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Adventures in Fermentation – The Ginger & Turmeric Bugs

Today,  my friend, I am going to let you in on two magical soda making creatures… the ginger and Turmeric bugs! These little bubbling beauties are what you’ll need to begin your soda making adventure!

I have included two of my favourites posts on how to make a ginger bug below:

My Beloved Bakery

Wellness Mama

I have also recently learned,  from a friend in Australia,  that you can use the very same process above with a turmeric rhizome! How exciting is that??

I am getting my hands on some turmeric this week and will be back with an update, once  I’ve gotten my self organised.

In the meantime, go to the store and buy a big ol’ organic ginger rhizome,  some regular white sugar, and start fermenting your new kitchen friend today!

I’m also going to share a few of the many awesome and delicious recipes of soda you can make with your new baby(ies).

Wellness Mama’s Ginger Ale

My Beloved Bakery’s Ginger, Lemon or Strawberry Soda

And for those not ready to take the leap into fermentation, but still would like a soda substitute that’s healthier, with ingredients you can pronounce or imagine as food,  see these great recipe options.

My Beloved Bakery’s Quick and Dirty Soda

She Knows Seltzer Soda

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

 

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Adventure in Alternatives to Wheat & Dairy – Wheat Free Bread attempt #1

Today I present to you my first attempt at making a bread free of wheat! AJM approved and enjoyed her first ham sandwich in a few weeks, since we took her off wheat and dairy products. I decided, after perusing the GF options on the web, to just make my own dang recipe. I gathered some intel on which flours and substitute gluten things do what and went to work. First I got to work making brown rice, almond and oat flour. Next I perused some recipes and got an idea on a binding agent (eggs and ground flax). I combined my flours and flaxseed, threw in some yeast, salt and sugar and mixed together. Then I mixed th eggs and water and made a thick batter. I poured it into a loaf pan and let it rise for a bit. As soon as it looked risen enough, I turned on the oven and baked for half an hour.

The result? Cake bread!

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AJM is currently enjoying it and BAM approves as well! I’ll probably tweak this recipe next time, but for a first attempt, it’s pretty good!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!
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Exploring Wild Fermentation – Sourdough Starter

Some of you may know how much I just love baking bread.. and cake… cookies… heck cooking food in general seems to have become quite a passion for me. I just love feeding people good food! I don’t mean something all fancy and expensive… I mean delicious good for you food. It therefore came as no surprise that fermentation would eventually find it’s way back into my heart. I’ve made a few things via fermentation in my life.. all with good outcomes and tasty results. I just never really stuck with it until my good friend SM sent me her yogurt maker last year.. and I’ve never looked back. I couldn’t imagine not being able to make such a basic easy food for my family and I don’t have to nowadays!

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Today I’m going to tell you about one of my latest fermentation creations.. my sourdough starter! I just love her bubbly yeasty form sitting so happily in a bowl in my fridge. Honestly I thought there would be some complicated trick to making a starter.

I’m here to tell you.. there isn’t!

It is so dang easy.

All you need is a little time, a little flour, a little water and a warm place to get it started. Instead of recreating the wheel of tutorials, I’m going to send you over to one of my favourite blogs,  The Kitchn. Here you can find a wonderful and easy to follow tutorial on making your own sourdough starter. Emma explains the how’s and why’s of making sourdough. It has beautiful photos of each step and an excellent running commentary at the end with lots of Q&A!
Here’s a little video of my starter waking up from a nap in the fridge for a few days.

So if you’ve been waiting for an excuse to use the basic chemistry you learned in school, here’s as good a reason as any. Make a living culture right in your kitchen in a few days! It is a rewarding experience and the kids will really enjoy watching the sourdough starter in action!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

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Corner Bookmarks!

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Today we made corner bookmarks and paper tulips! AJM really enjoyed these projects. She calls the flowers “Tuhlulips” and made several, including a double “tuhlulip”. She also went on to make her own corner bookmark characters.. tiger, hummingbird and another monster.
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We really had fun following along with our new found blogger Maggie of Red Ted Art. We started by watching her super easy to follow instructional video about paper tulips.
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Then we followed her easy video about making a corner bookmark bunny. Eventually we ended up on her monster corner bookmark.
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Seriously there are so many bookmarks, we could be making bookmarks all day!! It really was quite a treat making these and letting our creative process unfold.
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I even designed BAM her very on selfie bookmark.
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Hooray for easy paper crafts!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

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MF Week 2

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It’s been going well with the daily exercise routine. I took a day off last Wednesday and then Sunday. I have also been recording what I do on each days routine, because some of the number of reps are just beyond my level at this point. I hope the next time I di this program I’ll see a difference in what I’m able to do then. So don’t feel discouraged if you have to adjust the workout. As long as you’re pushing YOUR limits and feeling good, then keep it up!  I have also been doing this quick yoga routine everyday so far, except Sunday. I feel like I’m getting stronger already and have definitely noticed a difference in my stretching and overall body. Looking forward to another successful week of daily exercise!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

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The Woven Bracelet

Lately there have been a pile of tutorial style videos popping up on my Facebook feed. Some of them are pretty cool and inspire me to get creative! Here was my latest inspiration after watching a video about making bows using an easy technique. 
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It caused me to pull out the ribbons and search a bit more for other stuff that could be made using ribbons.  I stumbled upon this blog, showing how to make a headband refashion. 
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I just loved the look of it and have since fashed several paper ribbon bracelets following my first satin ribbon success.
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I’ll probably make a video of me and the girls using paper ribbons in another post. But for now hope you enjoyed the pictures of my woven bracelet.
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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!


 

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MF Day 1 Complete

I completed day 1 of military fit. This morning I did a wake up and connect yoga session, followed by MF Day 1. I weighed and took my measurements before starting the workout.

As of March 1st:
At 5′ 1.5″
114.5 lbs
32.5 bust
26 waist
34 hips
10.5 arm
19 thigh
13.5 calve

I also took a before pic of my stomach area, but it came out super blurry.

I followed the workout with the calm app session called 7 days of happiness (day 2). I started meditations again Sunday. I recommend starting with their 7 days of calm, then 21 days of calm. Then work on whichever you like for the other 7 days options.

I’ve been also writing in a journal every time I think about it over the last month. It seems to help me sort through how I feel overall in my daily interactions with myself and people.

My shoulders and back are sore from the last two days of digging and I’m super tired. I keep waking up consistently 6.5 to 7 hours after going to bed. I have super vivid dreams and feel like I’m awake all night participating in them.

As far as my workout went, I completed all three sets, but did it amrap style. I kept telling myself “I do this” for each exercise starting set 2 and noticed a difference in how many reps I could do. There were times when I felt like giving up. But I talked myself through it. I feel like taking a nap. Ha!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

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3D Paper Fruit Picnic Party

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A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this great website called Mr. Printables. At the time I was just looking for some cute printables to use for the girls’ homeschooling repertoire. I found lots of great material here and bookmarked it for later perusing. Fast forward to last week when the theme for BAM’s homeschooling week was fruit and vegetables.
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Lately BAM has been really into cutting paper up, so I thought ‘why not work this into an art activity?’. A quick Google search rendered lots of easy to see and cut out 2D fruit and baskets, etc. I’ll probably do another post with those links and whatnot. But I knew AJM would need something more… complicated. That’s when it hit me 3D! We’d recently put together a cool movable 3D T-Rex that both girls really enjoyed too! Another Google search rendered Paper Play Fruit on Mr. Printables!
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I’ll probably do another post of us making the printed fruit. As for today’s post I just wanted to share the “fruits” of our labour during our Paper Fruit Picnic Party!
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Check out our video of the picnic party.

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!


 

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Homemade – Granola

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Today we made granola! Yummo! I made a cute video with the girls and am including the instructions here, since it wasn’t in the video.

Granola Video

Mix together everything (except the egg white and dried fruit)together in a large bowl.
Mix egg white (you can add two if you choose) in a small bowl until frothy, add to oats mixture.
Combine ingredients until evenly coated.
Heat your oven to a medium low temp.
Spread oats evenly on a large cookie sheet so that it’s an even layer.

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Set a timer for 15 minutes.
When oven is heated, place oats mixture pan in oven and start timer.
Cook in 15 minute intervals, stirring and rotating after each cycle ends.
When oats are deep golden brown, remove from oven and set aside.
Let cool completely, this allows the granola to get crunchy.
Store in airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Serve with yogurt or milk and fresh fruit!

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Yum!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!

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Homemade – Beef Stew

A few days ago I picked up a pound of beef chunks from our local market. I placed it in the frezer just before we headed out of town for a few days. Today, since we’re back and settled in,  I decided to thaw it out and see what could be done with it. Here in Panama,  beef is usually very tough and kinda chewy, even if you cook it to the perfect temperature. Also since I wanted something flavourful and quick, I decided to make a stew! It was delicious and soft and the girls just gobbled it up with the new homemade white bread I made yesterday as well. Overall it was successful.
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This post and website contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using any of the links you see here. Even if you purchase something other than what is advertised in the link/banner, I will still receive a percentage if you purchase by clicking my links first to shop on their website. Thanks in advance for helping support my family and our adventures!