The #1 thing we can all do for ourselves (and our families) is to focus on good nutrition. This is probably the most impactful thing we can do for our physical selves and can even give us that “mommy glow-up” we are craving.
2 Favorite Instant Pot Recipes for Grass-Fed Beef
Have you ever found yourself with a bunch of grass-fed beef in the freezer but not sure what to make for dinner? Same here! The following two recipes are some of my favorites when it comes to making grass-fed beef in an instant pot. Check out the links to these blogs...
Why paying more for grass-fed meats is worthwhile
Grass-fed meats, being a more concentrated source of nutrients and cleaner than conventional meat, is worth the price increase. Really, it is as simple as “you get what you pay for.” A cheaper cut of meat might give you fat and protein, but you’ll probably be getting...
Jim’s Quick Raw Kefir Eggnog
Supper is late and I need something to eat fast. I grew up having eggnog at Christmas time and New Year’s Eve, but the idea of a quickly made raw milk kefir raw eggnog is enticing! Ingredients (serves 3 people): 2 cups whole raw milk kefir 3 egg yolks from pastured...
Why A Large Supply Of Meat Is A Good Investment
In uncertain times, taking measures to assure your family has enough food and nutrients is a smart move. In addition, this makes less work for your farmer than smaller meat orders that don’t last you...
Do You Have A Dairy Allergy, Intolerance, or Sensitivity?
One of the most common foods to react to is dairy. But not all reactions are the same. Having symptoms after eating dairy of any kind can be frustrating, and even make you feel like life won't be the same ever again! But thankfully, understanding the differences...
How To Brine The Perfect Ham Without Nasty Chemicals
Imagine sitting down to a holiday dinner where you serve an amazing fresh ham that you brined yourself using just a few simple ingredients. No MSG, processed sugar, or questionable nitrates! Think of the opportunity you have to share the story of this pork coming from...
7 Day Meal Plan Using Real Farm Foods
Some families thrive with meal planning and others do not. Our family is in between the two extremes on the meal planning spectrum...we do very well with planning dinners, but no other meals. This is because I purposely make large batches of food at every dinner so...
Why Your Kids Should Eat Grass-fed Beef Liver
Though liver is known by some as “nature’s weekly multivitamin,” it is often neglected from the family table because of its strong taste and unique texture. To be honest, I do not like beef liver. I have tried eating it many different ways and nothing seems to make it...
How Much Milk Should I Drink Each Day?
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, pregnant and nursing women should consume at least 1 quart of milk each day. As it’s recommended that adults consume around 1,000 mg of calcium a day (though that amount varies depending on who you ask), and one cup of milk...
🌞 Raw Milk Ice Cream Recipe 🍦🍦⠀
A simple and healthy way to satisfy to treat your family on these hot summer days! We love making ice cream this way because it is so full of nutrients, uses only a few ingredients, and can be less sweet to make it more friendly to your blood sugar. ⠀⠀⠀⠀ Use a 1-quart...
Baby Edward’s Birth Story
At 1:30 in the morning of June 28th, I woke up and realized I was feeling a cramp in my back. It took me a bit of time for my sleepy mind to decipher what I was feeling. I knew this was the start of labor. I went back to sleep only to wake up to a full-blown...
Cure Tooth Decay With Raw Milk
A review of Cure Tooth Decay: Heal & Prevent Cavities With Nutrition by Ramiel Nagel According to Ramiel Nagel’s book Cure Tooth Decay: Heal & Prevent Cavities With Nutrition, raw milk “will substantially contribute to your health and well-being, and to your...
Chocolate Cherry/Cranberry Sourdough Bread
During my time of recovering from my plant-based diet and discovering the Weston A. Price Foundation, I came across Donna Schwenk’s website, Cultured Food Life. I have watched her videos over the past 5 years and have learned so much about fermenting food: milk kefir,...
Benefits and Uses of Grass-fed Butter
Butter...one of the most luxurious fats to eat! Especially if it is grass-fed, which provides you with a beautiful yellow hue, along with plentiful omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, D, E, K, and of course, a creamy, satisfying flavor and texture. In my opinion, butter...
Can I Drink Raw Milk During Pregnancy?
Considering raw milk while pregnant? Read this insight from a mother in the trenches and see for yourself.
Why Bone-In Makes the Most Flavorful Chicken Meat
I recently met a new friend who needed help butchering her chickens. It was her first time raising her own meat birds, and it was my first time butchering animals for food…needless to say, it was a great learning experience for both of us. As a result, my family took...
Supplementing That Supports A Real Food Diet
I am just preaching to the choir when I say that 2020 has been an exceptionally challenging year, but it isn’t true that 2020 has been only bad. For me, in many ways, 2020 has been highly valuable. Two health-related examples of this include finding a talented...
Should You Drink Whole Milk or Skim Milk?
Though things were sometimes confusing for me as a child, I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in two households instead of one. I learned to form my own opinions early as each of my parents have different political views and lifestyles, so I got to see...
How I Remedy Insomnia
For about 5-6 years, insomnia has been a big part of my life. Sleep troubles started in college and continued into my marriage, slowly getting worse and worse over time. I’ve tried just about every supplement under the sun to induce deep, lasting, nourishing sleep,...
8 Things To Teach Your Kids About Food
Many children are now in school, whether that be at home or with their peers and teachers in a school building. But, we all know that children are always learning...from their teachers, parents, peers, and whatever they focus their attention on. One of the best (and...
5 Quick Spring Food Ideas For Busy Families
Hello, friends! This time of year can get very busy--especially with the recent chaos that has affected almost every single person, family, and business. But as our lives (and our mindsets!) return to a normal, less anxious, more rational state, we are free to think...
Building Immunity During Trying Times
A special guest is joining me for today’s post. I am excited to introduce my sweet husband, Dr. Daniel Stanislowski, who’s PhD specialty is biochemistry and molecular biology. The first section will be from me, and the second, from him: In these recent weeks, it has...
3 Tips for Shopping Local Farms
Yesterday, we had two farmers come to our door to deliver food. I said to my husband, “this must be a sign we are doing things right!” Whether that is true or not, I know that supporting local businesses is a win-win for everyone. As we support local businesses, we...
9 Ways To Stay Healthy This Winter
*This post does not contain any affiliate links.* Among the many festivities of Christmas and the New Year, there are many things that confirm winter is here in North Dakota; the freezing cold weather, the snow on the ground, ice on the roads, and countless...
3 Top Reasons To Avoid Soy Products (And Animals Fed Soy)
Soy is everywhere. It appears in almost any processed food product, in baby formula, as a main dish and a condiment, and even in animal products from animals fed soy (second-hand soy? No thanks!). Some even consider soy a superfood--but is it really that good for you?...
One Simple Change That Makes A Big Impact On Your Diet
When we began working on mom’s autoimmune condition we started by clearing out our cupboards of trigger foods like gluten, sugar, and corn, soy (and of course, processed dairy), which are known for causing inflammation and a gut that isn’t able to heal. To replace...
Batch Cooking: An Easy Way to Save Time And Eat Healthier
Last October, my fiancee Nicole and I completed the Whole30 challenge to see what foods we were sensitive to and reprogram our cravings. During the 30 days, the biggest challenge for me was creating recipes that were compliant with the rules of the diet, without...
Birth of Baby #3…surprise gender!
*This post does not contain any affiliate links.* “How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.” Only hours after delivering our first baby, Jane, I remember talking with my husband about how exciting it would be to have another....
The Recipe for Beautiful Skin
In high school, I was that sweaty, greasy, insecure girl who wouldn’t let people too close to her face out of fear they’d be grossed out. I didn’t even like it when my mom or dad kissed me on my face. I tried all different types of makeup, cleansers, acne treatments...
What’s the perfect diet?
*This post contains no affiliate links.* This is a question I contemplate often. Paleo? The Weston A. Price diet? The GAPS diet? Low-carb? Zero-carb? Well, at least I know one thing: the perfect diet is NOT veganism/plant-based diets, no matter if it’s a ketogenic,...
Are You Taking Care of Yourself?
*This post does NOT contain any affiliate links.* It’s well-known that you can’t pour from an empty cup. These days, we are all so busy---working, studying, caring for our families, and the last thing on our to-do list is: take care of ourselves. In a high-demand...
Why I Chose To Raise My Family Naturally
I must admit: raising my family naturally has been very fun. I love reading about health, preparing traditional foods, and experimenting with new health-related projects. One of my favorite things to do and learn about is fermenting food, especially kombucha, milk...
Tummy Troubles or Tongue Ties? How I Helped My Baby Sleep
*There are no affiliate links in this post. I mention certain items and sources because these are what worked best for our family.* Last night, my sweet baby girl woke up upset. Like so many times before, we picked her up, held her, and tried to identify why she was...
Reduce Toxins: Become An Ingredient Minimalist!
*This post does not contain any affiliate links. I am simply recommending what works for us.* At the recommendation of a friend of mine, I started exploring the YouTube channel called Darci Isabella. This YouTuber has inspired me to fall headfirst into spring cleaning...
Things You Can Try to Relieve Morning Sickness
*this post does not contain any affiliate links* I met the love of my life at the University of North Dakota in January 2014. It was during the first week of my internship at the medical school that I first shook the hand of the man I’d later marry. It only took a...
What is Nutrient Density?
Nutrient density is a phrase used to categorize the quality of food. A food that is not nutrient dense is something you’d typically find in the center aisles of a grocery store, such as a bag of Cheetos, Sour Patch Kids, or boxed cake mix. This “food” may taste good,...
Brain fog, be gone!
*This post does not contain affiliate links.* Brain fog. Fatigue. Forgetfulness. Feeling unmotivated. How many people, especially mothers, experience these symptoms? I know I have, particularly since becoming a mom. “Prego-brain” that extended far past pregnancy...
One Fantastic Technique To Resist Holiday Weight Gain
The Holidays! Such a loving, busy, and delicious time of year--crisp weather accompanied by cinnamon-spiced apple cider and juicy dry-rubbed roast turkey to follow. Of course, finishing a holiday meal with a slice of homemade pie and a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream...
9 Things You Can Do To Stay Healthy this Winter
*Please discuss any of these remedies with your doctor before trying them. This post contains no affiliate links.* Winter has finally arrived here in Grand Forks. The snow is sticking, there’s ice on the roads, and North Dakota’s signature icy wind gusts are making...
Baby Thomas Has Arrived!
*I must first make it known that I have a low pain tolerance. Please remember this as you read my story!* After two bouts of prodromal labor in the weeks leading up to my “due date,” I was ready for our baby boy to make his debut. Well, that “due date” came and went,...
5 More Money-Saving Tips For Living The Real Food Life
This post contains no affiliate links. All programs/products/businesses shown are what works best for me and my family. September 16, 2017 My second baby’s due date is tomorrow and he hasn’t yet made his arrival (phew!). So, like many growing families, we have been...
Preparing for Baby #2: My Labor and Delivery Approach
This post contains no affiliate links. All programs/products/businesses shown are what works best for me and my family. Surprise! I suddenly felt nauseous, and...oops, up came my dinner. That was the first hint that my baby boy, due on September 17, was growing in my...
Bone Broth Series Part II: Tips On Making It and Ways To Use It
Busy, Busy, Busy! This is the life of a mom: packed with both profound joy and plenty of things to do. Trying new things is always fun--if you’ve got the time and energy for them, of course 🙂 . Even as I write this blog, my goofy 1 yr old is crawling all over my lap...
How I Overcame Struggles With Weight Gain
Like so many women, I’ve struggled with body image for a large part of my life. In high school, I participated in women’s lacrosse, track, and two soccer seasons a year! I was in exceptional shape, yet I still looked in the mirror and felt disappointed. I went to...
6 Money-Saving Tips for Health-Inspired Consumers
Sometimes, our busy lives make it difficult to reflect on our food and lifestyle choices. Most of us have loads of responsibilities both at work and at home--how can we possibly make every choice as healthy as possible? Frankly, we can’t. We can only do what is in the...
Bone Broth Series: 4 Ways Gelatin Will Benefit Your Health
Lemon roasted whole chicken, spicy BBQ beef ribs, bone-in honey-glazed pork chops...so tasty! If you’re a carnivore, you may have experienced the mouthwatering excellence of well-prepared, high-quality meats. In my family, those dishes don’t last long; even my 9 month...
CLA: The Carnivore’s Secret Weapon
Cancer and autoimmune disease: two of the most hideous diseases embedded in my family’s history. After struggling with the idea that more of my family members could develop these diseases, I decided to do further research. It couldn’t hurt. I came across loads of...
A Surprisingly Simple Energy Drink, And Why I’m Taking It
Have you ever felt aches and pains after shoveling the sidewalk? How about burning in your joints after a long walk or jog? Those feelings are a sign that you're stretching yourself and growing muscles that take you to the next level. But if you aren't careful, your...
The Unfortunate Way I Discovered Vitamin K
Breastfeeding! What a wonderful closeness it provides for a mother and baby. However, it can be very nutritionally demanding and is not always problem-free. A couple months into nursing, I noticed that my dental health was declining, despite my dedicated brushing,...