On our way to a completely real traditional food diet, I’ve been swapping out processed foods with homemade versions. We first started with bread and I’m thrilled to share this recipe for homemade granola bars with you.
I got this recipe from my mother and made a few small tweaks to make it healthier. It’s quick to make and oh so yummy. 
Pioneering Today Healthy Chunky Granola Bars Continue reading
Are you wanting to make the switch to more real foods in your diet? Trying to kick the processed boxed foods in your house and families diet? Me, too!
I’ve been a lifelong canner, but we made the decision to start replacing all processed foods in our home with real food or from scratch versions. I haven’t bought bread from the store in almost a year and half since replacing it with my version of No Knead 5 Minutes a Day Artisan Bread.
Do you ever wonder about the flour you purchase from the store? While I’ve been baking our own bread for almost a year and a half now, I’ve been using store bought flour. I know our bread is now preservative free, but what about the flour, the main ingredient.
My desire is to be as self-sustainable as possible. I also believe it’s the healthiest way to live. I started researching the benefits of grinding our own whole wheat flour. When you grind a whole wheat berry (it looks like a piece of grain, not a berry), you are grinding the bran and germ into your flour. Because the germ has oil in it, the flour can turn rancid, so it’s removed in commercial flour. But most of your fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are in the bran and germ.
In my quest to eliminate processed foods, I’m learning how to make even more of my own food from scratch. Like many of you, I’m busy and some recipes take a lot of prepping or time. I canned up a bunch of our heirloom October beans this fall. I’ve used them in soups, chili, and casseroles, but decided to try them with tacos.
While I love our Tarheel Green Beans, the versatility of October beans make them a close second as my favorite. Like our Tarheel beans, this seed came from North Carolina. If you’re just venturing into heirloom seeds, beans are the perfect intro as you don’t have to worry about cross-pollination or fermenting when saving the seeds.
Welcome to the Nourishing Pin It Party!
I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing I like better than sharing my favorite things with my friends at a party. Especially, things that will nourish their body, home, mind, and soul.
And now I get to do that every Wednesday with you guys!! Some awesome gals and I decided to throw a Pinterest Pin it Party every week. Are you as excited about that as I am? Some of my best recipes, gardening tips, and home decorating have come from friends. I can’t wait to learn more from all of you. Continue reading
I saw this picture on Facebook last week and started drooling. Seriously, doesn’t it make your mouth water? I contacted the lovely baker and she graciously accepted my offer to share her recipe with all of us!
Challace Martin is a talented writer and photographer. I’m hoping she’ll impart some of her picture taking secrets with me, but I won’t push it, since she’s already sharing her quiche recipe. 
Check out more of Challace’s posts about being a new mommy, wife, and living for Jesus on her blog. Continue reading
One of my favorite things about reading and writing historical novels is discovering how the pioneers did things in the olden days. There are so many lost traditions waiting to be rediscovered in dusty books and cobwebbed memories. I’m honored that I get to help preserve these traditions and arts for future readers with my writing.
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Nothing says summer to me quite like a fresh ripe strawberry. They’re as good fresh as they are baked into desserts. And to ensure you have a lovely crop come summer, now is the time to get planting. One of the great things about strawberries is they lend themselves nicely to small spaces. Even if you only have a porch or patio, you can have a great strawberry patch.
How to plant strawberries @MelissaNorris 5 tips for berry success
While I’m an advocate for growing your own food and stocking your pantry with home canned goods, I realize not everyone can do this. (My free ebook, Heirloom Gardening Guide, can help you get started, sign up on right side bar) But, everyone can cook from scratch and eliminate as much processed food from their diet and home as possible.
I came up with this recipe last Saturday when I needed to bake something to bring to our coffee hour after church service. I was short on time, but this dessert is not short on taste. I took home an empty pan with many people wanting the recipe. So I thought I’d share it here.
French Apple Dump Cake Recipe
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I grew up on a small cattle ranch nestled in against the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. White face Herefords dotted the green pasture like daisies. The sound of my father’s old red Ford pickup truck rolling across the dirt track of the long abandoned railroad track called the herd better than any cattle dog. (excerpt from Pioneering Today-Faith and Home the Old Fashioned Way)
Every evening from October to May, I drove the truck while Dad tossed out about 35 bales of hay from the back. We’ve never bought beef from the store. After my husband and I were first married, we ran out of beef (never to be repeated) and had to purchase some meat from the store until butchering time rolled back around.
I had never cooked store bought meat. I had no idea how different it was, and not in a good way. The odor (it wasn’t rancid or bad, but it smells different) made my nose curl. I couldn’t believe the amount of liquid I had to drain even though I’d purchased lean. And the taste. It was the difference between real sweet cream butter and margarine.
We now have our own herd of natural grass fed beef. I use the term herd generously as we only have 6 cows. Like any homesteading venture, there are pros and cons. Continue reading