The Happy Housewife™ :: Living Well on Less

Real Food for Rookies

September 2, 2010 · 0 comments

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I am very excited to share with you an online cooking class that begins in a few weeks. It is taught by a fellow blogger Kelly, who blogs at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

The class is called Real Food for Rookies and is a 12 week class that begins September 16th. If you want to learn how to make real food (without all those processed ingredients) then this class is for you. I know that many times we want to feed our family healthy food on a budget, but it can be confusing! There are so many conflicting opinions, so many options, and it is sometimes hard to begin. I remember when I first starting cooking with whole grains and I made whole wheat cinnamon rolls for the first time- they were terrible! I would have loved to take this class several years ago!

The classes include:

Reading Labels to Avoid the Junk
Choosing Which Fats & Oils to Use in Your Kitchen
Choosing Which Sweeteners to Use & Batch Baking Tips to Save Time
Choosing the Right Meats
Choosing the Right Produce
Choosing the Right Dairy
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Healthy Lunches, Snacks and On-the-Go Foods
Healthy Dinners & Fast Food Alternatives
Superfoods Part 1
Superfoods Part 2
Beyond Real Food

If sign up for the class you will receive:

12 weeks of online classes with videos, downloadable audios, and written materials.
LIFETIME access! Read/listen/watch at your leisure: on your break at work, while the kids are sleeping, in your pajamas, whatever! If you have a busy week, no big deal, just pick it back up on your own schedule.
Exclusive expert interviews with Sally Fallon Morell (President of the Weston Price Foundation), Dr. Kaayla Daniel (author of The Whole Soy Story), Jane Hersey (Director of the Feingold Association), Tom Naughton (Fathead filmmaker), and now one more: Jimmy Moore from the Livin LaVida Low-Carb blog!
BONUS: Thanks to my amazing sponsors, the price of this class will include so many generous members-only coupons and discounts that you’ll be able to recoup over half of the enrollment fee! Discounts on Green Pastures cod liver oil, U.S. Wellness Meats, Biokult probiotics, natural skin care products & cleaning supplies, stainless steel pans, fermented food starters & supplies, and organic ghee.
BONUS: Free copy of the Kitchen Kop Real Food Ingredient Guide.
Members-only discussion forum (chat about Real Food all you want and no one will think you’re a weirdo!)

I am planning on signing my daughter up for this class, and using it as part of a home economics curriculum. Wouldn’t it be great to have your kids learn these things when they are young, rather than having to unlearn bad habits as adults? My favorite part about this class, Lifetime access! As a busy mom, I am glad these lessons will be available forever, so when life happens I don’t have to miss something!

Now I know you are probably thinking that $10 a class (or $120) is a lot of money, and it is! But, I think you will earn back this money in a few months, by cutting the grocery bill, and maybe even the doctor bills, once your family starts eating better!

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The Energy Crisis and HOA’s

September 2, 2010 · 19 comments

I was thinking the other day about the energy problems we are facing in this country. It seems like the government and people who write about this are always looking for big ways we can save energy. While I am not opposed to alternative energy and more efficient products, what has always intrigued me is that they often overlook simple, cheap, and effective ways to save energy.

The first thing that came to mind were back yard chickens. In most cities, people are banned from keeping chickens in their yard, even though chickens are quiet (if you don’t have a rooster), good for the soil, and can provide fresh eggs for your family. If you think about how most of us get our eggs, they are laid in a location two to five hours from where we live, put on a truck and then driven hundreds of miles to our local grocery store. Once at the store, they sit on refrigerated shelves until we drive to the store and purchase them. To me, that seems like a huge waste of energy.

Back yard chickens would fertilize the soil and provide you with fresh eggs. In order to get the eggs you walk to your back yard and collect them. No trucks, no refrigeration, less energy.

The other thing that immediately came to mind was the clothes line. Fifty years ago everyone had a clothes line, that was how you dried your clothes. Then came “community developments” and the rise of the HOA’s and clotheslines were banned in many neighborhoods. It ruins the view to look at your neighbor’s underwear hanging in the backyard. I did some simple math and realized that if the approximately 100 million households were to hang dry two loads of laundry a week, it would save 650 million dollars in energy costs. I realize in the big scheme of things 650 million dollars is not a lot, but it’s a start.

I have always wondered why we ban the simple ways to save energy and spend millions of dollars figuring out costly ways to save energy. It seems logical to allow people to find their own ways to save energy. The incentive would be a lower electric or gas bill every month. Instead we make it more difficult for people to hang their clothes out to dry, keep chickens, or use alternative sources.

A few years ago I stumbled across this Path to Freedom website. I have always been intrigued by this family who has been working towards self sufficiency on 1/10 of an acre! It is amazing all the small, inexpensive things this family does to save energy and money! They even sell their extra energy back to the power company and make a profit! It is possible to make small changes that have a big impact, it just requires a change from the typical big solution type thinking we see today.

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September 1, 2010

Old El Paso Coupon

Just released from Coupons.com, $0.50/1 coupon when you buy any Old El Paso Product. The Commissary sells the seasoning packets for under $0.50. This is a money maker for Commissary shoppers! If you don’t shop at the Commissary this could be a great deal too, especially if your store doubles.

You can usually print two coupons [...]

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August 31, 2010

Homemade Pickles

There are two types of people in this world, those who love pickles and those who don’t. I fall into the first group. My dad loves pickles and as a kid I remember eating pickles with everything. (Including our famous peanut butter and pickle sandwich, but I don’t want you to lose your [...]

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August 30, 2010

Homemade Salsa

Tomatoes and peppers are some of the easiest things to grow and can thrive in pots if you don’t have a yard. You will also find that in August, you will have more tomatoes and peppers than you could ever eat on a BLT or fajita, so what I usually do is make my own [...]

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August 29, 2010

Changes for Email Subscribers

For those of you who subscribe to The Happy Housewife by email, I have changed subscription services. You don’t have to do anything, and you will continue to receive your free daily updates. You will notice that the look of the email has changed slightly but the content is still the same.
If you are interested [...]

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August 28, 2010

Free Chili’s Chips and Queso

Print now, because this one will be gone soon. Get a free chips and queso at Chili’s. I know how you all LOVE this place so I thought you would want this coupon. You have to sign up for their email club to get the coupon, but they only ask for name and email.

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August 27, 2010

Cold Stone Coupon

Confession time:
I don’t like ice cream. I’ve tried, but I just don’t like it. My family however LOVES ice cream, every single person- my mom, my dad, my sister, her husband, my brother, his wife, their kids, Happy Husband, and all the Happy kids, including Cora who screams when you are feeding it to her [...]

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