Ladies, it’s finally time to share your favorite Christmas cookie with us!  I am looking forward to adding some new Christmas cookie recipes to my repetoire–because I don’t have many.My desire with this particular exchange is to share recipes that have been “healthified.”  Now, we’re talking cookies, so you can only get “so” healthy.  “Healthy” sugars are still sugars.  And we (my husband and I) are of the opinion that there is freedom to be had, particularly at holiday times.  So we don’t avoid all other cookies that I haven’t made.

My recipe is one that I grew up with, only modified to using freshly milled flour and healthier sugars.  I haven’t gotten as far as trying to soak the recipe (not enough hours in the day!).  It’s a favorite!  I have found that with the freshly milled soft white wheat, I don’t need to use the amount of sugar called for, but can cut it down a bit.  Of course, my husband doesn’t believe that anything can be “too sweet,” so I don’t always.

Snickerdoodles

1c soft butter

1 ½ c organic cane juice crystals ( I think less could be used!)

2 eggs

2 ¾ c freshly milled soft white wheat flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

3T organic cane juice crystals

3tsp cinnamon

Mix butter, sugar, eggs.  Add flour, cream of tarter, soda, and pinch of salt.  Chill dough, roll into balls the size of a walnut.  Dip in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on ungreased cookie sheet, two inches apart.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

We love these and have continued to tradition of making them in our home!  Pair them with some red rooibos spice chai tea for an extra treat!

If you’re interested in knowing for converting your own recipe–I changed shortening out for butter, white sugar for the organic cane juice crystals, and white flour for freshly milled soft white wheat flour.  It was an easy switch and we love them!

I can’t wait to see what cookies are part of your Christmas!

While you’re out and about, head on over to Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop!

It is time to hunker down with something hot to drink here in east Tennessee.  It’s a balmy 29 degrees at 3:45pm.  I. Am. Cold.  I hate being cold–even if I am from the north.  In honor of cold weather setting in everywhere (except maybe Florida), I wanted to share my favorite tea with you.I love chai, but don’t like the caffeine.  So, when I found a red rooibos spice chai tea from the Bulk Herb Store, I fell in love.  But here’s the thing: I like kickin’ chai.  I mean spicy, full-flavored chai.  I needed to spice it up a little, so I decided to make my own.  I had nearly all the ingredients on hand and what I didn’t have I ran to our local health food store to buy.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it as spicy or as mild as you’d like.  Add more of a certain spice that you prefer, etc.  This is a very flexible recipe.  And my advice:  warm some milk, add honey and make it a chai latte.  Oh. Yeah.  Now we’re talking.  Oh, and make it in a large mug.  I mean, if you like a lot of chai.  We do!

Red Rooibos Spice Chai Tea

1/2 lb Red Rooibos tea

10 cinnamon sticks (made into chips using a coffee grinder)

1/4-1/2 c cardamom pods

18 bay leaves (varying sizes, chopped in coffee grinder)

1/4-1/2 c black peppercorns

1/4 -1/2c whole cloves

1/2 c dried orange peel

Mix everything together (using the amounts you desire–I guessed on mine!).  Use 1-2 T per mug (depending on how much spice you want to add to life).  Mix with warmed milk and honey–yum!!

This post is part of Whole Foods for the Holidays: a real foods progressive dinner

Out of deep, genuine concern over a general lack of knowledge regarding how the birth control pill works, the dangers, and it’s potential risks, and because of an article I just recently read, I wanted to post a helpful link to aide in learning about it the dangers of the pill. If you are taking the pill or considering it,would you please consider reading the link below?

Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? by Randy Alcorn  – This is an excerpt, but on the site you can download the entire book for free.  There is more to read on the subject, but I think you’ll find this book is an extremely helpful guide!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  I’d be more than happy to talk with you about it!

Last year I had the opportunity to host my first ever Christmas Cookie Exchange.  It was so much fun to get together with a bunch of fellow Army wives while taste testing cookies and other appetizers and playing games. I miss those girls and the monthly lunches we shared – and I’ve still yet to find community similar to what I experienced among the women there. 

So this year, since there’s been many a transition, a very busy December ahead of us (two weddings, among Christmas parties here and there), I thought it would be so much fun to team up with other women in the blogging community to host an online Christmas cookie exchange.

But not just any Christmas cookie exchange.  Many of you are eagerly seeking to transition to a healthier lifestyle, so I thought it might serve you to show you that you can make your desserts healthy–and enjoy eating them, too! I am so excited to be joined by other real food bloggers–many women who I’ve learned from over the past few years.  What a treat!

But, as with anything else, there’s room for freedom–and holidays can be a time when we splurge a little.  So if we’re eating refined white sugar, bleached flour–as much as we seek to avoid it 99% of the time–a piece of pie or a cookie or two won’t hurt us.  So, there’s freedom ladies!

But wait–I want you to participate, too!  There are two ways you can join in the fun.  First, if you want to “healthify” your favorite recipe, you can send it to me at Kelly (at) domesticbydesign (dot) com, and I will modify it for you and post it on the day of the exchange.

OR

On December 8th, the day of the exchange, simply post your favorite Christmas cookie recipe–healthy or not–on the day of the exchange.  And it doesn’t have to be “healthy.”  It just has to be good.

And, if you’re a blogger and would like to join, simply save the above image to your desktop and display it on your blog to let your readers know.  On the day of the exchange, post your recipe on your blog, direct your readers to the exchange here at my blog, and come on over here to link it up with other blogger’s recipes.

I hope you’ll join us in the fun–Christmas time is such a special time of year and I personally hope to add to my repetoire of favorite Christmas cookies!

I can’t wait!

Given the pumpkin kick we’re on, when I saw this recipe for pumpkin baked oatmeal, I knew I had to try it.  So, in Kelly-fashion, I took it and turned it into a soaked recipe, for improved nutrition.  It did not disappoint.

image from http://greensanctuary56.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-nutritious-is-pumpkin.html

Soaked Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

The night before, mix into a large bowl and cover with a towel on the counter:

6 c rolled oats

2 c cultured milk

1/2 c melted butter

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking dish.  Then, add the following ingredients and mixing well.  I always add all ingredients except my leavening at first.  I mix well and then add baking powder so that I don’t over mix.

4 eggs

4 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c Sucanat

1 1/2 c pumpkin

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg (this is all I had, but I’m sure more would be wonderful)

4 tsp baking powder

Mix well and pour into baking dish.  Bake for 45 minutes.

This is wonderful served with a little milk poured over the top.  It was a huge hit with the kids (my husband was actually served breakfast at work this morning, so he hasn’t had any yet).

Find more tasty real food recipes at Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

I announced the winner for Frugal Granola’s Herbal Nurturing ebook giveaway earlier today!

I mentioned last week that I would share with you what herbs I use, how & why I use them, and where I purchase them.  I decided to break it up into two posts, because that’s a lot of info!  So for today, in addition to an awesome giveaway, I’ll share with you where I buy my herbs from and why.I have purchased my herbs from Bulk Herb Store for the past three years or so.  I was so excited when I learned about them because they are a family-run business, lovers of Jesus Christ (both of whom I LOVE supporting!), and they’ve done their research–and I’ve shared why that’s important to me.

Side note: I realized as I was reviewing this post that Passionate Homemaking is also hosting a similar giveaway.  I apologize for the redundancy for those who read her blog!  Because I scheduled it over a month ago, I decided to go ahead with it.  Head on over to read her review, too!

Located in middle Tennessee, Bulk Herb Store is owned by James & Shoshanna Easling.  Shoshanna shares on the website that she grew up learning about herbs, and even took over the family herb business when she was 18!  I especially appreciate their humble vision for the business–

At the Bulk Herb Store we provide you our homemade concoctions, our experiences, and the tested wisdom of others. You can learn from our mistakes and benefit from our successes. We want to do more than sell quality herbs. We want to teach you what we know and inspire you to learn and research beyond that.

I have been so pleased from the beginning with them for several reasons.  Since I’m a list maker (and because at least one of you is too), here’s why:

1.  High quality herbs

2.  Great price for the amount of product

3.  Super fast shipping

4.  No hassles

5.  Excellent customer service

6.  Their site and catalog is pretty.  It’s so fun to get lost looking around.

7.  There is so much information on their site.  A delight to this learner!

What more could you ask for?

This is my favorite place to purchase my favorite teas–Red Rooibos, Red Rooibos Spice Chai, and Mama’s  Red Raspberry Brew…well, just to name a few.  Blane gets on my about “favorites,” because it seems that everything is my “favorite.”  Really, they have delightful teas that I’ve even given as gifts.

I was ecstatic when offered to opportunity to write a review of and offer a giveaway for their DVD, “Making Herbs Simple, Vol. 1.” I’d actually received it for Christmas two years ago, so I was thrilled to share about it with you and for you to have the opportunity to win a copy!

Making Herbs Simple, Vol. 1

First of all, I’m (still) amazed at Shoshanna’s knowledge of all things herbal!  Even though I’ve been “into” herbs for awhile, I really lack in the ability to recognize many in nature (mainly because I haven’t taken the time to work on it).  One of my favorite aspects of the DVD is the amount of time she spends in nature helping us recognize common “weeds” that are actually herbs with wonderful uses!

Drying herbs & storage, making a poultice, tinctures, and more are covered in this comprehensive video.  Shoshanna is an excellent communicator and she shows how easy it is for anyone to work with herbs. The DVD is as entertaining as it is informational!  It was so fun seeing Shoshanna and her mom working and teaching together–lots of laughter!

If you are new to herbs and want to dig deeper or just want to learn more about them, you’ll really enjoy this DVD.  Stay tuned for a review of Making Herbs Simple, Vol. 2.  Can’t wait to share it with you!

Bulk Herb Store has very generously offered a DVD for five readers! To enter:

1.  Head over the Bulk Herb Store to explore and then head back over here to tell me what herb(s) you’d like to try and why.

2.  Share about the giveaway in an email, on Facebook or Twitter.  Come back and let me know you did that, too!

Giveaway will be open until Thursday, November 19 at midnight. I’ll announce the winner on Friday morning.

I am not receiving any compensation from Bulk Herb Store.  I genuinely appreciate and have benefited from their company.  I will be a part of their upcoming affiliate program, however, and would love for you to purchase from my links, from which I will receive a small compensation.  Stay tuned!

Congratulations to Christina, the winner of Herbal Nurturing!

For those of you that didn’t win, Michele is offering a generous 25% discount for the book to my readers until this Friday, November 19th at 11:59pm.  Simply enter the coupon code DOMESTIc25 when you checkout.

I’ve been terribly inconsistent with posting good posts/articles from around the web each week–forgive me!  I hope you’ll glean something from these this weekend.

The Amazing Grace of God – Watch until the end.  I promise you’ll at least be a little teary.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal – Being on the current pumpkin kick that I am, this will be tested in my kitchen soon, and I’ll revamp it to be a soaked recipe.

Al Mohler’s Thoughts on Yoga Part One and Two – I’ve begun doing p90x the way it’s recommended (instead of picking and choosing what I like ), but before doing any yoga (which I’ve never done before), Blane wanted me to read what Dr. Mohler had to say.  My conclusion: I’m not comfortable with anything that has the appearance or the association with evil (anything that is NOT of the Lord), so I’ll do pilates instead.

Five S.M.A.R.T. Choices to Protect Your Marriage on Facebook – I got off of FB months ago (my personal account) for several reasons, which is another post for another day.  But those of you on it, this is worth reading!

I love fall time for many reasons, and high on my list is the fact that I can pull out pumpkin recipes.  I just brought home two home grown pie pumpkins last weekend (they were free!) and am excited to use them in pumpkin pie over the next few weeks.  For today, I have two recipes that I’ve recently “invented,”  that we’ve enjoyed.Remember how I shared that I’ve been botching more recipes lately than nailing ‘em?  Well, I had a victory fail.  New phrase, which means, I failed original recipe that turned out to be a fabulous new recipe.

All hope was not lost when I mistakenly quadrupled all of the remaining ingredients to a soaked recipe that I’d only doubled.  I don’t know where my brain was.  Probably lost in the first 8 dozen muffins and 4 loaves of bread that I baked last Wednesday.  I was on day two, wondering if I’d lost my marbles (not for screwing up the recipe, but for attempting to repeat the workload for a second day).

I was kicking myself until I realized that the wonderful pumpkin muffins I’d intended to make might actually make really incredible pumpkin cupcakes. And. They. Did.  So, just in time for Thanksgiving, I thought I’d inspire a non-traditional Thanksgiving dessert.   I’m going to contribute a dozen (since I have a few in the freezer) to our feast when we head to Maryland.  It’s the least I can do and will travel well.

The only “problem” is that the following recipe is for 3 dozen. I’m telling you exactly what I did, which was a mess-up.  You’ll have to do the math if you want to make less. The other thing, ahem, is that they will probably overflow and cover the whole tin.  I asked my husband if it was still worth sharing the recipe and he said, “Yes!”  So, I’ll work on fixing that, but in the meantime, regardless of how they look, they taste amazing. Just put foil under your tins…you know, just in case. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes and Cream Cheese Icing (3 dozen)

3 1/3 c freshly milled flour

2 c pumpkin

1 1/2 c water + 4 T plain yogurt

1 c butter, melted

3 c plain yogurt (or other acidic medium)

8 eggs

4 c Sucanat

1 tsp baking powder

6 tsp baking soda

3 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cloves

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1.  Soak first five ingredients overnight.

2.  Preheat oven to 325.  Grease muffin tins and set aside.

3.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour into muffin tins.   Bake for 45+ minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  These will be wonderfully moist!!

Cream Cheese Icing

2 packages cream cheese

1 c Sucanat, wizzed in a coffee grinder

1.  Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.  Yum!

Pumpkin Yogurt

I bought 2 cases of yogurt at our last food coop drop because they were significantly cheaper than buying at the local health food store.  I try to get veggies in my kids at nearly every opportunity afforded me, so after seeing a recipe for pumpkin yogurt last week, I gave it a try.  My recipe is very flexible, as you’ll notice.  My kids LOVE it.  Yay!

plain yogurt

canned pumpkin (or fresh)

maple syrup or Sucanat

pumpkin pie spice *

1.  Combine all ingredients to taste. 

*I keep a mixture of my own pumpkin pie spice which contains equal amounts of: cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg.

See how easy that is!  My kids love yogurt and now, they love pumpkin and yogurt mixed together.  Blane’s staying away from this one.  He’s not a pumpkin fan, but for some reason, (maybe the 4c of Sucanat and cream cheese icing) he loved those pumpkin cupcakes!

How do you use pumpkin in the fall?  Share a recipe with us!

Find more real food recipes over at Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Learn other helpful ideas from moms over at the Raising Homemakers Link-up.

The winner for The Graham Family Ministries 12 Week Holiday Planner is Shirley.  Expect an email from me today!  Congratulations!

Here in east Tennessee, the weather has begun to turn and we have been fighting colds over the last three weeks.  I lamented that I’d not begun preparing for winter illness sooner, because I was not prepared for the runny noses, coughing, and congestion.  How do you deal with winter sickness?  Do you seek to prevent it?  Do you treat it with over the counter medicine, or have you ventured into herbal treatments? Today, I want to share with you why I’ve chosen to use herbs for my family and where I’ve found helpful information.  It’s definitely been important to me to spend time researching before just diving in.  Next Monday, I’ll get a little more specific on what I use, why I use it, how I use it, and where I purchase my herbs.

Why Herbs?

For better or worse, I’m a purist in several aspects.  Neither my husband or I are favorable toward medicine (though sometimes it is necessary and we’re thankful for it), for a few reasons.  Often times, pharmeceutical medicines treat only symptoms without getting to the root of a problem.  For true healing to take place the source and cause must be located and then appropriately treated.

In addition, pharmaceuticals are often made from plants in nature (a good thing!) that have been tampered with and turned into chemicals (a bad thing!) and mixed with a  cocktail of artificial colors, flavors, and various other chemicals or pharmaceuticals.

Out of a desire to live a consistent lifestyle, it would be contradictory to go to such lengths to consume whole and natural foods, yet turn to pharmaceuticals that are very far from whole and natural.  We want to be good stewards of our bodies, but most often than not, pharmaceuticals do more damage than good.  So, enter herbs!

For the past several years, I’ve been learning about herbs and their many nutritional and medicinal benefits. As I began researching–which is still in progress–I learned that they are so beneficial and helpful in preventing sickness as well.  Being the healthy skeptics that we are, I strive not to just believe whatever I read because someone makes a claim, but to do good research.  It’s taken time, to be sure!

So, slowly, we’ve been incorporating more herbs and herbal remedies into our lifestyle.  Neither of our children have ever had antibiotics, and I’ve not taken antibiotics except for a potentially dangerous infection last year, in a little over three years (and I regret both times!).  However, I attribute my children’s health to the Lord’s protection of them, and not due to what I’ve done.  They’ve had minor sickness, but nothing that is unusual and can’t be treated at home.  We’ve been so blessed!

Helpful Resources

I have found several resources I consider to be trustworthy.  I’m not a doctor, just a mom that believes it’s part of my role as a mother to be responsible for my children’s health and nutrition.  Please make sure to do your own research and not to take my word for it.

Many of the resources I’ve come to appreciate are moms who have done lots of research themselves.  And, there have been several older women who have taught me things, but haven’t written books!  There are many other books I’ve not yet read but would like to, because I’m still in process!

Shonda Parker. I appreciate Mrs. Parker for several reasons.  First of all, the amount of research she’s done on herbs has been amazing and commendable.  She has even created a course for moms to go through with the end goal of becoming an herbalist.  Secondly, she is holistic, in the sense that she recommends an overall healthy lifestyle that consists of consuming whole, real foods, exercise, and the use of herbs.

Mommy Diagnostics: The Naturally Healthy Family’s Guide to Herbs and Whole Foods for Health

This book is a great tool for learning to recognize common childhood diseases and illnesses.  She also walks you through a practical month-by-month plan of how to stock your herbal medicine cabinet, in a cost-effective manner.

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Naturally Healthy Woman

Mrs. Parker discusses different areas of concern in women’s health and discusses the use of various herbs to support proper fertility, hormonal health, and other common issues.

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Naturally Healthy Pregnancy

I appreciate this book because Mrs. Parker makes it clear from the beginning that preparing for a baby doesn’t begin after conception, but long before.  With lots of helpful information about how to prepare our bodies for conception, she also includes information for during and after pregnancy.  She also has page after page of herbs, their uses, and if they are safe during pregnancy & nursing.

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Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (Storey Medicinal Herb Guide)

I like this book because we like to avoid pharmaceutical antibiotics as much as possible.  It’s fascinating to learn the number of natural antibiotics in nature!

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Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Remedies for Children’s Health

Recipes for remedies for colic, teething, cradle cap, fevers, and more.  The author is not a believer, so read with a grain of salt.

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Lastly, I’m excited to share with you my new favorite go-to for herbal remedies:
This ebook, written by Michele of Frugal Granola, is a wonderful tool!  I have been so impressed with the wonderful information, remedies, and ideas for teaching children that she has included.

Michele has spent 10 years learning, researching, and implementing herbal remedies.  She compiled her  go-to recipes into one book with specific instructions.  At the end of each recipe, she includes a section dedicated to how you can include your children in the preparation of the remedy.

Each recipe costs under $5 to prepare, which is music to any frugal mama’s hears!  This last week, I prepared the Immune Booster Syrup, and Tara asks for it daily!

Michele has offered one reader a copy of her ebook! If you are interested in winning a copy, leave a comment below sharing why you’d like to win.  Giveaway will end Saturday, November 13th at midnight.  Update: This giveaway is now closed.