great resource for family-friendly recipes and ideas. 

I did a have a couple drawbacks about the book: one, the book is full of photos of the author in such posed situations (she mentions in the book how she used to be a model and it shows); I would rather see more photos of food than of her working in her garden, looking over her shoulder at the camera, or gnawing on a chicken kabob. Another drawback: I came to this book for some help with a picky toddler and I found all the talk about how absolutely amazing her kids are and how they eat every single thing ever offered them kind of annoying/frustrating.  But, I have to give credit where it's due -- that picky toddler has eaten pretty much everything I've made from the book!  

Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong
Last year, my doctor advised me to limit grains and dairy in my diet. When he told me that, I immediately thought of my dad, who has followed a paleolithic diet for years (right before it started getting all popular) and decided to turn to some of the paleo cookbooks for ideas of what to eat. I'd flip through various paleo cookbooks, thinking some of the recipes looked good, but they mostly made me miss all the foods I really wanted to make. (Spaghetti squash can never replace regular spaghetti for me, no matter how hard I try). 

Anyway, I found Nom Nom Paleo a few weeks ago and was blown away because every recipe in the book looks delicious! Seriously, I would make any of them. Unlike other paleo cookbooks I've come across, the writing style is fun to read, not preachy, not dogmatic, no doom-and-gloom talk of how wheat will kill us all. I'm still working on cooking through this cookbook, but I'll tell you, what I have made has been awesome. One stand-out: the walnut shrimp. It was just as good as the kind I order at my favorite Asian restaurant. I couldn't believe it was paleo! My husband took the leftover spiced maple walnuts from the recipe to work and his coworkers loved them. My family doesn't follow a strictly paleo lifestyle, but this book definitely has a place on my kitchen bookshelf (yep, I have one -- cookbooks are my weakness) because I want to feed my family whole, unprocessed foods. I can't recommend this cookbook enough!

The Edible Garden: How to Have Your Garden and Eat It, Too by Alys Fowler
I can't quite remember where I saw vegetables incorporated into flowerbeds for the first time. I can remember, though, how the purple cabbages were woven in with the flowers and how brilliant I thought it was. Over the years since then, I've become enamored with the idea of turning yards and lawns into mini-homesteads. So when I saw this book, I ordered it right away. My impulse buy did not disappoint at all.

Simply put, I loved this book. So often, gardening books get complicated and/or formulaic; this book is neither of those things. Alys Fowler's approach feels so natural and the way she writes is so friendly, like she's walking you through her garden and giving you information, recipes, and tips as you go. Like the tip about making fertilizer out of comfrey -- I'm still excited about that one and trying to get some Russian comfrey into my garden as soon as possible.  One other kind of silly thing I loved: this book is so British! The Anglophile in me couldn't help but sigh over phrases about how rhubarb is "a doddle to grow" or the best ways to grow courgettes and aubergines (zucchini and eggplants). This book was a lot of fun to read and it made me even more excited to get out in my garden and try new things!

Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze
If you've read this blog for a while, you probably know that I am a Dave Ramsey devotee. I wholeheartedly believe that his program of seven "Baby Steps" leads to financial peace. My husband and I have completed Baby Steps #1 and #2 and we're close to finishing #3. If you haven't read The Total Money Makeover, stop reading this post now and get your hands on a copy! 

Since, as I said, I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey, I preordered my copy of his latest book, Smart Money Smart Kids. I went into this book already familiar with his program for kids, but I still learned a lot. I could write a whole post about Dave's program for kids and teenagers, so I will soon. But for now, I'll just say that this book should be required reading for every parent. What a world it would be if the next generation followed the principles in this book!

The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith
This book surprised me, to be totally honest. I'd read lots glowing reviews of it, so I ordered a copy. At first, I only liked it and found myself sort of wondering what all the fuss was about. I found myself wishing it had more actual decorating ideas/how-to instructions -- the perfectionist in me likes having things spelled out and I struggle with improvisation and experimentation (which is a big theme of this book). But as I continued reading, I caught the vision of what this book is really about: transforming the place where you live into a home you love. I finished the book this past Monday and already I find myself feeling less intimidated and more excited about decorating my house. In fact, the day after I read it, I finally took down the curtains I've hated for years but have been too afraid and overwhelmed to change. Right now, I'm looking at the new drapes in my family room as I'm typing this and can't help but feel a surge of happiness. I love that room more now than I have in a long time!

In terms of how this book relates to this blog, Myquillyn Smith's message about contentment, gratitude, and finding joy in your present situation goes hand-in-hand with frugality. I know I've found myself thinking more about what I wish I had and about plans for someday, instead of living in the present. She also shares lots of tips of how to decorate inexpensively, often using things you already have and breathing new life into them. The writing is funny and moving all at once (I was in tears by the end). I wish I could buy a copy for each of the women in my life!

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

How I Get the Most Out of Our (smallish) Local Library

There are a few topics that once you get me talking about them, I pretty much can't shut up: Mary Poppins, natural childbirth (two babies sans epidurals, thankyouverymuch), the superiority of the A&E film version of Pride and Prejudice, beauty pageants (grrr!), and the flagrant use of pluralostrophes, just to name a few.

But, without a doubt, books are at the top of that list. Nothing gets me as excited, emotional, and passionate as the topic of books and the importance of reading. In fact, it's taking pretty much all the restraint I have to not go on and on about my love of reading: my bookwormy childhood and adolescence, my college experience as an English major, the time I spent as a Community Relations Manager at Barnes & Noble, how The Read-Aloud Handbook shaped a huge facet of how I parent, share my other all-time favorite books, refer you to my bibliophile Pinterest board, tell how I'm writing a novel....see, I'm doing it anyway. Stop, Heather, stop.

As you can imagine, I also have strong feelings about the importance of libraries as well. As Walter Cronkite said, "Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." Libraries are absolutely essential. 

That said, my local library and I sort of parted ways for a while. Quite a while, actually. I could never find what I wanted. The selection seemed paltry. Granted, I live in smaller city, so I can't totally blame them. I didn't really even bother with the children's section because I'd had the same kind of luck there, too. So I fed my Amazon habit and bought a lot of books instead of borrowing them from the library. I used PaperbackSwap (an excellent resource) to curb my expenses, but I was still spending a lot of money on books. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't use the best money-saving resource for books there is -- it was the library's fault, right? Right? Riiiiight...

Then in 2012, when my oldest started kindergarten, I had an idea to listen to audiobooks with the kids in the car since we had a little bit of a drive to school (about 15 minutes each way). I knew the local library had an audiobook section for kids so I tried it out. Pretty soon, we started checking out some of the picture books in the section nearby and before I knew it, trips to the library were becoming a biweekly thing, if not a sometimes weekly trip, with us leaving with a stack of books. 

What I've learned is that I wasn't really approaching the library in very constructive way before. Sure, the selection wasn't great (for the record, it has gotten better), but I expected it to serve me, thinking I could just walk in, find exactly what I wanted easily, and leave. That doesn't always work with a smaller library like ours. It takes some advance planning, as well as use of all of the library's resources.

Here are five ways how I have finally made our local library work for us -- and save us money in the process:

1. Make a list.

There are so many great resources for finding reading suggestions! I love all the great lists you can find on Pinterest; Goodreads is also a great resource for book recommendations. I'm sure there are plenty other resources to find books that I haven't tapped into. I used to try to write them all down, but I found the best way for me to keep track of all the books I want to read and the books I want to get for my boys is through PaperBackSwap. Signing up for PaperBackSwap is totally free (you can read more about the program in a past post of mine here). I use the wish list and reminder list in my PaperBackSwap account to keep track of of the hundreds of books I want to read. (So many books, so little time...)

2. Check the library's website first.

When I've found a book that has piqued my interest, I head over to my local library's website to check their online catalog. If the book is in their catalog, I put it on the reminder list in my PaperBackSwap account; if it's not in the catalog, I put it on my account's wish list. This helps me know at a glance what my library has. If I think ahead enough, I'll check the library's website before we go to see if the books on my reminder list are available or if they're checked out.

3. Keep a list with you.

A lot of the time, my boys and I will just hit the library on a whim while we're out on an errand. Instead of trying to remember what I have on my reminder list, I just pull out the list I keep in my wallet. (Granted, I could log in to my PaperBackSwap account on my phone but the site doesn't really have a great mobile version -- at least last time I checked). I also keep a list in the bag I take to the library for our planned trips, just in case I'm in a hurry and don't have the time (or I'm too lazy) to check online. This list is just a bunch of titles that are on my reminder list, along with the last name of the authors.  I really like and often use this printable for a good pocket-size list, but your list doesn't have to be fancy. Take the picture above -- that pink pad of Post-It notes next to the stack of books is the list I've been keeping in my library bag. 

4. The library's waiting list is your friend.

I totally under-utilized the waiting list option back when I was frustrated with my local library. I would complain about the library not having what I wanted, but I never did anything about it besides leave empty-handed. Now, I'll get on the waiting list for books that I know I want to read, even when I'm in the middle of a bunch of others. It's always a fun surprise when I get an email from the library when I've made my way to the top of a waiting list. I do this with books for the kids, too; I'm off to pick a book for them up off the hold shelf today. 

5. OVERDRIVE!

I don't know how long my library has had OverDrive, but it's pretty new to me. And let me tell you -- I. Love. It. Basically, it's a way to download books from your library onto your computer, e-reader, iPod, and/or phone.  My first love will always be tangible books, but I'm trying to be flexible and open-minded when it comes to e-books.  Quite often, the library won't have the physical copies of some books I want, but they'll have the e-book version as an option.  The books are available for 1-2 weeks (depending on the limits set by your library) and when the time is up, they automatically return themselves. No need to worry about overdue fines or the library cop coming after you.  

I use OverDrive in two ways: 

I first learned about OverDrive when I read about it on this post about getting into audiobooks. Listening to books with my boys in the car had been so much fun, I wanted to do it just for myself. I followed this helpful tutorial to help me download audiobooks onto my iPhone via the OverDrive app. It's so easy! I love that I can take whatever audiobook I'm listening to with me everywhere. Unlike with CDs, I don't have to worry about losing my place or having a CD player. I just plug it into the adapter in my car or into my portable speaker.  I also love the feature that lets me speed it up -- lately I've been listening to the book pictured above at the 1.5x speed.

I resisted getting a Kindle for so long. However, once I realized how that there were a lot of books I could get via OverDrive, I was finally convinced and my husband got me a Paperwhite for my birthday. Like I said before, I definitely prefer holding a real book and turning real pages, but I'm digging this little Kindle. Today, I downloaded my first e-book via OverDrive and it was really pretty easy; I used this tutorial to help me do it.

I still have my book-buying Amazon habit and I still fully intend to keep buying the books I love for my home library, but I have saved quite a bit of money since the library and I got reacquainted. And I have to say, I didn't realize how much I'd missed that feeling of carrying an armload of borrowed books out of the library, because it is a pretty fantastic feeling.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

My Favorite Cookbooks of 2012

First, let me state for the record that I realize I've been a slacker on this blog this month. I apologize, faithful readers. It's for a bunch of reasons -- lack of time, spending any free-time knitting gifts (or a hat for my son's Who costume for the kindergarten Grinch play), and simply enjoying the Christmas season with my family (we're making gingerbread cookies today). Honestly, it's been nice to take a break. Plus, taking a break has gotten me even more excited about this blog and its possibilities.

Okay. Excuses made. On to the post!

Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows of my love for cookbooks. I read them like novels. I love the pretty pictures. I love the possibilities. Lucky for me, 2012 has been a great year for cookbooks. I know I'm missing a few from my list (hopefully, I've either got this one or this one wrapped and under our Christmas tree right now) and I'm sure there are some out there I haven't even heard of (clue me in, please!), but I feel pretty good about this list.

That said, I meant to write this about my favorite cookbooks post sooner in case you wanted gift ideas, but...well...the excuses were made in the first paragraph. I guess you could still order one of these cookbooks (today is the last day for two-day shipping on Amazon for before-Christmas delivery) or you could hop over to a local bookstore (if you feel brave enough -- having worked retail for a few Christmas seasons, I know full well what shoppers face this close to Christmas).  Or, maybe you'll get a gift card for Christmas and you can pick one of these up after the holiday.

In no particular order (except for the last one which will be my #1 favorite of the year), here are my five favorite cookbooks of 2012.

5.  An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler
I'm cheating a little on this one because only the paperback version of this book came out this year (it was initially released in  hardcover last year), but I had to include it. I loved this book. It's not a traditional sort of cookbook --  no pictures, mostly prose with recipes thrown in here and there. But let me tell you, this book made the way I regard eating and cooking food so much more mindful. There's a thoughtfulness, a grace to the way she writes about the simplest things. At one point, she had me excited to boil a pot of water. Awesome. (For more on the book, you can read a full review I wrote a few months back here.)



4. The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from my Frontier by Ree Drummond

I love PW.  I love her blog. I feel like I know her. I think if I saw her at the grocery store, I'd forget that she has no idea who I am, and start chatting with her about her family and the ranch like I'm a close friend. I absolutely loved her first cookbook - I've used it so often that the spine is broken, the pages are wavy and splattered, and some pages are starting to fall out. Everything I've made from that book has rocked (well, except the prune cake. Not my cup of tea, but I did try it). I say all that because I was chomping at the bit to get her newest cookbook this year. When I got it, I was so thrilled that it was thicker and had more recipes. So many options -- it even had a canning section (albeit, a really small canning section, but still!).  I have to come clean and say that I don't love it as much the first, but it is a great cookbook. Nothing complicated.  Lots of variety, something to please everyone.

3. Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round by Marisa McClellan

I love canning and I really like this book. No matter if you're a novice canner or if you've been canning for thirty years, this book has something to offer any canning enthusiast. I wrote all about it in full detail here.









2.  Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosentrach

We've heard over and over and over about the importance of family dinner. I completely agree that it's important on so many levels, that this simple act could help change the trajectory of society and our nation's families. In our busy world, it's a bit of a struggle for people (my family included) to sit at the table and have family dinner every night. So when I saw this book's title, I was immediately drawn to it. I mean isn't Dinner: A Love Story such a fantastic title?

This book is really cool in that it's a cookbook meets family memoir. I had fun reading through it, even though at times I felt like I couldn't relate very well to her experience. I felt like the author's complete opposite: she's a working mother (writing and editing magazines -- one of my dream jobs), Jewish, from the cool and busy New York City area, who unwinds with a martini in the evenings; me, a stay-at-home mom and Mormon girl, born, raised, and living in nice-but-sometimes-boring Utah, who's never so much as tasted a drop of an alcoholic beverage. In the end, though, our differences didn't really matter -- I still enjoyed reading her experiences, I appreciated and admired her goals, and I looked for ways to implement her ideas. Her and her husband's blog -- of the same title as the book -- has since become one of my favorites to read.

As you can see in the photo of my copy, I've got quite a few bookmarks -- and that's only in the first section of the book. So far, we've liked what we've made out of it. One recipe that stands out -- the chili recipe is amazing (hint: it has cinnamon in it. Whodathunk?). It's my new go-to chili recipe. It was the first thing I made from the book and I was converted.


And now, for my favorite cookbook of 2012.  I'd go as far to call it one of my favorite cookbooks I own.

Drum roll, please...


1. The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila 

I don't remember how I learned about or where I saw this cookbook, but the minute I did, I ordered it. I knew it would be right up my alley.

As I've written many times on this blog, I always prefer to make things from scratch, for the money-saving benefits as well as the health benefits. This book has recipes for everything I felt I had to buy processed. Take graham crackers, for instance. I had no clue how to make them, so I always bought them at the store (well, until we stopped eating hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup and then it was no graham crackers at all). This book has a recipe for them -- they're easy and delicious. With this book, I've also made Oreo-style cookies, marshmallows (this past summer, we made s'mores with homemade graham crackers and marshmallows - wow), hamburger buns (so easy!), granola, brown sugar, salad dressing, and yellow cake, to name a few.   And there are so many others things I need to try making: homemade Fig Newtons, mayonnaise, cheeses, Pop-Tarts, veggie burgers. There's even a recipe for a homemade Twinkie (with only ten or so ingredients instead of the 39 in the {now-defunct} store-bought variety).

There's something empowering about this book. I like not having to rely on certain processed foods. I like having control over what my family eats -- especially when it comes to my kids. I know what is (and what is not) going into their foods. It's just cool.  The book is laid-out very nicely. I love the photography. Each recipe has a short essay/blurb before it, which I always enjoy in a cookbook.  Get it. I can't recommend it enough.

2012 was definitely a good year in my kitchen and for my recipe repertoire.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

{Have you read/cooked from/bought any of these? Any cookbooks I overlooked? Suggestions are always welcome.}

(This post is linked up to Your Green Resource, Simple Lives Thursday and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.)

Cookbook Review: Food in Jars

Can you feel it in the air? Canning season is upon us!

Sure, you can put food in jars year-round, but there's just something about canning in August and September. This time of year puts me in this sort of content yet industrious mood.  Plus, there are few things more satisfying than seeing jars full of delicious and fresh food in the pantry and thinking, "I did that!". I'm telling you, canning is good for the soul!  (Watch this to see what I mean.)

For a while, it seemed like canning was going out of style and becoming a lost art (I used to have older women gawk in line at me at the store, in my early-20s and with a shopping cart full of jars. Often they would say, "I didn't think anyone still did that."). Now there seems to be a resurgence and interest in canning (I went to the same store last week and found the canning supply shelves looking pretty empty). It isn't just for people with huge families, people with massive gardens, or people with tons of time (are there people with tons of time?) -- anyone can do it. Which leads me to one of my latest cookbook acquisitions:  Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan.

For years, my go-to (and only) canning cookbook has been the classic Ball Blue Book of Preserving and it's a classic for a reason. That said, I'm really enjoying this new book. Here are a few of the reasons:

1. The emphasis on small-batches.
I think a lot of people write canning off because they think that it's super time-consuming and that it isn't practical unless you have a big family and tons of room for food storage. I can see why they'd think that. Canning twelve quarts of peaches doesn't make sense if you're single.  A couple isn't likely to go through dozens of jars of homemade jam in a year.  Problem is, so many traditional canning recipes call for lots and lots of produce. I think that's one thing that turns people off from canning.

I went to the store to buy some pectin a couple weeks ago and saw that Ball has sort of ditched their boxes of pectin and have gone with a container (pictured below) instead.

I think this represents a shift in how canning is approached. Instead of using the pre-packaged amount of pectin, you can measure it out according to your needs -- you can make twenty jars of jam or just two. And that's what I love about Food in Jars -- the title says it all: preserving in small batches. This makes canning less overwhelming, especially for new canners. That said, experienced canners, those who want quarts of canned tomato sauce and twenty jars of jam, can enjoy this book as well. You can make as much or as little as you want.

2. Small batches mean more variety.

This book has all sorts of recipes, ranging from the basics (like strawberry jam, salsa, dilly beans) to more unique recipes (like blackberry and sage jam, blood orange marmalade, lemony pickled cauliflower). Instead of limiting yourself to month after month of a certain kind of jam (that was our case when I made, not exaggerating, 30+ jars of pluot jam a few years ago), you can have a variety in your pantry. Plus, with smaller batches, it doesn't feel nearly as risky to try new things. Take her recipe for cantaloupe jam with vanilla -- it sounds kind of odd but intriguing. I haven't made it yet but I want to. What if I make it and it's not what I hoped it would be? It only took 2 1/2 cups of cantaloupe, a packet of liquid pectin, and some sugar (enough to make around 3 cups of jam), so my losses aren't so bad. Say I made some other kind jam with bushels of fruit and pounds of sugar and didn't like it? We'd be eating it whether we liked it or not -- it'd be too much to waste.  This isn't to say I'm against big-batch canning (I would make gallons upon gallons of this salsa if I could), but small-batch canning does mix things up a bit and make eating more interesting

3.  All the recipes can be processed without a pressure canner. 
No expensive gear needed for these recipes -- just a pot to cook your food in, a bunch of jars and lids, a canning funnel, some ladles and tongs, and your boiling water canner. I have yet to learn how to use a pressure canner (I'm not going to lie -- I find it pretty intimidating), so I was glad to flip through the pages of this book and know that I could make every.single.thing. in there if I wanted to.

4. So far, all the recipes I've tried from it are good!

My mom brought a gallon-sized bucket of tomatillos from her garden to my house last week (Mom and I have fun canning together this time of year), so we decided to try out the recipe from this book for tomatillo salsa. It was yummy! Sweet and tangy and little bit spicy -- it's a really nice salsa verde. Another recipe I've liked out of the book is the peach jam -- her recipe has cinnamon, nutmeg, a little lemon juice, and lemon zest in it. The result is a peach jam that has a warm, almost fall-like taste to it. After I'd put it in jars, me and my little baby (18 months old this month! Where does the time go?!) kept scraping the extra in the pot onto pieces of toast. So tasty!

5. Not all food in jars is fruit and/or vegetables. 
Though there are plenty of recipes for canned and processed produce, there are also recipes for things you can store in jars without any processing. McClellan includes lots of other kinds of recipes -- bread mixes, nut butters, chicken stock, vanilla, and more.

6.  It's pretty.
Maybe this seems superfluous, but for me, a pretty cookbook goes a long way. When a cookbook is laid out well, has lovely photography, and an appealing look to the text, I'm more prone to cook from it.

7.  It's not just recipes. 
I read cookbooks like I read novels. I love them. I especially love cookbooks that aren't just cookbooks. I like it when they're wordy, when recipes have a sort of preamble. I like to read about how the recipes came about, what thoughts the author had as he/she was making them, what the recipes remind them of, the memories associated with their food, that sort of stuff. It makes me feel like I'm right there cooking (or in this instance, canning) with them, like I know the author personally. (A perfect example of a cookbook author who does this well is Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman -- if I saw her in person, I'd probably just start a conversation with her like she was one of my neighbors, completely forgetting that she had no idea who I was.). Food in Jars has just the amount of wordiness I like.

8.  The book conveys a sense of confidence, energy, and fun.
So many people think that canning is scary, that one risks killing the people you love with a botulism-tainted jar of fruit. I would like to state for the record: canning does not need to be scary. Other people think they can't make it work in the space they have-- the author is proof that anyone can do it, no matter the size of your home or kitchen (here's a picture of her kitchen).  Marisa McClellan makes canning not only seem completely do-able, but fun. Her book, like her blog, has this feeling like she's right there with you, helpful and attentive (speaking of helpful, she pretty much answered any question a person left about her book in the reviews section on Amazon. Awesome.).

I recommend this book to both experienced and novice canners. Pick up a copy and start putting up all the great summer produce. 'Tis the season, after all.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

{This post is linked up to Your Green Resource, Little House Friday, Homestead Barn Hop, and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.}, 

Meatless Monday + Book Review: Homemade Vegetable Stock and 'An Everlasting Meal'

Before I start the post I intend to write, I must make a confession right away: I feel slightly embarrassed about some of my Meatless Monday posts.

There I'll be, typing away and listing the ingredients you'll need for a recipe. I'll throw in a few photos, some commentary here and there. I'll go back to read (and re-read) what I've written, only to realize that I've called for chicken stock in a Meatless Monday recipe. That's when I'll add, in parenthesis, that I used chicken stock because I had it on hand but that vegetable stock would work fine. It just seems like a cop-out. I mean, shouldn't I go all out and make it completely meatless?  What makes it even more of a cop-out is that vegetable stock is SUPER easy to make. You just need the bits, pieces, and ends of vegetables, some herbs, a little salt and pepper, water, and you're set. So, I figured, it's about time I made a batch of the stuff already.

Feeling better now. On to the post!

****

A few weeks ago, we harvested all of our peas.  

My older son was right there with me picking all the fat little pods from our garden (in his cowboy clothes, no less. Awesome.). He proceeded to take them inside, count every single one, and arrange them in a nice little pattern all around the kitchen table.

 The baby, who is at the into-everything phase right now, disrupted the arrangement a little.

Once he had counted every single pod (we got up to about 150, if I remember correctly -- it was a great counting lesson!), we both started shelling the peas together, just chatting and marveling at how full our bowls were getting.  It was one of those parenting moments when I feel like I actually know what I'm doing. They don't come that often, so I relish them when they do.

Which leads me to the two purposes of this post:

1. How to make vegetable stock.
2. A review of Tamar Adler's book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

If I had to sum up Tamar Adler's book in word I would probably pick inspiring. Or lovely. Here's a passage that I just loved -- especially since it related to the aforementioned pea-picking and shelling:

"Children must help shell peas. In a world of things too big, getting peas from pods is a chance for pea-sized people to exercise authority. Always told to put things back where they found them, here, children have it right. Pea shelling goes only in one direction: dig, disperse, and never look back. Shell English peas by digging a fingernail in by their stems and sliding your finger along their seams, seam side down, over a bowl. Keep a second bowl for everything that isn't a pea."

That's exactly what we did -- peas into one bowl, pea pods into a bag.

But why keep the pea pods? For pea pod stock! I had already planned to do this and then I came across the suggestion in An Everlasting Meal, too. It was meant to be.

This pea pod stock captures not only the basics of vegetable stock making, but also the essence of Ms. Adler's book. In the frugal kitchen, very little needs to go to waste. Throughout her book, Ms. Adler shows how peels, skins, and bones can be used to make food better.  Meals can be made better if you approach them as something continuous, with a sort of flow to them. Yesterday's dinner turns into part of tomorrow's lunch; the stems of the parsley you chopped for dinner play a part in the stock simmering on the stove the next day.

A week ago, I made a batch of coleslaw for a barbecue with some friends (mmmm....slaw dogs) and I decided it was time to finally make a batch of vegetable stock (especially since I'd just read the part in the book about pea pod stock).  Into the pot went the stems of the parsley, the end and peels of the carrot, and the unused part of the onions -- all the remnants of the slaw preparation. Then I pulled the pea pods out of the freezer (since I'd saved them for this reason) and dumped them into the pot, too. I threw a few whole peppercorns into the mix, sprinkled it with some coarse salt, and added water (to about a couple inches over the vegetables). I brought it to a boil then let it simmer for about 45 minutes or so.

Let me tell you, I don't know if I've ever been so eager to boil a pot of water. That's what I love about An Everlasting Meal -- she makes the mundane seem graceful and beautiful (the first chapter is entitled, "How to Boil Water", after all).  The book made me even more anxious to get our first egg from our hens. The way she blends cooking and prose is elegant.  But I'll be honest, the book scares me a little. Maybe intmidates is a better word. Not in a bad way, but a sort of out-of-my-comfort-zone kind of way. I don't really know how to cook the way she cooks. I need recipes -- I rarely trust myself to make anything without one. I so want to cook like she does, though, and use all five of my senses to really get a feel for what I'm making in the kitchen.

So I tried it with this stock. Ms. Adler says to taste, taste, taste whenever you're cooking -- even tasting boiled water to see if it's salted enough. I kept tasting the pea pod stock to see if it was ready. The first time I could taste the pea flavor immediately, but it needed to boil down more and a little more flavor. I added some more salt and let it simmer.  Tried it again. Still needed more time. By the third taste, it was just right. It was simple. It was different than the chicken stock I've made time and time again. It had a clean, fresh taste. It tasted like vegetables! So, all the time I've said that chicken stock or vegetable stock is fine, as if they're interchangeable, isn't entirely true. Vegetable stock isn't chicken stock and chicken stock isn't vegetable stock. Each has its own flavors and contributions to whatever you're making.

Once the stock was cooked down to the flavor I wanted, I strained it and poured the stock into glass jars. I always freeze stock in glass jars (I just re-use jars from spaghetti sauce and other things). As long as you leave some space for the liquid to expand during freezing, they'll be fine. I've never had any trouble with glass in the freezer.

I can't recommend An Everlasting Meal enough. I'd say it is a sort of love letter to food and the preparation of it. The book has something for everyone, of every skill level, and it captures so well the way people have cooked for generations before us. Food doesn't have to be complicated or fancy. Food doesn't have to cost a lot or include exotic ingredients to be delicious. You can use the food you buy and grow to its fullest, without much waste.

And you should make some vegetable stock, too. It'll make you feel even better about going meatless -- even if you only go meatless on Mondays.

{Sidenote:  I have to include this link to a clip from Arrested Development. It kept coming to my mind as I read An Everlasting Meal. "Baby, you've got a stew going!"}

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

(This post is linked up to Homestead Barn Hop and Your Green Resource.)

The Chicken Tractor That Kevin Built

Boy, did I marry a good sport or what?

My husband, Kevin, has always been supportive (albeit a tad skeptical at times but always supportive) of all my frugal/homemaking/homesteading endeavors, but when I mentioned a couple years ago that I think it'd be so nice to have our own little flock of backyard chickens, he put on the brakes.  For a period of his childhood, his family had several chickens. Turns out, he kind of told himself at the time that when he grew up, he would never get chickens. To him, they were messy and not worth the trouble. I can just see in my mind's eye my husband as a cute, spunky kid, cleaning up chicken poop and making a secret vow that things would be different when he was grown-up, feeling some sort of justice in that knowledge. I think it's kind of a cute thought. That thought also makes me feel a little guilty since I talked him into breaking that vow.  

But don't worry -- we made a deal. If he built our chicken tractor (basically a mobile house and run), I would do all the chicken chores (which is cool with me -- that was my plan all along). Oh, and I have to play an entire video game by myself (my husband just happens to be a video game artist by day and a video game enthusiast 24/7). It's probably going to be Portal 2 or one of the Uncharted games. 

Anyway, our little chicks have turned into awkward teenagers and it's about time for them to upgrade to their bigger home outside. The chicken tractor turned out marvelously, so I thought I'd share how it went.

We looked at a bunch of different ideas for a chicken coop online and decided that we wanted to go with a mobile coop and run instead of a permanent coop. We looked at various designs and plans, even some prefabricated coops and runs, but we just kept coming back to the chicken tractor (complete with detailed building plans) in Ashley English's Keeping Chickens. 

So one weeknight Kevin and the boys headed to the Home Depot with the supply list, and the building began the following Saturday. The supply list is great because it tells you, down the last little washer and screw, exactly what you need and what it is used for in the project. We found everything at our local hardware stores (Kevin went to Home Depot one day, I went to Lowe's another to pick up a few more items).  

I'm no builder. I mean, I feel proud when I put something from IKEA together. So, glancing at the plans didn't really mean much to me. However, as Kevin read and worked through the instructions, he kept commenting on how they were easy to follow.  Our son, Max, was also inspired by the plans and made his own set to follow.

Here are a few snapshots of the building process, spread over a couple Saturdays...

This is the interior of the hen house, complete with a perch for roosting and a nesting box. Also, that's me making a cameo in the top-right corner, working on the mini-greenhouses I mentioned a couple posts ago (I SO hope they work...).

Almost finished -- just needs some paint and roofing.

Kevin decided on spray paint for this project -- and in my favorite color, no less!  A couple days later, he did the roof with some leftover shingles we had (that we bought a few years ago after a wind storm ripped a few of ours off).

And...

It was ready for the chickens!

We put the girls in their new place and almost immediately they started looking around and scratching in the grass.

And the pecking order squabbles began shortly thereafter. So silly.

I couldn't be more pleased with the way the chicken tractor turned out. The plans alone are worth buying the book for, especially since some plans for similar tractors cost more than the whole book! (That said, the book is totally worth getting whether you make the tractor or not --  it's such a wonderful guide.) I love the mobile housing for our little flock because the chickens will also fertilize the lawn.  It's been a lot of fun watching them busily scratch and search through the grass already and I think they're going to be a great addition to our backyard! Now we just have to wait a few months to start collecting those eggs.

Looks like I've got some video gaming to do now.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

- This post is linked up with Homestead Barn Hop. Check it out -- lots of great ideas!--

Book Report: What I've Been Reading

I read a saying once that describes me perfectly: I buy books like other women buy shoes. Seriously. You can usually find me in the middle of two or three books at a time. I was looking through this blog's archives not too long ago (I can't believe this blog is 2 1/2 years old already!) and I came across this book report post. I thought I'd do another post like it and share what I've been reading lately (at least the books that have something to do with this blog. Incidentally, the novel I'm reading right now is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton). It's a pretty good snapshot of where I am with my frugal and homemaking goals.

The Rhythm of Family by Amanda Blake Soule
I just love SouleMama's blog.  It's one of my favorites. She inspires me to live more slowly, to pay attention to the goings-on around me, and to live closer to the earth. She has also inspired me to learn to sew and knit, among other things. Anyway, I got her book a few months ago and I just had to mention it again (I say again since I mentioned it before here, here, and here). There are a lot of great projects, ideas, and recipes. It is broken up into months -- each month features an essay from her, an essay from her husband, and some projects/crafts/recipes to go along with that particular month. It's just lovely. You should check it out.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood
I'm not really reading this book straight through since it's more of a reference guide, but what I have read is really interesting. I've been intrigued for some time about essential oils. I use them here and there for a few things (mostly in cleaning solutions or a few drops of lavender oil in the bathtub), but I definitely don't know much about them. This book was recommended by a friend whose hippie/naturopathic guru aunt (I think it was her aunt...) said it was the best guide out there. Right now, I'm reading the introductory chapters and slowly accumulating the oils she recommends having on hand. (Question for essential oil users: What brand is your favorite?)

The Homemade Living Series by Ashley English :: Keeping Bees; Keeping Chickens; and Home Dairy
I took a beekeeping class about a month ago (we're keeping the hives at my parents' house. Our hives arrive at the end of this month and six pounds of bees in April!). My husband has agreed (admittedly, somewhat reluctantly) to getting two or three chickens either this spring or next year. I even made butter last night (yum.). I've been having a lot of fun with Ashley English's Homemade Living books. These books are awesome. They are comprehensive without being overwhelming. The layout is fantastic and the photography is beautiful. The beekeeping book coincides so well with what I learned from the class. I feel well-prepared for raising chickens in my backyard. Even making my own butter, sour cream, cheese, and yogurt seems doable. Her guides are empowering and fun. I can't recommend these books enough.

Mini-Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Brett L. Markham
Can you tell that I'm on this homesteading kick? I just think the whole movement (seriously, it seems like one) toward self-sufficiency and keeping food as close to home as possible is so cool. I love how so many people are wanting to take a more active role in the food they and their families eat. Anyway, I picked up this book a month or so ago. I finally got to it about a week ago so I'm only a few chapters into this book, but it's completely fascinating. The authors shows, step-by-step, how you can actually provide up to 80% of a family's food needs on only a 1/4 acre lot. I'll write more about it once I've finished it and have started implementing some of his techniques in my own yard. We'll see how it works. Heaven knows, my last couple gardening seasons have been pretty disappointing -- hopefully, this book will help.

What are you reading right now?

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.