November and December Challenge: Dec 1 - 7

OH MY HECK IT'S DECEMBER!!!!

I can not believe how fast this year has gone by! It has flown, and there are parts of it I wish we could spend more time in. We had a fabulous family reunion that was just amazing. We went camping, lots of fishing, learned how to cook fish very well. Learned how to heat smoke foods. New opportunities for adventure.. It has been fun, hard, exciting, and worth it.

What did you do with your turkey bones? As my hubby was carving the turkey, he put the bones into a crock-pot (WITHOUT being asked) then put in the baggie of veggies scraps from the freezer. Then he added a tablespoon of salt, covered the bones with water and set the crock pot on low. Again, I didn't ask him, I didn't let him know I was going to do this at any time. He just did it. I love my husband.

We ended up cooking this bone broth for 48 hours! It came out so yummy. So next we strained it and put it into jars to cool.
We are starting our December challenge with some different items. Now please remember, if you or your family do not eat something, do not buy it! Get something your family will eat. I use evaporated milk for making pumpkin pies, caramel and bread. We use peanut butter, tahini, and almond butter in our home. Chicken viennas my kids will eat out of the can after they are rinsed. I have also used a fork and mashed them on a plate (like a banana) then put them in our spaghetti sauce. For the ready to eat soups, grab the flavors you know your family will enjoy, my flavors are only suggestions.

#31: Evaporated Milk
#32: Nut Butter (peanut or almond or sesame whatever kind you can have)
#33: Can of Pineapple
#34: Can of Navy Beans
#35: Chicken Vienna Sausages
#36: Potato Soup (ready to eat)
#37: Can of sirloin burger with country vegetables soup

What is something you can think of to add to the list?

Do you know about TURMERIC?

This beautiful root is amazing!  It has so many benefits, and is so good for you.
What is it? It is a rhizome root, kind of like ginger.
It has a warm, bitter taste and is frequently used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses. But the root of turmeric is also used widely to make medicines. The active ingredient that is so good for you is curcumin. Since curcumin is a fat-soluble compound, the most effective way to get raw turmeric into your system is by combining it with fat and black peppercorns. This is also true for ground turmeric.

Isn't it pretty?!

Today I made "Golden Milk" for my soon to be DIL and for my dear little guy. She is super sick, but he has a kidney and bladder infection. Hopefully this will help both of them. It is creamy, and warming, and pretty yummy.

I will say this. Using fresh ginger and turmeric is always going to be better, but to be honest.. Fresh turmeric is $$$$ at my local store is it $18 for 8 ounces!  I just can not afford that. BUT I do buy fresh ginger.  The link is in the Golden Milk. Here is what I used:

I used the coconut milk can to measure the almond milk as well, so I didn't have to dirty another dish.

1 full fat canned coconut milk (so didn't need the coconut oil)
 Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk
2 inches of fresh ginger that was peeled and that I cut into small pieces and put through my garlic press OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger
fresh ground black pepper (about a pinch or 1/8 tsp or so)
2 tsp of ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
RAW honey to taste

In my 3-qt sauce pan, I put the coconut milk, almond milk (measured with coconut milk can), ginger, pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon. I heated this over med-low heat until it was very warm. DO NOT BOIL. I wanted this warm enough that the turmeric and cinnamon would be activated by the coconut oil in the milk, but not too hot. I kept it very warm for about 15 minutes. Then I pulled it off the heat, gave it another good stir and let it sit. When it was finally cool enough, I added 1 TBS of raw honey and stirred well. Then I tasted it, and put in a little more honey. I strained this as I put it into jars so as not to have that ginger sitting in there too long and getting bitter.

This is DELICIOUS, but I am saving this for my DIL and my lil one. So he will have it tonight before bed. So simple to make, so yummy.  It is in the fridge right now, and I pulled it out to take a picture, and it smells so yummy I had to taste it.. WOW.. gonna have to make more!

Have you thought about it?

Ok, so I was thinking today.. which is odd with this pregnancy brain thing... not the thinking part, but me remembering what I was thinking about. So I figured it must be something I need to ask, or start a discussion about.

How ready are you medically if..... power outage, tornado, tsunami (yes we get them here!!), earthquake, eruption (most likely Rainier or St. Helens), hell freezes over (oh wait, Hell, Michigan DID freeze this year!!, not sure about Hell, Belize), car accident, tree falls on a bedroom during the night, windstorm, civil war, severe heat...

What kinds of injuries??? drowning, puncture wounds, broken bones, dislocated joints, severe breathing difficulties, severe cold, severe heat, dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting, births, deaths...

Granted I am not sure what the future brings, or in what order things will happen. But I do know there is the possibility that we will be needed to help OR that we may need the help that is offered.

In our family we have had:

a near drowning
broken elbow
broken ankle
broken wrist
broken arms
broken legs (2 at once on same kid!!)
broken nose (severe, had to put it back in place!!)
stitches on the face (he fell in sunday school and face vs. metal chair.. not fun)
stitches on an arm (glass lamp fell and a piece cut her arm)
stitches on face (sibling tossed a toy over couch, hit sister in face, required 5 stitches!)
SEVERE asthmatic attacks (3 of us here)
births
deaths
appendicitis (2 kids in 6 weeks!!)
kidney stones
medication reactions
anaphylaxis
migraines
animal emergencies (animals hit by cars, no we did not take the chicken to vet!)
BURNS (fresh aloe and raw honey are a blessing!!)

Will you fight or flight? Will you freak or be calm? Will you be a help or a hinderance?

Are you able to help yourself and or those around you medically? Do you know how to clean and treat a burn? Do you know how to determine the difference between a sprain and a break? Do you know for sure how to set a break? Do you have what is needed to clean wounds? Set a fracture? Treat allergic reactions? Do you know how to do a compression bandage? Do you know what a concussion looks like? How about dehydration? A stroke? A heart attack? Labored breathing? Internal bleeding?

Do you have:

ace bandages (regular AND latex free)
tegaderm
cotton bandages
cotton gauze
medical tapes
bacitracin
triple antibiotic ointment
fresh aloe
raw honey
cotton wraps
splints for fingers, wrists, arms, legs, ankles
benedryl (liquid and pill form)
tylonal
ibuprofen (not to be used on people taking coumadin or warfarin)
aspirin (not to be used on people taking coumadin or warfarin)
isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
hydrogen peroxide
bentonite clay (aka Redmond Clay)
ipecac
GSE
tweezers
scissors
tournequet
thermometer (non-electric or non-battery powered, an oral and rectal)
EXTRA prescription medications and mode of taking them (inhaler, nebulizer, syringe)

In our emergency bug out bags we have an epi-pen, nebulizer with 3 new neb cups and masks, albuterol, tylonal, ibuprofen, benedryl liquid and pills, bacitracin, gauze, paper tape, tegaderm, coban (non-latex), gauze rolls, ace bandages (2 and 3-inch), bandaids (for those who can use them), alcohold swabs, tweezers, scissors, and a couple of other things. Yes we have bugged out during a flood. No we didn't have to use anything in our BOBs. YES, I replace medications whenever I get a refill of a medication so as to always have fresh meds in my kits.

Being prepared is not just your larder, it is so very much more! So here is something to think about, possibly open a discussion about. But it has been on my mind and I had to share it.

Stasha's story part 3

Another segment of the story of Stasha.. Here are links to Part 1(overview) and Part 2 (water).

Stasha's Story: medicine   

This is a story of what it was like living in war-torn Bosnia.... read and learn..  Love you all

Something the Lord Made

Ok, I don't usually watch movies or even do reviews of them, but this movie was amazing!  Mos Def and Alan Rickman did an amazing job portraying Drs. Blalock and Thomas in this historical dramatization. This movie was well, done, although I wish they would have showed the time lapse better. This is a tear jerker, but not so much that you can't watch the movie.
This movie is about how these two men discovered how to perform surgery on the human heart to help blue babies, and opened the doors to heart surgery. PLEASE SEE !!! 

"Something the Lord Made" with Alan Rickman (ya know, SNAPE, or Prince John from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) and Mos Def (and I know I've seen him in other movies but can't remember what.)  This was the best work either of these two have done that I have seen.

Got skills?

Ok, I don't know how my friend Kellene does it, but darn it she nailed another of my articles I was working on! I was thinking about this one last night (not having been on the pc for the day), I had been jotting down notes of what I was thinking about. Skills. ya know, soap making, foraging, building things like smoke houses, shelters, and even how to clean a wild meat. Anyway, she doesn't go into those kind of details, but she brought up some other things I was thinking about and boy she hit it right on! So please go read her awesome article.

Children's Medicine REcall

Please check it out, then check your cupboards!!
The makers of Tylonal and Motrin for children are issuing a recall!! Please check it out here and make sure you take care of this :)  Go to the link I provided and check to see if your kid's tylonal or motrin is on recall. IF it is, then you can request either a coupon for future bottle or a refund.  I have 4 bottles of recalled children's motrin.. bummer.  Well I will wait and get some new stuff when it is finally available.