November 2, 2012

How to Identify and Use Winter Squash

how to identify and use winter squash

Written by Stacy Karen, Contributing Writer While most can identify pumpkin and butternut as varieties of winter squash, many of us don't know much about other types of winter squash or how to prepare them. Today I want to dive into the world of winter squash and open the door to new eating possibilities. Health Benefits of Winter Squash Winter squash, especially those with darker flesh (like pumpkin and acorn) contain high amounts of carotene. Carotene has been shown to help protect against cancer, heart [...]

Filed Under: In the kitchen, Nutrition, Raising healthy eaters, Real Food, Real, whole food, Seasonal eating Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 26 Comments
March 1, 2011

7 Gardening Lessons from a Novice Gardener

vegetable garden

Written by Emily McClements, Contributing Writer Growing your own organic vegetables is a great way to provide your family with nourishing and frugal food.  Last summer was my first real attempt at growing our own food in a garden. Although it did not go nearly the way that I envisioned, I learned some important lessons that I am excited to put into practice this year. I know many of you reading are seasoned gardeners, much more knowledgeable than I am, but if you are a [...]

Filed Under: Gardening 101 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 30 Comments
October 27, 2010

In the Kitchen- Real Food Basics eBook (Interview and Giveaway)

cream of corn soup

Are you still new to real food or making slow but sure changes? Would you love to have a simple, affordable resource that will give you more info, more resources and more recipes and kitchen how-to's? Many of you have already met Kate as one of the fantastic contributing writers here at Keeper of the Home, or perhaps you've visited her blog, Modern Alternative Mama. Passionate about sharing the things she has been learning, and that have changed her family's health dramatically, she has written [...]

Filed Under: Baby Steps, Giveaways, Living healthy, Real, whole food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
September 27, 2010

Cutting Down on Sugar: 21 Ways to Eat Less Sugar

sugary cupcake

We've all agreed that we tend to eat too much sugar, that we crave it, and that we want to learn to eat less of it (or even none at all- don't miss tomorrow's post!). So here's the really challenging part... how do we do that, practically speaking? There is a lot of information out there about the dangers of sugar, it's effect on our bodies, and much more. For these posts, I purposefully chose not to get all educational on you, and instead, focus [...]

Filed Under: Baby Steps, Living healthy, Real, whole food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , 57 Comments
August 31, 2010

Beekeeping 101: Let’s Get it Started

bee-on-yellow-flower

Guest Post by Kate Ferry A few weeks ago, I introduced myself and talked about my past experience with beekeeping in a post titled “Beekeeping: A matter of the heart”. The response was quite welcoming and many people were interested in getting more information about beekeeping as a hobby. Keeper of the Home invited me back and asked me to put together both a “Beekeeping 101” intro for those of you who are interested in possibly starting beekeeping and another snippet on “Welcoming Honeybees” that [...]

Filed Under: Homesteading, Sustainability Tagged With: , , , , , , , 8 Comments
August 16, 2010

Preserving Summer’s Bounty: Tomato Canning Tutorial

canning-tomatoes-boiling-to-remove-skin

I know that canning is a daunting process to many. It was for me, too, until my sweet friend Jen took one summer day about 5 years ago to teach how to do it myself. Once you see how someone else does it, the whole process begins to be demystified. My goal in showing you this tutorial is to remove the "I can't do this" element of canning, and show you just how simple and do-able the process really is! How to Can Diced Tomatoes [...]

Filed Under: In the kitchen, Preserving Food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , 52 Comments
August 2, 2010

Preserving Summer’s Bounty: Freezing Raspberries and Strawberries

abbie-washing-raspberries

Though I've already shared how I go about freezing blueberries, my method for freezing raspberries and strawberries is somewhat different, because they can tend to be juicier fruits that stick together in the bag once frozen. It's no fun to be banging a bag of frozen, stuck-together berries on the counter in frustration each morning (been there, done that). I've learned to do freeze my raspberries in a way that isn't too tedious, but keeps them frustration-free for easy use! I wash my raspberries off [...]

Filed Under: In the kitchen, Preserving Food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 8 Comments
July 29, 2010

Making Healthy Smoothies With Your Fresh Summer Greens (at Simple Organic)

swiss-chard-simple-organic

It’s a rare day that goes by in our home when we don’t make a fruit smoothie. Call us addicted. It’s a wonderful addiction to have! Since I have 3 little ones and a husband that rely on me to help them get in maximum nutrition with each and every bite they take, I frequently use our family’s beloved smoothies as a way of getting that nutrition in without fight and without fuss. One of our favorite ways to do this is by adding fresh [...]

Filed Under: In the kitchen, Living healthy, Real, whole food, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , 9 Comments