Life without… as many processed foods

Earlier this year I kind of did a few posts about what it’s like to live without some basic things I used to take for granted. Off theshelf soda, store bought rolls, a microwave…

Another thing we (hubby & I) have been living without is an over-abundance of processed foods & ready-made stuff. You know... things like Hamburger (or any of the others) Helper, frozen meals, frozen hash browns, snack cakes, etc.

Not all that many years ago, we used to buy Hamburger Helper on a regular basis. It was cheap & made a decent tasting meal for two. It was among the first things to go when we began reading labels. Wow, what a list that crap had! Several varieties even had the dreaded HFCS, although I have no idea why. All of them have MSG. And lots of other questionable ingredients.

homemade Sweet & Sour shrimp dish

It’s actually been kinda fun making our own homemade versions. And for the amounts you get, it really is cheaper this way. One of the best things was learning that I could make my own sweet & sour sauce! Yes! For real! And, it tastes way better than anything out of a store bottle or jar or packet.

Oh, another BIG thing we used to buy was frozen hash brown potatoes. Or frozen O’Brian potatoes. Another thing that changed when we looked at the label. All that stuff, just to make it last on the shelf.

So, one weekend morning, we took a couple real potatoes & shredded them. Put a little oil in the pan, added the potatoes, a little no salt seasoning & paprika, plop the lid on & cook. Amazing. All it took was once. We have never bought frozen potatoes again. 

Another fun thing we tried (& I need to try a few more recipes for) was from scratch cinnamon rolls. They didn’t come out prefect, but we knew (& could pronounce) what every ingredient in them was!

I just wanted you to see that its not incredibly hard to eat better… It’s fun & pretty easy.

Feeling new life by taking life ...

I’ve been busy the past couple days & I’m kinda at a loss for what to write about for today. I think this short bit about time in the yard will do nicely tho…

We (my hubby & I) did a bit more yard work Saturday afternoon. Even tho we were taking down trees, it felt rewarding. The area of the yard we’re working on has been neglected for years by previous tenants. We’re now trying to fix that by bringing some life back to the hillside. It has overgrown & gotten full of weedy tree saplings. There are several juniper bushes that I imagine used to look beautiful. Now, they are more than half dead from bad cutting, lack of light & water & neglect. It’s like that with everything back there. It feels choked when you stand before the hillside.
Yesterday, when we took down another couple of the trees, I felt life come back. I felt less of that choking feeling. I felt like even tho we took the lives of those trees, the hillside said thank you.
I watched a robin dance from tree branch to tree branch as we clipped away the weedy ones. Even the robin seemed happy with our efforts.

All I know, is that it felt good to be outside. I felt like a small part of me was reconnecting with the Earth.

Making growing containers

So anyways, I mentioned recently I would share how we made the cool container for gardening. I first saw this on the wonderful Instructableswebsite a couple years ago. Showed it to my hubby & we agreed it would be a fun idea to try. It was fairly simple, & up here in Washington, it worked great. I mention that because the first try was when we were in Florida for a summer. It didn’t work out so well down there. Didn’t really explore the reasons why very much since we knew we’d be back here.

this is how it will all fit together

Obviously, to make this easy, I’m sharing a lot of pictures. You can see that we built a matching set. We got 2 deep totes (w/lids, needed, but I left em outa the pictures), 2 shallow totes, 2 pond plant baskets, 4 small metal rods (not pictured, oops) & a length of PVC pipe to be cut to size. Then all you need is something to cut holes in the lids & bottoms. It’s pretty easy to see how it goes together looking at the pictures.

The small hole about half way down on the one end is the drain hole. It should be located just as where the bottom of the shallow tote sits when nestled together. This is located on the same end as the PVC fill pipe. The fill pipe has a slanted bottom so it fills without backing up. The height is up to you really, as long as it comes thru the lid. We opted for 5 holes in each lid. You can do less if you like depending on what you plan to plant.

PVC pipe hole & basket cutout

To write out all the directions would make this so long. If the pictures don’t explain enough, feel free to email me (HerbsnChocolate@Gmail.com) & I’ll happily explain any part!

drain/overflow hole

Once you have all the cuts made & everything assembled, you want to fill the basket with dirt. Then keep filling until you are just below the top. Be sure you have the fill pipe in place!!! Now the website I got this from had several people saying to use only a specific blend of soil. I kinda followed that the first time, in FL. We did not have wonderful results. Up here in WA I used just good store bought soil along with some soil amendment mix stuff. It worked great. I think the key is keeping it watered, and sunlight!

So if you try this, I’d love to know what your results are like … Ours were great this year & we plan to use both containers next year along with maybe one or two more! 

 Basket in place, PVC fill pipe in place.

Rods get pushed thru the basket holes so the baskets stay in place better. Lip of the basket is on the inside, rest of basket & rods, underneath. Only cut the square big enough for the basket to fit thru, not the lip of the basket.

Hole drilled in lid for PVC pipe. Holes drilled for plants to grow thru. I dont suggest more than 5 unless you are growing something that is really small/compact, or trails off onto the ground.

with the lid on, we made indents to match the holes. take lid off, plant plants. carefully put lid back on, pulling plants thru holes as needed.

this was the FL planting. a varied crop.

The planted version, in Florida 2010. You can see the WA 2011 version  in the last post.

Changing Beliefs

Working to revive my Spirit ...

While I debated what to write about first, I skimmed thru some of the Pagan Blog Prompts. My daughter maintains this blog, full of thought provoking thoughts & ideas to get you to write. I’m choosing to answer one from awhile back today.

"Do your beliefs change over the years as you change and develop?"

This one kind of speaks to me. Yes, my beliefs have changed, some, over the years. I began my journey down this wondrous path with Wiccan beliefs. It was what I first was exposed to. It was what I first learned. I knew almost from the beginning that I would always be Pagan, but not always Wiccan. I did not feel all the beliefs associated with this “branch” of Paganism were right for me.

As I began to read more & more, I found that unlike most other religions, Paganism pretty much says its alright to take only what you truly connect with & what resonates with you personally. It’s okay to leave the rest. There is even a name for this … eclectic. That, is very much me.

I also feel that I am still changing. Will I always keep the beliefs I have right now? I can’t completely answer that. Right now, my beliefs are planted within my heart. As I continue to read more, learn more & experience more, there is a possibility they will change. Or not. Only time will tell. One thing I do know … is I will always call my self Pagan. And spiritual. And … a child of the Goddess.

Talking about gardening ...

Today I want to talk about our garden. Well, what there was of it anyway. We began with the best of intentions, with the limited knowledge & money that we had. We figured planting in the ground, along our fence would be a great start & easy to keep up with since everything would be easily accessible. We waited until frost had passed & began to put organic & heirloom plants in the ground. Before the plants came lots of tilling by hand & a few added bags of help.Thru the whole season, we used only natural & organic things to help our efforts. No chemicals!<!-- more -->

We were excited. Took pictures of everything all newly planted & waited. And waited. Even with proper watering & fertilizing, things were beyond slow to grow. Come to find out later on, we were not the only ones having a lack of growth. The cooler spring weather made the Earth warm much slower. And even tho air temps were fine, ground temps were less than ideal for growth. Eventually, we did get growth for at least the tomato plants. All the peppers, carrots, radishes, lettuce & chives died. Go figure. 

So we learned that growing in either raised beds or containers would be the way to go. Not only could we ensure more sun for the plants in containers, but their root systems would get more warmth for sure! Along the edge of our patio area, we placed a couple of containers. In one we put 4 rescued, clearance priced tomato plants. In the other we put 5 clearance priced pepper plants. What’s the worst that could happen? We get green but no fruit? Well, far from it! Both containers have shown awesome growth & lots of fruit!

Our ground tomatoes did provide a decent harvest as well, just not nearly what could have been. We’re already so excited about next season, when we’ll have multiple containers along the patio edge.

The one thing that seemed to do fin in the ground was all the herbs we planted. And since they are all perennial, they will stay & hopefully come back next year even bigger. I’m looking at snipping a bunch here shortly to dry.

I think I’ll share how we made the Rubbermaid container for the peppers. All the images today are of the awesome progress of the container plants. Look for that one the 8^th!

Tea Bags - what to do with used ones ...

So I was making more iced tea today & left the 2 large tea bags in the sink, to dry. I've been saving the tea bags... because not too long ago I had seen something online about what they are good for, after being used. Well of course hubby asked & I had no answer! I told him I'd have to go look for that link & tell him later. Now, normally me looking for a link I've saved is a huge undertaking since I'm so bad about organizing my saved links (but thats another story). Today, I found it pretty easy! I was happy.

So here is the link... 25 ways re-use tea bags

All of the ideas they give are pretty cool. Some of my favorites are ...

• If you have a bruise, sunburn, bee sting, mosquito bite, or cold sore put a cool, damp tea bag on the affected area and use like a compress. The tea will bring comforting relief, reduce inflammation, and promote healing. 
• Warm or cold, tea bags help revitalize tired, achy, or puffy eyes. So lie back with brewed, refrigerated tea bags over your eyes and the tannins in the tealeaves will stimulate blood circulation and diminish the bags and dark circles under your eyes.  
• Rinse your hands with water and a brewed tea bag to remove food odors, especially onions and fish. 
• Warm up a brewed tea bag, take the leaves out of it, roll them in a scrap of fabric, and use as a compress for a painful toothache, canker sore, or fat lip.
• Cook an incredibly moist turkey by adding a brewed tea bag and a cup of water to the pan. The tannin in the tea is a natural meat tenderizer and adds a unique, delicious flavor. 
• You don't have to buy a box of baking soda just to get rid of the odors in your fridge. A brewed tea bag will do the same thing and can easily be replaced.  
• Deodorize stuffy rooms by pouring one quart twice-brewed tea and four tablespoons lemon juice or your favorite essential oil in a spray bottle. 
• If you're a smoker or have an ashtray out for guests, put a wet tea bag or the leaves from a wet tea bag into the ashtray. When you or your guests ash in the tray, the wet leaves will hold the ash and absorb some of the smell from the smoke.  
• The antibacterial contents of tea bags will help neutralize the odor in your litter box, as well. Just sprinkle the dried out contents of a brewed tea bag into the kitty litter. 
• Wipe cast-iron pots and pans with a brewed tea bag to remove and prevent rust.  
• Make your mirrors sparkle and shine by using cooled, twice-brewed tea as a cleaner. Just dip a soft cloth in the tea and use it to wipe away dirt and grime, and then buff dry. 
• Tear open a brewed tea bag and work the contents into the dirt of acid-loving plants like ferns and roses. The tannic acid and other nutrients will be released when you water the plants, spurring their growth. If these plants are ailing, watering them with cooled, twice-brewed tea will set them on the path to recovery!  
• And for healthier potted plants, place a few brewed tea bags over the drainage hole at the bottom of the planter before potting. The tea bags will retain water and leach nutrients to the soil. 
• Speed the decomposition process and enrich your compost pile by pouring a few cups of strong, twice-brewed tea into the heap. The liquid tea will hasten decomposition and draw acid-producing bacteria that will create acid-rich compost. Oh, and you can compost any of the used tea bags you can't find use for, as long as you remove the staples first.  

So there ya go! Not bad huh? There are a few ideas that I'd like more info on so I'll have to do a bit of research on them. I'd love to hear if anyone has other ideas for used tea bags.

Normally we drink herbal tea made into iced tea. And that is mostly loose leaf. But over the winter we just got a taste for plain old black tea. I don't make my iced tea with any sugar anymore. Occasionally I will brew it with about a teaspoon of Stevia leaf, but most of the time its straight & unsweetened. Amazing what you develop a taste for!

I see that the site mentioned above has a Facebook page too. I'm thinking between the site & FB page, I'll be doing a bit more reading!!

Life Without ... soda

Wow... soda... I am not ready to let go of this treat from my life completely, yet. Awhile back I did a post about Mountain Dew Throwback. I have not had any, probably since I wrote that. Well, maybe one or two since its been a year. But still, after one, I feel like crap inside. My body definitely lets me know nowadays when it doesn't like what I'm giving it.


I still drink soda. Almost everyday. Never more than approximately 12 ounces. But, I drink it.

My soda of choice these days is mostly Blue Sky. And of the ones they offer that we can find here, the Jamaican Ginger Ale is my favorite. Mostly that is because my body tolerates it just fine.
Room temperature... and sometimes even flat! Mostly the flat part is because it takes me awhile to drink it. 

I loved Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale, but my body didn't like as much as I did, so I switched. I also tried Hansens, but they only offered the ginger ale in diet. Yuck. I gave up diet sodas a long long time ago!

I remember when I used to drink 2 or 3 regular sodas a day & thought nothing of it. All that HFCS in my system & no clue. I now know soda is not really good for me at all. Not even this stuff. There is tons of info out there on the why's. Why not to drink it. How bad it is. How bad the containers even are. So why can't I let go?

I'll tell you why. I love the fizz. Yup, the carbonation. Sometimes I can go days without one. Even weeks. But then I get this ... need for the taste of the sweetness & the fizz. Just one can. Or one bottle.

As I continue to learn more about commercial sodas, I kind of want them less but I still want the fizz. Perhaps, just as people who love beer, & wine, learn to make their own, I too can learn to make my own ... soda?

Are you like me? Do you love soda even tho you know how bad it is? Have you given up soda? How do you cope? I'd love to hear from you....