Make It Yourself: Lime Rice (Like At CHIPOTLE GRILL)

Our family LOVES Chipotle Grill. I mean, we looooove it. For its tasty food, of course. And because they are fairly cheap. But also because of their green practices. The use quality pastured meats, some organic vegetables, and other natural products. All their food is simple and freshly made which of course makes for a DELICIOUS product.

Okay, okay... I think you get it.

Now, one of our favorite things is their Lime Rice. Corky adores it. That and the "green dip" (guacamole). So, of course I had to find a way to recreate it at home. I've made this recipe several times and it has always turned out perfect.


Lime Rice (Like Chipotle's)

2/3 cup Basmati rice
1 T butter
1 lime
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

*Rinse the rice in cold water to remove excess starch. This step is important so that your rice won't be too sticky.
* In a sauce pan (use one with a lid), melt butter and add rice. Toast rice just a little.
*Add the juice of the lime to the rice and cook for a minute over medium heat.
*Add the water and salt, bringing everything to a boil.
*Reduce heat, cover and simmer until water is evaporated.
* Stir in cilantro and serve.

Try not to lift the lid while cooking or you will end up needing to add water and your rice will be less fluffy and more sticky.

I used brown Basmati rice so mine didn't turn out white like Chipotle's. Also, I only had dried cilantro on hand so you can't see the pretty specks of bright green that is usually there.

I served it with BBQ pork oven tacos (one of our favorites).

And since Corky is afraid of tomatoes... she got a quesadilla and frozen peas (she loves them-- but only frozen).

Today I'm participating in the Pennywise Platter Nourishing Gourmet. Click on over there and browse around!

Using Lemon Balm To Treat ADHD Symptoms

While searching for natural ways to treat my daughter's ADHD symptoms I came across various herbal remedies. One of the most commons herbs used is Lemon Balm, also known as Melissa Officinalis. Lemon Balm has been known to promote a calm demeanor, reduce stress and anxiety, ease the digestive system, and help maintain proper blood pressure. Lemon Balm can be easily purchase in capsule form, however I couldn't imagine trying to get Corky to swallow a pill.

So.... I bought this:

... a Lemon Balm plant.

The leaves (dried or fresh) can be used to make tea which should be easy enough for Corky to drink. Also, the leaves can be plucked and frozen to preserve until needed. This is definitely a trial period to see how this works so I'll post results later.

Here is a recipe for Lemon Balm Tea:

1 heaping tablespoon of dried leaves or
2 tablespoons of fresh leaves 

1 cup of boiling water
(Or make sun tea by placing herbs and cool water in covered jar in the sun for a few hours.)
 

Strain before drinking.

Make It Yourself: Homemade Cream Cheese

Homemade cream cheese? Oh yeah! Well, I guess you could call it yogurt cheese (I think that's the technical term). It's so easy, and with the added bonus of aquiring whey which is extremely beneficial when used to soak grains.

First, I make plain yogurt in my crockpot . Refrigerate overnight. The next morning place a fine sieve over a large mixing bowl and line the sieve with a tea towel. Pour the whole crock full of yogurt into the sieve and wait. The whey will drip into the bowl. It takes a while... sometimes all day...

When the yogurt is fairly thick, tie the corners of the tea towel so that you have a neat little package of cream cheese. Tie the contraption around a wooden spoon and hang it from... well, somewhere. I used my kitchen cabinet handles. Make sure the bowl of whey is still underneath because it will continue to drip. Leave it hanging until it is no longer dripping.

When it stops dripping whey, unwrap the towel and using a spatula, scrape the cheese into a container. This makes somewhere between 16 and 20 oz. of cheese depending on how much you strain it and how thick you like it. In this last batch that I made, I got over a quart of whey!

By The WHEY...

Whey can be used to soak grains for easier digestion (for those who have trouble digesting wheat -- like myself -- this can be especially useful).

Whey can be used for lacto-fermented veggies, salsas, and other condiments (I use it for pickles and sauerkraut).

Some people swear that drinking a few tablespoons of whey every morning cures a host of ailments (I haven't had the guts to try this yet).

Whey can be used in smoothies for added nutritional benefit.

Whey can be used as a fertilizer (50% whey and 50% water).

There are probably a million other uses for whey but these are just the ones that I know of!

Natural Air Purifiers

Looking for a natural way to clean the air in your home? It might be simpler than you think...

Yep. Houseplants are the best natural defense for filtering toxins out of the air. All green things work magic with the air during their natural exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. But certain types are especially beneficial. For example, the Snake Plant (Sansevieria) helps filter formaldehyde and benzene (both known carcinogens) from the air. These contaminants can be in your home without you ever knowing about it since they are found in household cleaners, paint, adhesives, foam, and various building materials.

Below is NASA's list of the most beneficial houseplants for air purification.


1. (Philodendron scandens `oxycardium') heartleaf philodendron


2. (Philodendron domesticum) elephant ear philodendron

3. (Dracaena fragrans `Massangeana') cornstalk dracaena

4. (Hedera helix) English ivy

5. (Chlorophytum comosum) spider plant

6. (Dracaena deremensis) `Janet Craig', Janet Craig dracaena

7. (Dracaena deremensis) `Warneckii', Warneck dracaena

8. (Ficus benjamina) weeping fig

9. (Epipiremnum aureum) golden pothos

10. (Spathiphyllum) `Mauna Loa', peace lily

11. (Philodendron selloum) selloum philodendron

12. (Aglaonema modestum) Chinese evergreen

13. (Chamaedorea sefritzii) bamboo or reed palm

14. (Sansevieria trifasciata) snake plant

15. (Dracaena marginata) red-edged dracaena

Easy Spring Dinner: Crockpot Chicken Cheesy Potato Soup

Here is a super yummy, super easy meal for the crockpot. It was one of those let's-just-try-it-and-see-how-we-like-it recipes...

6 medium potatoes, diced
1 chicken breast, diced or sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 quart chicken stock (homemade is best) + 1 cup of water
2-3 bay leaves
1 cup half and half (could use less if you want)
3 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar and swiss)
1 cup frozen corn


Add the potatoes, chicken, onion, stock + water, bay leaves to the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add the half and half, cheese, and corn. Cook until the cheese is melted and smooth.

... as you can see by the almost empty crockpot, we LOVED it!! Yum, yum, yum...

Frugal Finds: The latest...

Here are my latest frugal finds... proving, yet again, that you don't have to spend a lot of money to eat healthy. You just have to keep your eyes open!

~ Grass-fed* Organic Ground Beef: $3.81 per pound (Target)

I usually get beef from our local meat shop. They offer grass-fed* beef from a local farm but not organic (which isn't as important as the fact that this stuff was cheaper and organic) so when I found this bargain at Target, I snatched it up!
* Did you know that cows that eat grass instead of corn do not contract ecoli?

~ Zevia Diet Rootbeer: $2.99 for a six pack (Whole Foods)

I LOVE this stuff. It's all natural and made with Stevia instead of aspartame or splenda so it is safe for Corky (I will post later about why ADHD kids should never have aspartame). Oh, and I forgot to mention that it tastes great.

~ Applegate Sliced Ham: $3.99 BOGO (Whole Foods)

I like this because it is nitrate free and it is from certified non-antibiotic, pastured pigs. That is hard to come by in our area and it was cheaper than the Oscar Meyer lunch meat (which I find tastes a little like plastic). Though I'm not a big lunch meat person, my husband loves this stuff. So... yay.

Your Kids ARE What They Eat... so stop feeding them junk!

Since Corky started preschool, I have spent a lot of time worrying about what she's eating. I pack her lunch every day but the school provides snacks. At first I thought: Oh, this is good. Schools have to serve healthy snacks, right...
Wrong.

Cupcakes, cookies, candy, Cheetos... just to name a few of the more prominent options. There's also chips of all sorts and various other "snacks" that Corky has never liked. Oh, but she likes them now....

Yes, gone is the child that loved broccoli and carrot sticks. Say adios to the kid that would choose a banana over a piece of chocolate. They have corrupted my baby!!! *boo hoo*

Anyway, I could go on and on about how awful the eating habits are in our tiny town and how disappointed I am in the schools... but that would take all day. So, I've been trying to make the best of things by reinforcing our eating style at home...

So....
When we were at softball practice the other day and the coach announced that the team would be provided fruits and vegetables for game snacks, I was ready to whoop and holler (that's southern for "shout with excitement"). Actually, I kind of got vocal about it...

"Yeah, that's great!" I said, way too enthusiastically.

You could have heard crickets chirp. There we were, a group of about twelve parents, and I was the only one who was glad about the fruits and veggies. Several (and when I say several, I mean more than half) of them made comments about how their kids wouldn't eat the fruits and veggies. Several of them suggested snack cakes as an option.

I was mortified. Horrified. And most of all angry.

This is the health of our children we are talking about here, people. Good eating habits start at a young age. Your kids will like what you like. They will eat what you feed them. They will value what you value. I understand this well, being someone who has struggled with being overweight my entire life.

My experience with the school taught me that good eating habits have to start in the home. My experience with the softball parents taught me that the schools (and other public associations) will change their good intentions to suit what the kids will be more inclined to eat...

So where does the buck stop?

When does someone put their foot down and quit feeding kids junk?

A Truly Good Vegetarian Meatloaf Recipe

For a while now, we've been playing around with meat-free dinners in hopes of cutting down our meat consumption. Since we started buying grass-fed beef and free-range chickens our meat budget has been harder to meet. Haha, pun intended. But it has been worth the change (even my husband thinks so). It is amazing how the meat that we buy now actually tastes like... well, meat. Beef tastes like beef; chicken tastes like chicken... ect. We used to buy our ground beef at Walmart until one horrible eye-opening night when my thoughts on meat changed forever...
I had already watched Food Inc. so I was aware of the dangers of the meat industry. And I was going to start making changes to our meat purchases. I really was... really. But one night I opened up a package of ground beef from Walmart. It smelled fine but it looked strange, sort of an off color. I went ahead and cooked it anyway and didn't think twice about it. I noticed as I cooked it that it was very crumbly. So I tasted it. And had my husband taste it. It did NOT taste like hamburger. At all.
So I threw it out.
To this day, I have no idea what was in that package of meat.
Immediately, we stopped buying meat from unknown sources and started visiting our local meat market. We were shocked at the difference in taste quality. If you normally purchase meat from a grocer that sells pre-packaged "fresh" meat, you probably don't even realize what you are missing out on as far as taste goes. We didn't.
Better meat is more costly, however. Since we decided it was worth the extra money to have better quality meat (and that it is safer), we decided to cut costs in other ways. Like eating less meat products.

Bringing it back around...
I found a mock meatloaf recipe and tweaked it a little. It turned out GREAT!!! The whole family loved it. Here's my recipe:

Vegetarian Meatloaf

2 eggs
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1/2 med red onion, shredded
4-5 cloves of garlic, shredded (I use a small hand-held grater)
1 roasted red pepper (from a jar), diced
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrot
3/4 cup cooked oatmeal (save some from breakfast in the morning, or you could use quick cooking oats)
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I cooked mine with beef broth. You could also use mushroom broth.)
1/4 cup asiago or Parmesan
2 oz. feta, crumbled
4 oz. falafel mix (I used a third of a 12 oz. package)
3 Tbs. whole wheat flour
2 Tbs. ketchup
2 Tbs. barbecue sauce

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, water, tomato paste, grated onion and garlic. Stir in the next eight ingredients and mix. Add just enough flour to make the mixture hold together.

Form into a loaf and place in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 150*. For the last five minutes of cooking, spread the ketchup and barbecue sauce over the top and return to oven. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.

*Tip- I used a butter knife to butter the loaf pan, just like you would a piece of bread.

The Tiniest Plane...

She was born at 8:50pm...
And she wasn't breathing...

My niece, Delylah, was immediately life-flighted to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa while we waited, hoping, praying that she was okay. I remember watching as they wheeled her tiny, listless, body down the hallway in an incubator. Tubes were stuck down her throat. Machines were beeping. Nurses were talking. But she was silent.
We watched as she was loaded onto the waiting helicopter, watched as it lifted off the ground carrying precious cargo.
The next day we were told she was born without her right lung, her heart was severely deformed, her esophagus didn't connect to her stomach as it should, and she had spinal deformities. They diagnosed her with VATERL syndrome. It is a very rare collection of abnormalities that a child is born with. Tulsa had never seen a case of it and were not prepared to offer her care. So they immediately sent for transport to Texas Children's Hospital.
As we visited with Delylah and waited for the plane to arrive, we took time to get to know the little bundle of joy. I remember my sister pointing out that Delylah had my fingers; the way the pinky curves inward toward the other fingers. I snapped a picture of it.
When the nurses from Houston arrived to take her, we were told that her mom couldn't ride along because she'd had a c-section. Sis was horrified at the thought off Baby D going alone. So I did what any aunt would do...
I volunteered to fly with her to Houston.
Oh, but I didn't realize what a teeny tiny plane we would be flying in. Nor did I realize that it would take us almost two hours to get to Texas Children's Hospital.
The ambulance ride was daunting. But I was okay until we pulled up to the tarmac and I got a look at the little tinker-toy with a kangaroo painted on the side of it. Then I swallowed back bile. I didn't mind flying-- not at all-- but I am severely clausterphobic. In a major way.
But I smiled and crawled into my seat-- I had to haunch over in a 90 degreed angle just to get to it (and I'm only 5'3'').
All the way there I kept remembering how my dad had told me I should never ride in a small plane... because Pasty Cline and Buddy Holly had died on small planes...
Through major breathing exercises, plastering my face to the window, and sheer luck... I made it there without hyperventillating and Delylah was placed in the capable hands of the NICU.
I learned a lot of things that day... some of which I can't put into words. But most of all, I learned that a parent's (or aunt's or uncle's or granparent's) love can overcome the greatest of obstacles.

Better baby formula??

I'm posting these links because my sister's newborn is having a lot of trouble with commercial formulas and breastmilk. Hope this helps.

Here are some links about homemade baby formula:

http://www.westonaprice.org/Recipes-for-Homemade-Baby-Formula.html
http://www.realmilk.com/formularecipes.html

Good News In the Supermarket!

Good news!! For those of you who are trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup (watch Food Inc.) there are some brand new item coming to the market.


After watching Friday's episode of The View, I was thrilled to see that some mainstream brands are starting either eliminate HFCS all together or are creating new products that are HFCS free.

Watch this segment:



 
 
 
I'm definately going to try the Sprite Green which is made with sugar and stevia-- the same combo I use for my sweet tea!!

Make it Yourself:Homemade Hamburger Helper

So everybody likes Hamburger Helper, right? I know! Me too!

But wait, what's in that little envelope of powdery yumminess?

I DON"T KNOW!!! Hehe!

I found this recipe the other day and thought I would give it a try. I wish I could remember where I found it so I could give them credit but I've racked my brain, So if this is your recipe, I'm sorry and thank you!!! Because it is GOOD! And so easy. It is just as easy as making the stuff from the box-- I promise.

Also, I am not kidding when I say it tastes just like the original. You're gonna love it!


Hamburger Helper

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb pasta (I used the mulit-colored veggie pasta from Whole Foods)

2 c. water

1 1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 tsp sugar (or whatever sweetener you use)

squirt of mustard

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp onion powder (I ended up using a real onion- small)

salt to taste (at least 1/2 tsp?)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Brown and drain beef. Stir in pepper, onion powder, tomato sauce, sugar, and mustard, water and pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the water is absorbed and the pasta is cooked.

Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese.
 

There you go: yummy "Hamburger Helper" and you know all the ingredients!!

I especially love using the veggie pasta for this because the nutrients don't get boiled away in pasta water.

Each color is made from a different vegetable: Purple- beets, orange- carrots, green- spinach. It's a good way to sneak in a few more veggies.

Be Yourself-- Some thoughts

Lately I've had some things on my heart that I wanted to address.


I'm sure some of you have read a blog that had some great information, valuable resources that you found very helpful. But by the time you were finished reading, you might have felt badgered or down on yourself. I have. Sometimes bloggers can be so passionate about their ideas that it comes across as very judgemental.

That is exactly what I don't want my blog to be like.

I am very passionate about eating healthy whole foods, recycling, reducing paper waste, eliminating processed items, being frugal, spending quality time with my family and kids, and many other things. However... I don't want people to feel like I'm condemning them if they don't do things exactly like I do!

The way I see it is: you do things your way (whatever works for you) and I will do things my way. No judgement.

Surprise! I still use *gasp* paper plates. Yes, I do. It's just easier for our family. So I try to reduce waste in other ways (using cloth towels, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, ect.) This is what works for me. But I've had some bloggers tell me that my efforts are in vain if I just turn around and pollute the earth with my paper plates; that I might as well do nothing at all. To them I say "Sploothsp!" (that's me blowing them a raspberry).

I believe that there are no efforts that are in vain. Any step you take in the right direction is a good one.

Also, when I am visiting friends or family, I eat whatever they have fixed. I don't turn my nose up to it just because it isn't what I have in my fridge at home. I've had people try to go out of their way to fix food that they think I will like- this is sweet, but crazy! Fix what you would normally fix. It won't kill me to eat a little velveeta or canned chile!! I guess what I'm saying is people should be themselves. Just because I eat different or do things different, doesn't mean you have to!!

I mean, if you came to my house, I would fix my normal food. You would get a sampling of my wacky habits and you would be expected to eat it!!! Haha!

Anyway, my point is that whether a person has an average view on food/life or whether they have a more crazy old-fashioned view (like me), it should not be cause for strife or contention among friends. I like Lindsay's article about this topic.

So keep in mind as you read my blog, that I'm just sharing my experiences and if you choose not to try these things or even if you think I'm half crazy, I do not think any less of you!! To each his own!!

Frugal Find #2: Muir Glen Organic Soup

I LOVE it when I find a really good deal. It's kind of like a drug for me. It makes me so happy. My husband thinks I'm a little crazy because I can get so worked up over a really great frugal find!


"Oh my gosh! Honey, look what I found! Muir Glen canned soup for ONLY A DOLLAR! Can you believe it?!"

And then he rolls his eyes while I literally fill up my cart with more cans of soup than we could eat in a year.

Ahh!! But when I do eat that soup, it will taste ten times better because I will remember-- this can of soup only costed a dollar! And I WILL remember- I'm a freak like that.



Frugal Find #2

Item: Muir Glen Organic canned soup

Place: Dollar Tree

Price: $1.00

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!!!!

I hope you have an amazing day and I love you so much!!!

Make It Yourself: Sour Cream

This is the first post for my Make It Yourself series!!


Drumroll please....

Sour Cream!

Well technically it is Creme Fraiche (European style sour cream) but it is amazingly fantastically delicious!!! And EASY to make-- really.

All you need is:

One pint of heavy cream (HAS to be unpastuerized or at least not ultrapastuerized as it is in most stores-- I used raw from the dairy.)

2 Tbs of cultured buttermilk

A glass Jar with a tight fitting lid

On the right is my homemade buttermilk- a byproduct of my homemade cultured butter.

All you do is:

Pour the cream and buttermilk into the glass jar. Shake. Place in a warm spot to culture for 2-3 days (DO NOT OPEN the jar to check it for any reason). After a couple of days, turn jar over to see if the cream has thickened-- it should still look a little runny but be thicker than it was when you put it in. If it has thickened, refrigerate completely before opening. If not, find a warmer place to culture for a few more hours, then refrigerate.

Sour cream culturing in a warm spot above my fridge.

Voila! Sour cream! It. Is. So. Good. You will never buy store bought sour cream again!

Here are a few other homemade items that I will be talking about in the next few days:

L-R: Cultured raw butter, saur kraut, garlic dill pickles, chicken stock from my crockpot chicken.

The pickles and stock are almost gone so I will probably post about the pickles soon. 

Also, everything that I post, I have already tried for myself and liked it. My family liked it as well-- even some who weren't into healthy food! So don't be afraid to try it even if it sounds crazy!!

Recycled Coffee Can Planter

My escapades with the Milk Jug Tomato Planter got me thinking about other things I could recycle and I came up with this:

A Coffee Can Planter!

I used an old plastic coffee can to plant my cherry tomatoes in (don't forget to drill drainage holes in the bottom). It will sit out on my porch instead of hanging from the porch.

The real reason I did this is because I didn't want to make another milk jug planter last night! It was a lot of work!

Now I need to figure out what to do about the strawberries!

Today I thought I would share with you my attempt at apartment gardening. We have a VERY small apartment with a garage so first I had to figure out what items I needed the most. I decided that tomatoes, strawberries (Corky's favorite), and herbs are what I use the most.

I started with the herb garden. I chose basil, parsley, arugula, and dill (for my homemade pickles and ranch dressing, which I will post about later). I planted them in a window box using organic soil. In the pictures you can see where I put the broken up peat pot (peat pots are biodegradable earth friendly flower pots that my herbs came in) in the planter along with everything else.

The finished product will be placed on the window sill of my garage window where it will get plenty of sunlight.

Next, I decided to use a hanging upside down tomato planter. But... I thought I could make one instead of buying one. I chose an old milk jug to be the sacrifice for this experiment. Using my husbands drill, I made a few drain holes-- one on each side and one on each bottom corner. Then I drilled a hole in the center of the bottom of the jug.

Using a sharp knife, I CAREFULLY (So I wouldn't have a repeat of cutting my thumb off) cut a cross in the bottom. Do a small cross first because you can always make it bigger later if you need. Also cut the rim of the spout off in order to make it easier to fill with soil.

Then, carefully take the tomato plant out of its planter and shake as much of the soil off of the roots as possible (this is easier to do if your plant is dry- mine was wet as you can tell by the messy pictures below).

Insert the roots of the plant up through the cross in the bottom of the jug. You need the cross to be big enough for the stem and roots to fit through but small enough for it too stay put. Shove as much of the stem into the jug as possible.

Now for the hard part! Fill the jug with soil by putting it in the top of the jug (this will be where you water the plant as well). At first some of the soil will fall out of the hole in the bottom of your jug but keep going, soon it will pack in there good enough where it wont come out anymore.

I looped a chain through the handle and hung it from a hook on my front porch.

So... it worked in theory but we'll see if it produces tomatoes! I'll keep you updated!

Easy Spring Dinner: Cheesy Chicken Corn Tostadas

As of late, my dinner menus have been really chaotic. Actually, our life has been a little chaotic... A family head cold that just will not go away, a brand new baby niece, trying to catch up on all the household things, ect. I threw this together the other night (when I forgot to defrost hamburger) for a quick dinner. And we absolutely loved it. So I thought I would share the recipe. I didn't measure any ingredients. I just kind of tossed it all together.

Shredded chicken (left over from my crockpot chicken)
Thawed frozen corn
Cream Cheese
Sour cream
White or pinto beans
Shredded cheese
Green onions
Green chiles

Mix these things together until it resembles a creamy chicken salad. Spoon the mixture onto corn tortillas and top with a little shredded cheese. Bake at 400 degrees until gooey and tortillas are crisp (I prebaked my tortillas a little). Top with sour cream and avocado.

My Raw Milk Source

I recently made the switch from regular store bought pastuerized milk to raw milk straight from the dairy after learning about the benefits of drinking raw milk from grass fed cows. And I LOVE it. I'm a little squeamish so I wasn't sure if I would like it. Something about thinking of where milk actually comes from... Anyway, I love it.


I had a little trouble finding a raw cows milk source at first. There were a lot of raw goats milk sources but not many for cows milk. Also, I was a little concerned about the price and how it would fit into our budget. Many of my blog friends pay upwards of 6.00 per gallon. That is a little pricey when you can buy the stuff in the store for for 3.50 per gallon.

But alas... I found my source: Swan's Brothers Dairy in Claremore, Oklahoma. For anyone out there looking for a raw milk source in Northeastern Oklahoma this is it! At only 3.75 per gallon it is a great deal. They sell raw milk in whole fat, 2%, and skim. They have great raw cheese and heavy cream as well. Also they are certified by the state and you can watch the milking process at the dairy (which is really fun for the kids-- I'll take pictures of our next visit to the dairy). Their cows are exclusively grass fed and they use no pesticides on their farm.

The only downside is that it is a 45 minute drive one way from my house. So I generally buy 3 or 4 gallons each trip and make two trips per month. I store the milk in the freezer until I'm ready to use it. Some people don't like freezing unhomogenized milk because the creamy fat separates a little when it is defrosted. I just shake it up real good and it doesn't bother me-- and I've had no complaints from my family.

Also, some people don't like to store their raw milk in plastic jugs. They prefer glass jars. But Swan's Dairy packages their raw milk and cream in plastic. I don't mind this though.

Fair warning: For those of you aren't familiar with raw milk, you WILL know when it goes bad! It smells so bad you could never acidentally drink it. It is so much worse than pastuerized milk! It kind of smells like vomit and a dead animal. I make my husband smell check whenever I'm worried about it spoiling.