in the house lately

 I've been carefully cracking the shells as I use eggs. I saw a fun idea to plant seeds in them and then just transplant them directly to the ground! I think the girls will enjoy the process especially as we are planning on planting a vegetable garden this spring.

 Out of pallet wood, my resourceful husband constructed a little fence to safeguard little munchkins from the hot woodstove. This was after we had looked a fire screens at various stores and even bought one to try, but nothing seemed suitable. We like this result.

As always, I am constantly learning new things about foods and health, I get so frustrated about the conflicting information that is out there and the differing camps of opinions. How in the world does one try to keep food for the family simple, as nutritious and frugal as possible? I keep coming back to the basics~ everything in moderation and balance and don't try to be perfect. One thing I have been doing for the past couple years and more consistently now, is soaking my grains and legumes. It helps the body digest better and gain more nutrients from the foods. So that is the above picture, soaking bread dough, tortillas, beans and rice. Funny, huh?