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Upper Michigan Pasty: The Ultimate Recipe for Authentic Flavor
My husband’s family has some roots in Upper Michigan (check out our thimbleberry jam recipe if you don’t believe me 😆 ) so I knew it was in my future to make a pasty. Pasties are like a Yooper delicacy that became popular in the 1800s. If you’re unfamiliar with a Pasty (pronounced pass-tee), it is like a big meat and potato hot pocket! They became popular with the copper miners because they were cheap and easy to make. The miners could stick them in their pockets and they’d be safe until lunch. My husband’s grandma made these for her family and we just came across the recipe that she…
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Unlock the Incredible Benefits of Tallow for Soaps and Skincare
If you’re like me, you were a little weirded out when you first learned about Tallow in Soaps or maybe even tallow in general. You want me to put what on my hands and face? 😆 When I started learning about all its benefits, I quickly got used to the idea and started really appreciating the knowledge. If you struggle with dry skin, here are 3 products to use to battle it! If you don’t know, tallow is rendered and purified beef fat. Yup, you read that right! When you render beef fat (specifically suet, found around the kidneys), you rid it of impurities and water, leaving a nutrient-dense oil that will…
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How Discovering Hidden Toxic Ingredients Led Me to Embrace Natural Soaps
Several years ago I started learning more about healthy living. This can mean a lot of different things depending on who you are. For me, it started with eating a little better to lose weight after having a baby (my first baby, who is 9 now 😭). As I was learning to look at labels I realized that there are so many unnecessary Toxic Ingredients in foods. Even simple things that seem like they should only have 1 or 2 ingredients had 5-10. For me, this is where my natural product journey all began. My interest in healthier products grew from foods to cleaning products, and then to products that…
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Why does Lye (sodium hydroxide) need to be in soap?
Why does Lye (sodium hydroxide) need to be in soap? This is a huge question I asked myself when I started looking into a more natural way of making soap. I read all the ingredients in the soaps and other products we were putting on our skin. I began to wonder what all the chemicals were for and how they were affecting us. What I found is we don’t need all those crazy chemicals to create an amazing soap, read more about my discoveries into natural soaps. But we do need Lye. You can not make a natural soap without it. Lye – also known as sodium hydroxide and/or potassium…
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My Scheduled C-Section Story-Thanks to My Breech Baby
This post contains affiliate links. This will not cost you anything but helps us to offset the cost of running the blog. We only share products we are using and are items we would recommend to a friend. Thank you for your support! Click ‘HERE’ for more info. First of all, I went into this pregnancy NOT wanting to have a C-Section, but Hannah had other plans. I was taking a Bradley Method Birthing class so that I could have an all-natural drug-free birth experience. If you’re interested in that kind of birth experience I highly recommend the book Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. You can also find a live class to…
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Review of GroVia All in One Newborn Cloth Diapers
We’ve been using the Newborn All-In-One Grovia Cloth Diapers for 6 weeks now and we love them! My daughter was born at 8lbs 14oz but by the time we got home she had lost almost a whole pound (yeah, we had a slight weight issue), so she wore them as a 7lb 14oz baby and is about 9lbs and is still wearing them. According to the Grovia website, Newborn Cloth Diapers are great for newborns between 5 and 12 pounds. I chose the GroVia brand of cloth diapers because the company is committed to high-quality, healthy, and environmentally friendly products. They also have some organic cotton options that I am…
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How to Make a Chocolate Rock Cycle
The Rock Cycle is something we study in the Montessori curriculum pretty much every year, especially in the lower elementary years because if you’re 6-9 year old is anything like mine (or any of my students) they are all pretty much obsessed with geology! This post contains affiliate links. This will not cost you anything but will help us offset the cost of running the blog. We only share products we use and would recommend to a friend. Thank you for your support! Click ‘HERE’ for more info. I have always had a hard time with the rock cycle (I know, kind of embarrassing for a teacher to admit), I just could…
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How to Make Cran-Raspberry Jam using Cranberry Juice
I searched and searched to find a Cran-Raspberry Jam using Cranberry Juice and I had a really hard time finding one so I created my own! This raspberry jam with a little tart cranberry juice flavor in there is so good and just what I was looking for. I used to drink cran-raspberry juice when I was a kid so this flavor brought back some memories. If you need a few more jelly or jam recipes check out these 12 Jam and Jelly Recipes for Beginners. This post contains affiliate links. Using them will not cost you anything but will help us offset the cost of running the blog. We…
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Black Raspberry Pie with the Best Crumble Top Recipe
It’s no secret that one of my favorite parts of summer is being able to pick fresh black raspberries and make Black Raspberry Pie. Last summer I discovered that not only could we enjoy fresh black raspberry recipes, but I could also waterbath can Black Raspberry Jam, Black Raspberry Currant Jam, and pie fillings to enjoy that flavor all year long. Somehow, it tastes better in the dead of winter when summer seems so far away. Are you craving more delicious treats? Visit the From Scratch Desserts section for more recipes. This post contains affiliate links. This will not cost you anything but will help us to offset the cost…
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Rosemary Who? Try this Amazing Prime Rib Roast Recipe
This year, my nephew was telling me he would be cooking a prime rib roast for my sister and her kids at their little family get-together. He told me they were on sale and I was intrigued. I have never had a prime roast. Ribeyes – yes. We are a huge steak-eating family. But I have never had it in a roast. We are not a traditional family in the sense that we have a huge Christmas dinner and all that jazz. I usually want to have my kids come over and enjoy them. I don’t want to feel exhausted from preparing a huge meal. So it is either pizza…
