Well the weather was warm then cold then rainy then warm then cold again. You get the picture! This makes planting a garden a bit of a challenge. My sweet husband planted me  a wonderful herb garden around the deck this past year. We normally have it in one of the garden spaces but he thought that they would do better if we fixed an area with really good soil. He was so right!! With them being so close to the house a few of them never stopped growing the whole Winter. I loved being able to have fresh herbs to cook with during the holidays.                                 This is what one section of the herb garden looked like this past year.                                This is what it looked like in April. The green you see are WEEDS and grass.                                 Here is a little closer look. Check out all of those wild onions everywhere!                                  So time to get to work! We pulled up all of the wild onions and then Alan got up all of the grass, pulled up all of the stalks that were left over from this past years herbs and re edged the bed. You see why I love him?                                    Here are a few of the herbs that are perennials that come back each year on their own. Spearmint, Peppermint and chives. I took this picture this morning and was just seeing how much all of these had grown since planting them this past season.                                 Here on the side of the herb garden is Parsley, Rosemary and Marjoram. They are the three that kept growing all Winter. I am hoping that we can get all of the new herbs planted this week .Alan is also so ready to get our veggie garden planted. Have you been able to plant any veggies, herbs or flowers yet?

First I want to say that we were in Knoxville this past weekend for a show so we decided to head out to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I took this picture at the Old Mill. They still grind wheat and corn there three times a week. I always love picking up freshly ground whole wheat flour there!

I had been hearing so many good things about this homemade enzyme cleaner that I wanted to make some to try. The recipe said that it would take three months to make or you could add a teaspoons of yeast and it would be ready in about two weeks.                                 You will need lemon, lime and / or orange scraps. We use lots of lemons so that is what I had the most of. I wanted to make a large batch so I put our lemon scraps in a bag and placed them in the freezer. I just kept adding to it until I had plenty for the recipe.Once I had enough I set them out to thaw and cut them into smaller pieces that would fit in the top of the container I was using.                                 Here is what you will need

1- 2 liter plastic bottle

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 liter of water

2 cups of citrus scraps

1 teaspoon of yeast  ( optional if you want to speed up the process)

marking pen

Pour the brown sugar into the 2 liter bottle then add your citrus scraps. Then add the 1 liter of water. If you want to add the yeast so that it it done sooner you will add it now. Screw the cap on tightly and shake until the sugar is dissolved. For the first couple of weeks shake the bottle everyday but leave the top loosened to avoid gas build up from the fermenting process. Use your marking pen to write the date on the plastic bottle.It will take 3 months for the ingredients to ferment or two weeks if you use the yeast. When it is ready use 1/2 cup cleaner to 1 liter of water.Use more if you want a stronger concentration.                                  I chose to make a small batch using the yeast so that I could try it out in two weeks. It was AWESOME!! So I made a huge batch without the yeast which will be ready in about two and a half months.                                  I used lemon, lime and pink grapefruit scraps. I would have loved to have had some oranges also. Next batch I will make sure we have some oranges on hand. This is really true I don’t know when I have used a cleaner that has worked this well. I was amazed at how it cut through soap scum, grease and dirt. I was using it on everything! I love that it works so well and is chemical free!!

I had read that you can even clean your fruits and veggies with this. 1 part enzyme cleaner to 10 pats water. Have you heard about this cleaner and if so would you be willing to try it?                                 Check out these and all of our other all natural organic chemical free products at  Eco Natural

I have used Teflon cookware for a lot of years. This past year I started hearing how bad cooking with Teflon is for you. I started replacing the cookware I was using with pieces that are better for us.                                  I started with a Granite Ware pan. I have roasted many a veggie in this pan.                                 Then I bought another Granite Ware pan. This time I got a roasting pan with a top. This has enabled me to prepare baked potatoes without having to use aluminum foil which is really bad for you, I also use it for making lots of wonderful recipes.                                 I also got some stoneware which works great also.                                 A few months ago I got a ceramic Dutch Oven. I really like all of these but I still need to replace our sauce pans and skillets.I really like stainless steel but everything would stick to the pans that I have had in the past. Our daughter told me she had read that you could make stainless skillets non stick!                                  I bought this T Fal stainless steel skillet. I found a You Tube video that showed  you how to make it non stick. It WORKED!! It is so awesome. Nothing sticks to it. It was so quick and easy.I am so happy because now we are going to buy a whole set of stainless cookware What do you cook with?  If you want to see how easy it is to season and make your stainless cookware non stick  just check out this video..’http://www.youtube.com  /watch?v=1376ITxF1Oc                                 Don’t forget about your pets this season. Check out our all natural chemical free pet shampoo that kills fleas and ticks naturally. We also have a pet balm that works great for “hot spots” and licking.                                 We have so many wonderful testimonies on our Don’t Bug Me line. It is all natural and Deet free!!  Here in Tennessee we have have people that work for the department of transportation, the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency as well as the Forestry service that say that have never used anything that has worked as well for them. You can check these and all of our other all natural chemical free products out at Eco Natural

I have wanted to like Brussels Sprouts but they have always had such a ” strong” flavor that it has been difficult for me to eat them. Our daughter read that if you cut them in half before you cook them that it would make a real difference in the flavor. I found a recipe that called for a mustard vinaigrette to be tossed over them and then roasted.                                 I cut the Brussels Sprouts in half                                 I put them in a bowl and then I made the vinaigrette with my homemade mustard which consists of yellow, spicy, brown and coarse mustard’s plus balsamic vinegar and oil. I whisk all of this together and it makes such a wonderful mustard! I added extra oil and about a fourth cup of my eighteen year old balsamic vinegar from Napa. It is so sweet and delicious!                                 I made sure they were all coated well with the vinaigrette and then put them in a roasting pan                                  I roasted them for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees.They were really delicious and didn’t have that “strong” taste like before.The mustard vinaigrette gave it such a wonderful flavor. We all liked it so well that the whole pan was gone!! Do you like Brussels Sprouts?                                I won a giveaway this past week at  Our Neck Of The Woods It is an awesome seed starter kit with organic seeds and cute little labels. It makes its own little greenhouse. and I am so excited to get these started. Thanks Tammy. .                      

As I have mentioned before while we were living in California I learned to cook with wine. We don’t drink but I had heard such great things about cooking with wine that I wanted to give it a try. I am so glad that I did!                                   Really it was an education just learning how to pronounce the names of all the different types of wine. It was so nice when one of the local news stations told about this really cool site from the Sacramento Bee that has audio of how to pronounce the names correctly.as well as a list of local wineries.Here is the link if you would like to check it out.  Sac Wine Guide  It has events, resources, experts, wine news and the wine guide. The guide is where the audio is. This is where I learned how to say the names correctly.

We were still eating meat when we lived in California and so one of the first recipes I tried with wine was a roast. The number one thing to remember is to never use a cheap wine to cook with. Use a good one. I used a good Cabernet Sauvignon  and it turned out so delicious. Since it was such a big hit I decided to cook another one the next week. This time I used a Merlot. It wasn’t good at all!! That is when I realized that I had quite a bit more to learn about cooking with wine!  One thing about living in California is that it is super easy to learn anything you want to know about wine!! It was awesome that we lived so close to Napa and could get some excellent wines from small locally owned wineries.                                I love making different sauces using different varieties of wines.                                   This is one of my favorite go to sauces. I blend fresh tomatoes, an onion some garlic some Italian spices a little tomato paste some olive oil and  1/2 to a cup of Cabernet Sauvigon. Simmer for at least two hours.                               I use it in so many dishes. Here is whole wheat penne pasta with spinach, mushrooms and then topped with this sauce.  I also like using Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to make wonderful white sauces.                                 You know what? This is the best wine I have ever cooked with. Want to know where I got it? Our son made this wine!!  This past year he thought they might like to start cooking with wine also and just wanted to see if he could make some. He researched for several weeks and then went and got the supplies he needed. After about six months he brought us this wine to try. I was amazed at how awesome the flavor was.. So when I told him how much I liked it he was really pleased but informed me that he wasn’t making anymore! He just wanted to see if he could make it  and he accomplished that and was happy with the outcome so he hasn’t wanted to make anymore! Tennessee has some really nice wineries so the next time I need to buy wine to cook with. I am going to check into some of our local wines here. I have heard some good things about  Arrington Vineyards It is owned by Kix Brooks of the country duo Brooks and Dunn. Do you ever cook with wine and if so whats your favorite dish to cook?

Don’t forget to enter our Eco Natural Skincare giveaway  here                                 Check these and all of our other all natural organic chemical free products out at  Eco Natural

Well after some warmer weather then some colder weather and even a few snow flurries it looks like Spring is here! We were really happy that the ground had dried enough that we could start getting ready for our garden.                                  In the herb garden the mint is popping up everywhere                                 Our neighbors Bradford Pear trees are in bloom and they are gorgeous.                                  Here are our sweet grandsons in some bright Spring colors. ( see how easily I was able to incorporate slipping this picture of our grandsons into this post )  So we are seeing signs of Spring all over the place here in Tennessee. What about you have you been seeing signs of Spring yet?

If you haven’t already don’t forget to enter our Eco Natural giveaway  here

Well I know that the calendar says that  Spring has arrived but I am not sure that Middle Tennessee realizes it yet! It seems like it has been cold and rainy for days now which makes it hard to get the gardens ready for planting.                                  I am so ready for us to be doing this!                                  And planting these                                  I have been made aware though that Monsanto has been buying a lot of the seed companies so it is getting harder to buy non GMO plants and seeds. If you would like to get updated on what Monsanto is trying to do check this out Stop the Monsanto Protection Act    Are you planting a garden this year and if so have you been able to plant anything yet? If the weather forecast is right we should be able to work the garden by next week. YEA!

If you are a regular reader of my blog you already know our story but for new readers I will give you a very condensed version. We started this business over three years ago in a very bad economy with only six products we now have 150!! As of this past year we have over 100 local retail stores here in the Nashville/ Middle Tennessee area that sell our products as well as some in Kentucky. We have also been contacted by Whole Foods saying that they think our products would be a great fit for their store!!!! Each week with our website sales we ship out all over the United States and Canada. Our products are all natural, organic and chemical free..We give God all of the glory for the success of our business!! He has so blessed us with some wonderful products that have produced hundreds of awesome testimonies.

I know that in a lot of states Spring Has Sprung! We have been shipping the Don’t Bug Me products out to several states for the past month or so. Boy mosquitoes, ticks and flies are some of the things associated with the warmer weather that we don’t look forward to. If you are looking for a good Deet free chemical free insect repellent please check out our Don’t Bug Me line at  Eco Natural If you have small children you should read this report  here from Duke University Medical Center News Office on putting Deet on babies and small children.                                 With Summer coming on it will be time for Capri’s, shorts and swimsuits. That means smooth legs! Our Closest Shave Bar and Balm are such a big hit. The bar will give you the closest shave on your legs and under your arms as well.Because it has Bentonite in it your razor will usually last twice as long! This line is a big hit with our salon dealers who use the balm after waxing the bikini area of their clients  The balm helps eliminate those red bumps that will appear in this area after shaving or waxing.                                 You don’t want to forget your dog or cat this time of year either. Our Pet Shampoo and Coat Conditioner is awesome! It has Diatomaceus Earth in it which kills fleas and ticks naturally. It also conditions their coat and skin and leaves them smelling so good. Most of the groomers who use and sell our pet products say their clients love the way their pets smell and look when they come to pick them up! The Skin Relief balm is for “hot spots” dry itchy skin and if they lick their paws a lot  It even helps with ear mites. We have some wonderful testimonies from pet owners who are thrilled with these two products!                                We have some awesome products for Eczema, Psoriasis. Acne and Foot Fungus . We have mineral make-up, wonderful dry skin balms shampoo bars and our oh so popular lip balms as well as many other great products Okay so here is the giveaway. Just go to   Eco Natural Look over all of the products and then come back and tell me the one you would most like to try. That’s it! If you would like an extra entry you can also follow us on  Facebook The winner will get to choose one of our Bath and Body bars, any one of our Exotic Butters Luxury Dry Skin balms and any one of our lip balms.PLUS you will also win the product you chose that you most wanted to try in your entry comment! If you would like to go ahead and try some of our products now we are offering a 15% discount coupon code for any order over $10.00 and shipping is always free! It is good on all of our products except the The No More Wrinkles line ( which is already 50% off right now ) It has unlimited uses and is good through Friday  April 21 Just enter EFH41215 at the checkout.

Also I always try to visit several new blogs each week. It is a great way to find new blogs that will become favorites. If you do this make sure you leave a comment on their blog to let them know you were there.I am sure they will want to visit you and leave a comment on your blog as well. That’s how we make new friends and find great new blogs!

We were in Alabama this past week for a big three day show so I have been running behind on getting a new post ready. It was a wonderful show and even though we took so much more products than we thought we would need we still sold out of some of them. We took a tremendous amount of the Don’t Bug Me balm and pretty much sold out of it the first day. I can’t begin to tell you how many people from there have gone on line and ordered it since we got back!  They are ahead of us weather wise and are already having to deal with mosquitoes! We are always so thrilled to see people embrace all natural  Deet free insect repellent. Especially when it is 20 times stronger than Deet and all natural and chemical free.It is so important to know what we are putting on our skin since we absorb so much of it into our bloodstream.You should check out the dangers of deet. I encourage you to look into finding a chemical free insect repellent for this coming season. We are blessed to have over 100 retail stores here locally selling our products and this is always such a big hit each year. Do you use Deet?                                  If you would like to read about ours you can check here Eco Natural

Since I didn’t have a post prepared I just decided to talk about random things!!                                 Our grandson Will made this trivet to set hot dishes on for me. It is so cute and it has become my favorite to use. I love it that it is so Eco Friendly but most of all the rocks absorb the heat and the food stays warmer longer. His mom helped him make this. They took a piece of cardboard glued a piece of felt to that and then hot glued  some river rocks they had onto the felt. Believe it or not it has held up so well and does such a great job of keeping the food warm and keeping the table safe!  I am going to have to make a few more of these myself since I use it so often.Our daughter made this wonderful Vegan cake! It was so delicious.                                 She is always coming up with such wonderful Vegan recipes.I was going to post the recipe for this one but she had taken ingredients from three different recipes and came up with this one. So I will have to get her modifications on it and post it later. We have been eating Vegan for over a year now and it is amazing how much better we feel. Have you ever eaten a Vegan dessert before?

I always try to visit at least four or five new blogs each week It is a good way to find some amazing blogs that I didn’t know about before. I always leave a comment when I visit any blog. I am so surprised though that I read where so many people people are upset when they check their analytics and see where they have had lots of visits but very little comments. I am really not sure why people won’t take the time to leave a short comment to let that person know that they had visited. I think that it is so important to encourage fellow bloggers. Do you take the time to comment on blogs that you visit?

You probably don’t think much about salt but you should.We haven’t used table salt in about 7 years now. We started using Sea Salt when we found out how bad plain table salt is for us. When we lived in California I discovered Himalayan Pink Salt. We used it all of the time until we moved back to Tennessee .A lot of things that are so readily available in California are more of a challenge to find here. Some things Whole Foods can order for us and others we just order from the source but that’s a whole post in itself!!

The Global Healing Center says that common table salt is a health destroyer. Many people are not aware that table salt is composed of 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals like iodine and absorbents even sugar! Processing salt turns it into sodium chloride an unnatural salt that the human body sees as a toxic invader.The body cannot dispose of it in a natural, healthy way. Which can lead to inflammation of the tissues, water retention and high blood pressure.  Studies show that for each gram of table salt that your system cannot process your body will use over twenty times the amount of cellular water to neutralize the sodium!! This can lead to gout, cellulite, rheumatism and arthritis as well as kidney and gallbladder stones.The average American consumes 5,000 mg of sodium a day!!

Himalayan crystal salt is FAR superior. It is millions of years old pure and untouched by many of the toxins and pollutants that come with other forms of ocean salt. It contains the same 84 minerals and elements found in the human body! It’s unique cellular structure allows it to store energy, It’s minerals exist in colloidal form meaning that they are tiny enough for our cells to easily absorb

Here are some health  benefits

Encourages excellent blood sugar levels, lowers incidence of sinus problems, promotes healthy sleep patterns, can increase bone health, reduce muscle cramps and also helps reduce the chances of gout, rheumatism and arthritis.Here is one of my favorites Aides in reducing the common signs of aging!! If you would like to see the other health benefits check here  Global Healing Center

When Alan read of all of the wonderful things this salt can do he asked why we weren’t still using it. I told him that it was hard to find since we moved back. The next thing I know he tells me that he has ordered some.Actually he ordered a WHOLE lot of it. It makes everything you put it on taste soooo good. It really is remarkable the difference in the taste of this salt and regular table salt and what about all of the good things it does for your body!! How about you, do you still use plain table salt?

Do you think you could go a week without eating processed foods?  A few years ago this would have been hard for us but now it is a breeze! We pretty much eat fresh or frozen or food that we grow in our garden that we have put up ourselves

.I try to always take the weekly challenge over at  Reduce Footprints and a couple of weeks ago she had a challenge on eating food with six ingredients or less. I have put a bit of a spin on it this week.

..                                  We eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits.                                    We buy our nuts, seeds and grains in bulk.                                     This is fresh homemade local bread. It only has 5 ingredients in it.                                    We don’t eat dairy but I saw this local cheese and I checked the ingredients on it and there was only milk, enzymes, annatto for coloring and salt.                                    These local soups and salsa’s were packed full of great veggies, herbs and spices and NO preservatives!! Really though most of our meals can be prepared fresh without a lot of effort and time and there is no comparison in the   flavor and nutritional value.                                     I think you will be surprised when you start reading the labels of the processed food you buy.. Just take the time to Google the ingredients especially the ones that you can’t pronounce. I bet you will be amazed what is allowed to go into the foods we buy. Even labels that say “natural”  need to read over thoroughly . There are a lot of ingredients that are considered “natural”  but I sure don’t want to ingest them!! That is why we all need to be diligent in reading the labels on the products we purchase. I went to the store the other day and was going to pick up some coconut extract for a recipe our daughter was going to make. They only had imitation coconut extract and I knew right off I didn’t want that. I read the label and the second ingredient was what they use in antifreeze!  I read this article recently   Food Babe Investigates It was such an eye opener!! It is about how food companies exploit Americans with ingredients that are banned in other countries. I think you will be appalled to find out what ingredients companies like Me Donald’s, Pizza Hut  and Betty Crocker are putting in our food. The article is well worth the time to read!!

So here is my challenge. See if you can go a week without eating any processed food. If that is to hard for you try only buying processed food with just a small amount of ingredients that you know aren’t bad. Are you up for it?  Also are you a good label reader?

We have some gorgeous Spring colors in our all natural mineral blush and eye shadows that will look great this season.                                Don’t forget about your pets this coming season. Our Pet Shampoo kills fleas and ticks naturally while conditioning their coat and skin. The groomers who use and sell our pet products say that their clients are thrilled at how clean and fresh their dogs smell as well. The Pet Relief balm is wonderful for “hot spots” and dry itchy skin.  You can  check these and and all of our other all natural organic chemical free products at  Eco Natural

I try to visit new blogs each week so if you are new here please leave a link back to your blog when you comment so that I can visit you again.