100 things every homemaker needs to know how to do

We’ve lost of art of healing through nutrition, cooking from scratch without spending all day in the kitchen, and using natural remedies or supplements before heading to the pharmacy.  These are very basic essentials that are easy for anyone to learn.

Cooking Basics

The heart of the home is the kitchen.  Healthy families are made where care is taken with how food is chosen, stored, prepared, and served. These basics are a must for everyone who eats.

  1. How to follow a recipe.  Following the recipe is the first step, make sure you’re not making any of these all-too-common errors.
  2. How to use a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers use old technology and now modern convenience to cook quickly, evenly, and without fuss!
  3. How to cook a whole meal (2 things!) in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot)
  4. How to bake with coconut flour. 
  5. How to make sure your grain-free baked goods are delicious.
  6. How to choose quality meat.
  7. Knife basics (video).  A nice knife and some decent knife skills help turn cooking from a chore to a pleasure.
  8. How to make chicken stock from scratch.
  9. How to reduce chicken stock and make homemade broth cubes.
  10. How to make herbed olive oil for antioxidants and detoxification.
  11. How to roast a chicken. 
  12. Homemade Yogurt.  For about 15 minutes hands-on time, you can make a gallon of yogurt for just slightly over the cost of a gallon of milk! Make yogurt using milk you trust, for a huge savings.
  13. How to make your own paleo ‘granola’ bars.
  14. Soak and cook dry beans.  Learning to cook dried beans not only saves money, but pantry space as you won’t have cans and cans of beans taking up room.
  15. How to cook winter squash easily.
  16. How to make mayonnaise. 
  17. How to make perfect pickles. Use a secret ingredient to solve all your pickle problems and get probiotics too!
  18. How to ferment vegetables and fruits to preserve and get probiotics.
  19. Know what lasts how long in the fridge.
  20. How to stock the freezer.
  21. How to save money with freezer cooking. 
  22. How to freezer cook most efficiently.
  23. How to put that slow cooker to use.
  24. A smoothie formula that works every time. 
  25. The trick to great homemade popsicles.
  26. How to make a good homemade soup with what you have on hand. 
  27. How to make homemade mixes. 
  28. How to slice a watermelon quickly. 
  29. 5 easy meals that are faster than fast food.
  30. How to eliminate snacking and solve mealtime drama.

Recipe Classics

So many recipes on this blog are keto, grain-free, and free of sugar. Since my kiddos will eventually enter the regular world, I DO want them to know what good banana bread, real fudge, and classic homemade bread taste.  While at home we mostly avoid sugar and gluten, when they are shopping on their own I’d rather their first taste of bread or desserts isn’t the over-processed variety.

  1. Classic Banana Bread
  2. No-Knead Artisan Wheat Bread
  3. Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows 
  4. Salted Soft Caramels with Sea Salt 
  5. Real Maple-Walnut Fudge 
  6. Roasted Winter Squash Seeds

5 Things to Know Before You Take Biokult Probiotic

Health and Wellness

Sometimes instead of a trip to the pharmacy or the medicine cabinet, we need to rely less on what the little boxes lined up on the shelves at CVS say we need, and more on what our great grandmothers used.  If an illness persists, or you’re unsure, of course consult with a qualified healthcare professional. But for little sniffles, and other maladies caught in time, you may be able to prevent something from getting worse by using stuff you already have at home.

  1. A cold remedy using honey and cinnamon. 
  2. Pertussis (Whooping cough) remedies that are important even for those who vaccinate.
  3. A look at the MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella) vaccine from both sides.
  4. How to make ginger tea for an upset stomach and sore throats. 
  5. How to use olive oil and garlic for an earache. 
  6. How to use apple cider vinegar for PMS.
  7. How to help sleep come naturally with epsom salts and/or tart cherry juice or sleepy time tea.
  8. Precautions before using peppermint or eucalyptus oil on young children.
  9. How to soothe a burn or sting with lavender oil.
  10. How to stock a natural first aid kit.
  11. How to use lavender/peppermint/lemon oil for seasonal allergies.
  12. How to use dairy kefir for seasonal allergies.
  13. How to treat a UTI with cranberry.
  14. How to boost the immune system with elderberry.
  15. How to boost milk supply naturally. 
  16. How to boost calories with fat bombs.
  17. How to do an elimination diet.
  18. How to see which gut-healing diet is right for you.
  19. How to get grandparents on board when your child has food allergies.
  20. Why allergy testing isn’t effective for most people.
  21. How to do an elimination diet to heal leaky gut and food allergies.
  22. How to avoid taking supplements that aren’t working.
  23. How to use amino acids to quit coffee or other addictions. There are certain amino acids that get depleted from caffeine, nicotine, and other addictive substances.  Read about how supplementing with these amino acids can help break the cycle of addiction- big or small!
  24. How to add little things to your daily routine to help inch your way toward wellness.
  25. How to use amino acids for mood support.
  26. How to choose a high-quality probiotic.
  27. How to recover after taking antibiotics.
  28. How to use probiotics when traveling to prevent upset stomach.
  29. How to eat healthy while traveling.
  30. What the gut-brain connection is, and how what you eat affects how you think.
  31. The gut-autoimmune connection. Autoimmune disorders are on the rise, as our guts are more leaky.  Healing the gut can help autoimmune conditions.
  32. The gut-anxiety/depression connection. It’s true, the root of so many diseases are in the gut.
  33. How our culture’s diet is affecting some of our children.  And why it’s important to stand up for our kids!
  34. How to choose a dentist.  The dental industry is not free of controversy.  Read about how our dentist has a sign up in his office warning against fluoride, and what you need to look for when choosing a dentist.
  35. How to ask questions when choosing a OB or midwife.
  36. The difference between folate and folic acid and MTHFR

health home and happiness bathroom - makeup bag

Homemade Toiletries, Cosmetics, and Cleaners

Once we realize how much better we feel when we’re putting whole healthy foods into our bodies, the next logical step is to examine what we’re putting on our skin and breathing in as we clean.  These natural alternatives are all fast to put together, they work, and they will save you boat loads of money.

  1. How to make your own lip balm.
  2. How to make your own easy lotion.
  3. How to make easy bath bombs that neutralize chlorine naturally.
  4. Teeth Whitening with Charcoal.
  5. Deodorant that really works.
  6. Oil-cleansing method for washing your face.
  7. Dryer Balls that even the kids can make (great gifts!)
  8. Vinegar to wash the windows.
  9. Beeswax candles are worth making yourself for an enormous cost savings.
  10. How to purify the air with salt lamps.
  11. How important it is to use shower filters.
  12. How to filter your water with a countertop filtration system.

Health Home and Happiness Family Pic

Parenting With Passion

Parenting these little guys takes effort, a sense of humor, and lots of thinking outside the box!  These how-tos will get you started:

  1. How to assert yourself with your doctor.
  2. How to change an intact boy.
  3. How to cloth diaper.
  4. How to troubleshoot breastfeeding.
  5. Allow yourself to allow your children to be bored.
  6. How to get rid of the toys they don’t play with.
  7. How to treat children without junk food.
  8. How to get picky eaters to crave healthy food.
  9. How to involve the kids in the kitchen.
  10. How to set evening traditions for a happy dinner table.
  11. How to get the soccer team on board for healthy snacks.
  12. Parenting books not working? Go back to attachment theory.
  13. How to adjust holiday traditions for kids with sensory issues.

Stress and the leaky gut

Stress reduction techniques for healthy minds

  1. How to meditate without looking weird.
  2. How to Eliminate Stress by Budgeting (YES)
  3. How to prioritize exercise and outdoors time for stress relief.
  4. How to eliminate excess stuff so you can live your life.
  5. How to put together a capsule wardrobe.
  6. How to regulate technology use.
  7. Why you should turn off your wifi at night.
  8. Earthing for stress reduction.
  9. Anxiety: why the root is in the gut.  Information about the gut-brain connection that everyone should understand.
  10. Miracle morning: How you start impacts your whole day.
  11. How to become unbusy.
  12. How to be more in the moment.

 

70+ Skills Every Natural Homemaker Should Have

Learn how to heal leaky gut

60-page ebook of all my best GAPS Diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) articles all in one place.

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