13 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family’s Diets

I write a lot about growing your own vegetables, fruits and herbs. I grow my own for many reasons but mostly because they are cleaner and healthier for you than the stuff sold in stores. Plus it's just easier to pick what you need for dinner from the yard than to drive to the store! As a bonus, when your kids help to grow the produce, they tend to be more willing to eat it! 

I make it a point to grow at least one new thing every year and the kids are always willing to try it! In the last few years we've grown cucamelons, glass gem popcorn, 4 different colors of tomatoes, huckleberries, ground cherries, purple green beans, purple carrots, kohlrabi, white egg eggplant and more!

It makes sense to get the kids involved in growing the foods they eat. I mean, if you can get the kids to willingly eat broccoli then you don't have to try to sneak it into their diets. If they're not willing though, that's when things get a little tricky. 

We all know that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Unfortunately should and do are two very different things, aren’t they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get them all in there, especially with picky kids or cooking from the garden. 

I mean, if you've gardened for any length of time you know all the zucchini comes in for like 2 weeks then nothing! Right? Cherry tomatoes are pretty spread out during the season, but how many days in a row can you eat those? This makes it difficult to have a varied diet without getting sick of the crop of the week. So we’ll just have to get creative. 

How to make Ginger infused honey

Recently I got the *virus that shall remain nameless* and less than a month later, I caught a common cold. I haven't been ill at all in over 2 years so I guess I was due. Some of my symptoms were barely there and others were horrible! During one of these illnesses, winter storm Izzy decided to dump like a foot of snow on us and I live on a farm so that compounded things!

Trekking over 2 acres back and forth from the house, feed storage and various barns and coops in a foot of snow (twice a day) while sick is not fun at all, plus it will make you super sore! I'm a big believer in natural remedies and giving your body the support it needs to heal itself. I talked about this in 10 ways to shorten a cold naturally. 

After the cold/snow combination I needed some help recovering so I turned to some of my favorite home remedies.

I am not a doctor nor am I any other type of medical professional. This information is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

Dry Brushing and Why Everyone Should Do it

For the last few months I have been doing something called dry brushing every day before I get into the shower. It's exactly what it sounds like! You brush your skin without using any oil, lotion or water. I know it sounds uncomfortable and well, 'scratchy' but it's really not!  

Dry brushing is a technique that can help improve your skin along with your immune and lymphatic systems. To promote healthy skin, you must exfoliate it as much as you moisturize it. Everyone should consider including this method in their regular skin care routine. 

It is simple to use, inexpensive, and something you can do in just about 5 extra minutes. While most people will do their dry brushing technique before getting in the shower, don’t feel like that is the only time you can try it.

Beauty (and health) benefits of Hibiscus

It never ceases to amaze me how many foods and herbs have healing properties. Take the hibiscus flower for example. This beautiful, bright bloom is completely edible and for years it has been used for several different ailments...yet most people only know it as the flowering shrub.

My mother recently said to me "I need to get some Hibiscus tea, it's supposed to help with weight loss." She had read that regular consumption of hibiscus tea can increase your body's metabolism, helping you to lose excess weight. It has so many more health properties too!

What to do with chive blossoms

Edible flowers can add a splash of color and fun to lots of dishes and chive blossoms are one of the few that add flavor too! The chive flower is a small puff of pinkish or light purple florets on a tall, sturdy stalk that shoots straight up from a clump of chives and they're completely edible! They have a light oniony flavor and can be used dried or fresh.

All chives produce flowers, so if you're growing chives in your herb garden you will get chive blossoms. If you don't grow chives, look for them at farmers markets. They're a pretty popular item this time of year so many famers sell them. They only bloom once though, so make sure you look for them at the beginning of garden season.

Today I want to talk about the best ways to use chive blossoms!