Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition [Survival Today

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/08/21/tackling-breakfast-healthy-inexpensive-and-easy-meals-to-get-me-started-in-the-morning/

Tackling Breakfast: Healthy, Inexpensive, And Easy Meals To Get Me Started In The Morning

54comments
August 21, 2007 @ 10:00 am - Written by Trent
Categories: Food, Frugality

I’m a big fan of eating breakfast. It always seems to get my motor running in the morning and I feel utterly lethargic when I miss out on it. The problem is that the mornings are usually chaotic - my wife and I are both getting ready for work and also taking care of our son and making sure he’s ready for daycare, too. Soon, we’re going to add another child to the mix.

The end result of this is that I had to find ways to have delicious and healthy breakfasts without much effort in the morning. I want stuff that’s good for me, but that I can just yank out and prepare extremely quickly when I need it before I get going. Time is of the essence, but health and flavor are also important, and I also want it to be cheap. Are all of these things possible?

Luckily, I’m a food nut. Here are four recipes for breakfasts that you can largely prepare in advance so that when you’re busy in the morning, they can be easily prepared. Some of them are quite healthy and others are less so, but they’re all convenient and quick.

Swiss Breakfast

The default recipe for Swiss Breakfast (that’s what my friend calls it anyway) makes about six servings and is as follows:

4 cups oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup almonds, sliced
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds w/o shells
4 dates, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Ziploc bags (for storage)

Just mix all of this stuff up together and put it into baggies, with about 3/4 cup of the mix in each. What I generally do is buy a tub of oats, then get proportionate amounts of the rest of the stuff so I can make a ton of baggies. Then I bag up the meals and put the baggies back into the oat container, which allows me to grab out a baggie whenever I want one. This stuff is all dried, so the baggies will store for a very long time and be just fine in the cupboard.

When you pull out a baggie, just pour it in a bowl, put about a cup and a half of skim milk on top, stir it a bit, then microwave it for about three minutes on high (covered, of course). This number might vary depending on your microwave, and you can also vary the milk to taste. I usually slice up some fruit on top, but that’s not required.

Banana Bread

We love eating bananas, but often a few of them will get overly ripe on us and the skin begins to turn dark brown. That doesn’t mean it’s time to throw them out - it means it’s time for banana bread! All you need is a loaf pan.

2 cups flour (I vastly prefer white flour for this recipe, but whole wheat works)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (considering the amount of butter that’s actually in each slice, this isn’t much)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 overripe bananas, mashed

Use a very tiny amount of the butter to grease down a 9 by 5 bread loaf pan. Heat the oven to 350 F. Mix together the butter and brown sugar (a mixer works well for this, on low), then add eggs and mashed bananas until it’s all gooey and consistent. Add the rest of the ingredients, then stir just a bit more until it’s largely consistent. Pour the mix in the pan, stick it in the oven for about an hour, and you’re good. The ol’ toothpick test works to see if it’s done - slide in a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean and smooth, you’re good. Take it out, slice off some slices, and put the rest in a big Ziploc bag in the freezer.

I usually pull out the loaf in the evening from the freezer, then slice pieces in the morning for breakfast. I like it plain - some put butter on it and warm it up. Then just pop it back in the freezer.

Breakfast Burritos

A while back, I mentioned a early, less healthy form of this recipe. Here’s what I’m currently using:

2 pounds of cured smoked sausage, cubed or 2 pounds of soyrizo (the last batch I did was a pound of each)
4 medium onions, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 pounds of shredded cheese (fat free cheese works just fine for this, or you can skip it)
16 eggs
32 big flour tortillas (10 inch ones work well)
1 jar of picante sauce
Saran wrap or Ziploc freezer bags (for packing)

Cut up the meat and vegetables and split it into four separate equal batches. Crack all sixteen eggs, blend them so the yolk is even, then separate this into four equal batches. Saute a batch of meat and veggies for about ten minutes (if you’re using soyrizo, you may want to cook it just a bit first before the veggies), then add a batch of the eggs and stir regularly until the eggs are cooked. Each small batch here makes eight burritos, so spoon some of the egg/veggie/meat mix onto a tortilla shell, put some cheese and a bit of picante sauce on top, then fold it up and wrap it in Saran wrap. Toss the finished burritos in the freezer. I can make 32 burritos in about an hour and a half following this process.

When you pull out a burrito, unwrap it, put it on a saucer, and microwave it for about two minutes from frozen.

Cherry Muffins

One fun Sunday activity is making muffins. The only tools you’ll need are some paper muffin cups, a muffin pan, a bowl, and a spoon. Oh yes, and food:

1 1/2 cups flour (white or whole wheat, whatever you prefer)
1 cup rolled oats
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat is fine here)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cherries (frozen or fresh, about 8 ounces)
Saran wrap (for packing)

Melt the butter. Mix the eggs until consistent and add the vanilla and butter to the eggs and mix. Mix together all of the dry ingredients (besides the cherries) in a bowl. Mix in all of the moist ingredients into the dry ones (besides the cherries) until it’s consistent. Mix in the cherries. Put muffin cups in your pan, then pour in batter until it’s just below the top of the cup. Heat oven to 375 F and bake for about 22 minutes. To make sure they’re done, press the top of the muffin and see if it feels like a muffin (springs back a bit when pushed down, not gooey at all but moist). Then wrap them individually in Saran wrap and toss the ones you won’t eat in the next day or two in the freezer.

If you want to enjoy a muffin or two for breakfast, just pull it out of the freezer the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. You might also want to microwave it just a bit if you like warm muffins.

In short, breakfast can be convenient, tasty, healthy, and inexpensive if you’re willing to put in just a bit of effort in your spare time.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/01/30/the-frugal-magic-of-the-five-ingredient-crock-pot-meal/

The Frugal Magic of the “Five Ingredient Crock Pot Meal”

122comments
January 30, 2009 @ 2:00 pm - Written by Trent
Categories: Food, Frugality

crockWe use our crock pot all the time. Rarely does a week go by when we don’t use it at least twice. It enables us to simply put some ingredients in the crock pot in the morning, turn it on “low,” leave it for the day, then enjoy a home-cooked supper with our family at dinner. Often, we’ve got enough food left over that it serves as a solid lunch for me and my wife the next day (or the day after that).

A long time ago, I wrote an “introductory” post about crock pots entitled The Art of the Slow Cooker. In it, I mention the following:

Don’t have any idea what to cook? I’d recommend starting off with one of the spice packets sold in the grocery store, usually near the soup mixes. McCormick’s slow cooker packets are quite good for what you pay for, and the recipes usually involve dumping in the packet and four or five ingredients, turning it on low, and walking away for eight or nine hours. If you need to be away longer than that, add a quarter cup of additional water to the mix.

What’s amazing is how easy it is to create a truly tasty meal with minimal ingredients. Even if you don’t choose to pick up a spice packet at the grocery store, you can still create a wide array of great recipes with just a few ingredients in the crock pot.

In fact, my wife and I often strive to come up with great crock pot meals that require only five ingredients. With such a small list of ingredients, it takes only a minute or so to pull the crock pot out of the cupboard, toss in the ingredients, turn it on “low,” and leave for the day, only to come home to a deliciously prepared home-cooked meal.

Here’s one such recipe from The Art of the Slow Cooker:

here’s the simplest really tasty recipe I know of for a slow cooker.

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (chicken & herbs if you can find it)
1 small can mushroom pieces (a 4 ounce can, drain off the water first)
1/2 chopped red onion
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into strips if you’d like)
1/4 cup white wine (optional)

Put them all in the crock pot. Turn it on low. Walk away for four hours. For every additional two hours it will cook, add a quarter cup of water.

This makes for a delicious little chicken dish that I like to call “creamy chicken casserole.” It takes about two minutes to prepare in the morning and fills your belly right at night.

Like that one? Here are five more recipes, all of which we’ve eaten in the last few months. The directions for each are easy:

Combine all of this into a crock pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn it on low and walk away for eight hours. Add a quarter of a cup of water for every additional two hours you intend to cook it.

Got that? That’s all you have to do for each one. Here are the ingredients.

Crock Pot Chili
1 large can tomato sauce
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cans beans (kidney beans are fine, but you can use whatever you like)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 cup diced onion (or onion salt)

Simple Pot Roast
1 2 to 2.5 lb. roast
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup chopped celery
3 cups beef broth or beef stock

Ham and Potato Casserole
4 red potatoes, sliced
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds cubed ham
1 can condensed cream of celery soup, diluted according to can directions
2 tablespoons flour

(This one is very good with cheese on top just before you serve it.)

Shredded Beef Sandwiches
2 pounds beef brisket
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 cups beef broth or beef stock
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped red onion

(Serve this on buns - magnificent!)

Breakfast Apple Cobbler
4 medium-sized apples, peeled and sliced (try Honey Crisps)
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups granola cereal

(Start this one at 10 or 11 PM - ready for breakfast!)

It takes only five ingredients and a few minutes to come home to (or wake up to) a delicious home-cooked meal that doesn’t cost you very much money at all.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/04/11/50-side-businesses-you-can-start-on-your-own/

50 Side Businesses You Can Start On Your Own

103comments
April 11, 2009 @ 11:00 am - Written by Trent
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Getting Started

In the past, I’ve discussed how it’s a good idea to spend your spare time dabbling in entrepreneurship: it fills your time with something that you choose (and thus you enjoy) and sets up a potential long-term revenue stream. I also discussed how I got a side business going myself.

Since then, lots of readers have written to me, asking for ideas on how to start a simple side business. What follows is a list of 50 of those ideas that I’ve collected over the last year or so. Each of these ideas is very simple to start, and most can be done as a sole proprietorship at first (meaning you don’t have to file any legal documents to get started, though you will want to do that if it starts to take off). Most of these can be done at home in your spare time in your spare space, too.

Ready? See if there are any ideas below that fit you well. If you find an idea, seek out a guide on how to get started in that area.

Antique refurbishment This is a perfect side business for people who love antiquing. Take worn-out antiques home with you, invest the time and care needed to transform those old items into something amazing, then resell them at a profit.

Auto detailing Have a meticulous eye for detail and love to get things gleaming clean? Auto detailing is probably a perfect side business for you. In essence, your job is to make cars sparkle inside and out - and many people are quite happy to pay well for this service.

Babysitting Got lots of evenings free? Like kids? Babysitting may be a great side business for you. Keep an eye on multiple children on Friday and Saturday nights and you can earn some solid income.

Bed and breakfast Have some extra space in your home? Turn that extra bedroom into a “bed and breakfast” room. This works particularly well if you have a somewhat older home or live near an area that attracts regular travelers and tourists.

Blogging If you enjoy writing, find a topic you’re passionate about and start a blog on the topic. All you need is a computer, some time, and some energy to consistently write.

Cake decorating Enjoy baking and have a bit of an artistic touch? Learn how to decorate cakes and make them for special events. One of my mother’s old friends does this and makes quite a bit of money on the side.

Candle making Candle making is a great little craft to learn. You can often easily sell the candles at local shops and also through websites like Etsy.com.

Candy making Homemade candies are easier to make than you think and quite popular. Package them in nice little boxes and sell them through a local gift shop.

Card making This is another artistic “crafty” angle you can follow. Make greeting/birthday cards from scratch using your own photographs, some blank cards, and a healthy dose of artistic flair. Again, you san sell items like these through a local gift shop or at sites like etsy.com.

Catering If you love to cook, take the “Blondie” route and start a home catering business. Catering is a business that’s perfectly designed to reward those who plan well and can often fit perfectly into weekends, lining up wonderfully opposite a normal workweek.

Childcare service Many states allow people to start up in-home daycares with minimal licensing and paperwork. If you love children and have plenty of time and space at home, this is a perfect business to get into.

Cleaning services for businesses Many businesses and civic institutions have a need for individuals who will provide cleaning services at a low cost outside of business hours. This is a great side business for those who can put in a few hours late at night or on weekends.

Collectible trading If there’s a particular type of collectible that you know a great deal about, you can often make good money as a collectible trader, utilizing tools like eBay and opportunities to find those collectibles in the community. I had some success with this myself with both trading cards and video games in the past.

Computer troubleshooting I had some success with this in the past, though I’ve largely moved away from it now. If you have a knack for fixing computers, this is a good place to start.

Consignment buyer Consignment shops and consignment auctions are often loaded with good deals if you know how to identify them - quite often, you can turn these good deals around and make a nice profit elsewhere. Get started by visiting some consignment shops and critically evaluating the prices on the items there.

Cookie making Much like candy making, homemade cookies can be a great seller. Bake the cookies, package them well, and resell them through a local gift shop. Often, you can find people in your social network who will buy batches from you for special occasions.

Dinner preparer I recently met a woman who earned quite a bit of money as a very part-time chef. Once a week, she would go to someone’s house and prepare a homemade meal for their family, then do all the dishes and cleanup work. This gives the family plenty of together time, while earning the lady some cash in the pocket. If you love to cook, this can be a great opportunity, but you may have to put a lot of work into searching for clients.

Event coordinator Events like family reunions and large parties are often full of busywork that many people simply don’t want to tackle. That can be the perfect place for you to step in and take charge of the planning and coordination.

Event DJing Are you an audiophile? If you have a great sound system and a large selection of music, you’ve already got what you need to hire yourself out as a DJ for various events and receptions. This is a great way to fill an afternoon and evening while also earning some cash in the process.

Exercise teacher Many gymnasiums will trade membership and often a bit more for a person willing and able to teach an exercise class. If you’re in good shape, this is a great opportunity to earn some extra money, plus it can often lead to additional income with one-on-one teaching opportunities.

Furniture making If you’re adept at woodworking and have just a bit of basic equipment, it’s easy to get into business making deck furniture. It only requires a few items - a saw, a drill, a sander - and some creativity and passion for working with wood.

Garage sale management One person I know holds a garage sale at their house almost every weekend during the summer. As a result, that person has a lot of regular customers who stop by almost every weekend to see what’s on sale. That person then goes to neighbors and friends and offers to sell their stuff at that yard sale for them, splitting the proceeds. People are usually happy to do this, since they don’t have to go to all of the work of running a yard sale, but still get rid of unwanted items and earn a bit of money, too.

Gardening services I’ve actually had requests from others for people willing to do this, so the demand is out there. To put it simply, some people are willing to pay others to get a vegetable or flower garden started for them in their yard so they can have access to ultra-fresh produce without all the legwork.

Handy man services Skilled at basic home repair? Let people know that they can call you for little repair jobs, like basic plumbing and other things. You’d be amazed at the simple things people are willing to pay others to help them with.

Housecleaning Many people simply don’t enjoy cleaning their homes and are willing to pay a reasonable price to have someone do the work for them. This is a great way to earn extra money in a flexible way, particularly if you have time off during the workweek.

Interior decorating Fascinated by interior design? Have a huge collection of interior design materials around? Many people are quite happy to hire individuals to help them decorate their home - I know, for one, that I have no eye for this type of thing.

Jewelry making If you have a good eye for detail work and a lot of patience, homemade jewelry can be quite profitable. As with other items on this list, there are many opportunities to sell such items through local gift shops or at sites like etsy.

Knitting / crocheting / quilting Skilled at creating blankets and sweaters? There’s a huge market for these types of items - even better, you can usually make them in your spare time whenever you have it. As always, local shops and places like etsy are great places to go to sell such items.

Landscaping services Willing to mow lawns and trim bushes and trees? Many people are quite happy to pay for such services. Not only is this a great side business for a fit adult, it’s also a great way for a teenager to get a small business started.

Meal-to-go preparations Remember my earlier post about breakfast burritos? Making meals in advance is a great way to save money for yourself - but you can often prepare these for others as well and sell them for a markup. Prepare eight casseroles, for example, then sell six of them to cover your costs, and you’ve got two free dinners for your family (and maybe a bit more). You can grow this by taking orders from others and finding out what they like.

Online media consultant Like participating on messageboards, Facebook, Twitter, and so on? Become an online media consultant and help people promote things. Start small - help local businesses get a presence on Facebook and set them up with Twitter. From there, you can grow to whatever works for you.

Personal shopping Many very busy people and elderly people are willing to pay a fee for people to do their shopping for them. Simply retrieve a shopping list from them, return with the receipt, and accept payment for the purchased items (plus a little fee). You can often do this in conjunction with your own shopping trip if you’re well-organized (take two carts!).

Pet grooming Many people loathe bathing their pets and trimming their hair - I know I do. Pet groomers perform these tasks for a small fee - a perfect job for a person who loves dogs and cats.

Pet sitting When people go on trips, they’re often concerned as to what will happen with their pets. That’s where you step in - offer yourself as a safe place to leave their pets, or be willing to go to their home to take care of their pets.

Pet walking Many busy people leave their pets home all day, but realize that those pets really could use a vigorous walk (and an opportunity to relieve themselves) during the day. Pet walking is a great opportunity for exercise, fresh air, and some pocket money if you have free time during each day.

Pet yard waste cleanup For many people in suburban areas, cleaning up pet yard waste is a real hassle - it’s disgusting, for one. Instead of cleaning it up themselves, they might hire someone to do it regularly, two to three times a week. There are several such services in our area, actually.

Produce selling Like to grow vegetables? Focus in on one vegetable and sell the excess to grocery stores and at farmers’ markets. My father does this with tomatoes and earns some solid extra money during the summer months. You can do really well, though, if you can grow things inside during the winter - February fresh tomatoes can sell quite well.

Proofreading Have strong English skills and exceptional grammar? You may have opportunities to work as a proofreader from home. Advertising for this can be difficult - seek out those who might actually be able to use your services and advertise directly to them.

Public speaking If you’re the type of person who can get the attention of a room easily, public speaking might be for you. Take advantage of every public speaking opportunity you can and you’ll be surprised at the opportunities that make themselves available for you.

Scrapbook making Many people dream of having beautiful scrapbooks. They collect all the materials they want in the scrapbooks but never follow through on the actual creation. You can step in here - take their ideas and materials and assemble a scrapbook for them.

Senior citizen assistance Many elderly people need assistance with a wide variety of simple household tasks - cleaning, laundry, and so forth. Many children of elderly people are quite willing to hire someone to help out their parents.

Sewing and alterations My wife is quite handy with a sewing machine and often hems and modifies our children’s clothes. She could easily take this a step further and offer her services to others, doing basic garment repair and modification for a small price on lazy evenings.

Soap making Making amazing homemade soaps isn’t as hard as you might think - it just takes time and patience. Again, items like these can easily be sold via local gift shops and through websites like etsy.

Teaching music If you know how to play an instrument (particularly the piano or the guitar) and have patience, you’ve got what you need to teach others how to play. Offer lessons in that instrument to others - this can also be an excellent thing to barter with, too.

Toy making From simple things like sock monkeys to more elaborate things like handcrafted chess sets, many people are willing to pay good money for handcrafted toys that you can easily make at home in your spare time. Again, gift shops are the place to go with items like these.

Tutoring Did you major in a particular topic in college? Do you have patience with children? You likely have what you need to tutor kids in particular subjects. Seek out parents and let them know that you tutor in a particular subject and provide materials for them to share and phone calls will often trickle in.

Video preparation services Many people like to have videos made for special events, such as weddings, or for gifts. This may mean actually taking the video yourself at a special event, or it may mean simply assembling materials and creating a video from those items. Either way, with a well-equipped PC, some taste, and some patience, you can make quite sophisticated video productions at home.

Virtual assistant Many ultra-busy professionals appreciate having someone who can check and answer their email, organize task lists for them, update their calendars, and so on, with minimal interaction. The best part is that you can provide this service from home with a good internet connection.

Web site design Many small businesses in your community could use a very basic web presence to tell others about their business. Quite often, these businesses don’t have a large budget for such things. That’s where you come in - get a bunch of clients from the local community by beating the pavement, create sites for them, and maintain them for a small fee. Get enough businesses and you have a nice side business of your own that doesn’t require a ton of maintenance time.

Wedding planner If you’re one of those people who can’t help but flip through bridal magazines and think about various wedding arrangements in your daydreams, wedding planning might be the perfect thing for you. A great way to get started is to develop a website on the topic, get to know people online, and offer your services throughout the community.

I’m betting the readers have many, many more ideas along these same lines.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/03/20/by-request-five-essential-crock-pot-recipes/

By Request: Five Essential Crock Pot Recipes

18comments
March 20, 2007 @ 12:30 pm - Written by Trent
Categories: Food

It is said that blogging is a conversation between bloggers and their readers, and hopefully it is never more evident than it is with this post. A few weeks ago, a cadre of my readers basically demanded that I post a listing of my ten favorite crock pot recipes as a solution to saving money by cooking at home and also saving time in the evening for a busy family. I spent about half an hour flipping through my recipes and selected ten of my favorite recipes. However, actually typing them up and translating my weird little notes is taking a substantial amount of time, so I’ve decided to post the first five now and the next five at a later date.

Hopefully, at least a few of these will spark your imagination (and taste buds) as well. Please note that many of these recipes will make a substantial quantity of food - we tend to eat a crock pot meal for two or three days and occasionally freeze leftovers as well. Also note that I tried to go with recipes that were savory and a bit unusual, but fairly simple.

One big tip! If you’re going to leave these on for more than eight hours, add an extra half a cup of water before you go. The biggest danger for cooking things in a crock pot longer than that is having the food dry out.

Without further ado…

Beef Burgundy

2 slices bacon - cooked and chopped
2 pounds sirloin tips cut into small cubes (one inch or so)
1 garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 beef boullion cube, crushed
1 cup red wine (Burgundy if you have it)

2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water
4 ounces fresh mushrooms (optional)

Chop up the bacon and sirloin tips and cook them in a skillet for several minutes along with the garlic clove (make it two cloves if you like garlic flavor). While the meat is cooking, put everything else together except for the mushrooms, corn starch, and water in the crock pot and stir it. Dump in the entire contents of the skillet, stir the mixture, and set it on low. Leave for work. Come home, mix together the corn starch and water, pour that in, add the mushrooms, and kick it up to high for 15 final minutes. Serve.

Chicken Stew

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups potatoes, cubed
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 small can (6 ounce) tomato paste

1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons corn starch

Throw in everything but the corn starch and the water, stir it, and leave it on low for eight or ten hours. Come home, mix the water and the corn starch, dump it in, turn it on high for thirty minutes, and serve. Easy as pie.

(Like) Lasagna

1 box of pasta (rotini, ziti, something like that that looks like fun)
2 big jars pasta sauce (28 oz. each)
1 medium can diced tomatoes
3 eggs
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons parsley flakes

Cook the pasta according to directions (about five minutes). Cook the meats together and drain. Mix the pasta and olive oil and put the pasta on the bottom of the crock pot. Mix the meat, one cup of each of the cheeses, and one of the eggs and put that on top of the pasta. Mix the remaining ingredients and put that on the very top. Cover the crock pot, turn it on low, and come home to some faux lasagna.

Corn Stuffed Pork Chops

6 pork chops (see note below)
2 tablespoons green pepper, minced
2 ears sweet corn, cut from cob (or 1 can of corn)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 cup soft bread crumbs (you can tear bread into tiny pieces for this)
1 tablespoon minced onion (from the spice aisle)

When you go to the butcher to get the pork chops, tell the butcher you plan to stuff the chops and have him/her cut a large pouch in each one so you can stuff them. Mix everything else, stuff the chops with the mixture, close the slits with toothpicks, then sit them on a metal rack in the crock pot. Dump in three tablespoons of water, set it on low, and walk away.

Bratwursts, Sauerkraut, and Potatoes (incidentally, my favorite recipe of all)

6 to 8 large bratwursts, boiled
2 bags (16 ounces each) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained (I make my own ‘kraut, but very few people do)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed (highly optional)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
6 to 8 medium red potatoes, peeled and quartered
32 ounces beer (I like using Guinness or Rogue Dead Guy Ale)

Put everything in the crock pot. Turn it on low. Walk away for at least eight hours.

Two special search engines for recipes/food:

http://www.supercook.com/

LOL, where does one strart with this one, so many choices or a simple search:

http://www.foodieview.com/

That was wonderful information, Granny!<<<

Good to know that you can use it, makes the days work worth while.

I didn’t have a clue as to known or unknown on it.

Gotta find something that helps for you.

Keep us posted on the butter, it should be ok, if it separates then beat it with a mixer and see if it will make the fluffy whipped butter they use on pancakes.

As long as you and the others find things here that are useful, it makes my efforts worth while.

It is much easier, since the others have joined in the posting and research and share their knowledge with us.

Thank you for reading our efforts.

Links to Eggplant recipes, 37,000 of them:

http://www.foodieview.com/recipes/eggplant

http://www.foodieview.com/blog/2009/08/17/recipe-roundup-every-kitchen-needs-some-black-magic-cooking-with-eggplant/

An article about eggplants and hidden links to recipes for cooking them....

http://www.foodieview.com/recipes/samosa

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Samosa Filling With Mashed Potatoes Recipe #114741 | 1¼ hours | 15 min prep | 2 1/2 cups (Change Servings) Change to: cups US Metric (2) RATE IT NOW READ REVIEWS Your review ...
http://www.recipezaar.com/114741

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Samosas Recipe | Recipezaar
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Samosas Recipe #41094 2 ratings These take a bit of time to prepare, but the end result is so worth it! They are not difficult to make, however. (cook time is for each batch) by ca...
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samosa chick pea Recipe | Recipezaar
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samosa chick pea Recipe #20683 2 ratings by alan Requires Premium Membership My Notes ONLY YOU see your private notes, and they print with the recipe. 40 servings 1½ hours 1...
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Samosa Pie Recipe | Recipezaar
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Samosa Pie Recipe #122717 2 ratings Posted by request for my Sister. You will need a 10 inch springform pan for this recipe by abloom69 | Edit... My Notes Requires Premium Mem...
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Dessert Samosas Recipe | Recipezaar
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Dessert Samosas Recipe #16052 | 35 min | 15 min prep | add private note | Edit... My Notes: My Notes ONLY YOU see your private notes, and they print with the recipe. Save Note...
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Samosa filling - spicy potato Recipe | Recipezaar
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Samosa filling - spicy potato Recipe #20648 | 2 hours | 50 min prep | add private note | Edit... My Notes: My Notes ONLY YOU see your private notes, and they print with the re...
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Pizza Samosa Recipe | Recipezaar
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Pizza Samosa Recipe #145966 1 rating Done as a request from Varsha, for more samosa filling ideas. Got this idea from my friend. I dont know exact quantities, put in an estimate.Th...
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FENNEL-SCENTED SPINACH AND POTATO SAMOSAS Recipe at Epicurious.com
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FENNEL-SCENTED SPINACH AND POTATO SAMOSAS (Savory Stuffed Pastries) 1/2 pound red potatoes (about 5, each about 2 inches in diameter) 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 tablespoon ground ...
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/13008

Ah, yes, those stubborn knots. I have learned to recognize the ominous sound of our splitter when it hits one, most of the time, but hubby is an old pro and if I hear him shout, “stand back," I get WAY back as those chunks can really fly.
Cottonball, I smiled when I read of your calculations of cordage. I have amused myself for years while stacking wood with various calculations. 8x4x4=128, then I calculate the size of my woodshed, pile, row or where ever I am stacking and divide by 128 to see how many cords I have in that area. Mindless activity to pass the time. Had a wonderful teacher in my one room schoolhouse who taught us many shortcuts to do math in your head.

Celebrating 61 years of marital bliss (LOL) today. Two strong-willed personalities sure put a damper on marital bliss but he is still my very best friend, so I guess we have done well.

[Other folks thoughts that caught my attention this morning...
granny]

I am a very selfish, lazy, small-minded greedy little f-—, and even
| I, if I were to haplessly stumble upon The Secret of Limitless Free
| Power, would simply give it away as quickly and completely as
| possible. Why?
|
| Because I am lazy.
|
| I’d want brighter and more energetic people to improve on and
| promulgate my idea while I sat back and sipped margaritas.
| Maybe I am a Bulgarian at heart, but....what’s with all the
| money crap?
|

Lazy is definitely one possible explanation.

But there might also be another, called the attitude towards work in general.

Which seems to be radically different in Ha’merka and in Bulgria.

When were kiddies, our parents were motivating us to study, and trying to
explain why we should learn. So they scared us:

*) You have to study, otherwise you will HAVE to work when you grow up.

Now, in the US the kiddies are scared at school alright. And pretty badly
at that, almost to death:

*) You have to study, otherwise you will NOT be able to work you grow up.

WTF? Is *this* what I am teaching my kids? Definitely not what my
parents taught me.

Oh well ... onward to the promised land, flowing with milk and honey.

—seeker.

[I had not thought of breast feeding and the communist agenda, capitalist rather over lap at times...granny]

| > So ... you can call me old-fashioned and kind of kinky, H ..
| > ... butt ... what’s the problems with the
| > female breasts as organs of sex ...
| > ... once again?
|
| Nuthin, unmodernized, but I know what H is talking about.
|
| If a mom starts getting social pressure that the rest of the world
| thinks that breastfeeding is like having the kids present during sex,
| and people will then look down .. it is like totally eyewwww.
|
| Add up enough of those little digs, plus the effort to keep
| breastfeeding, and you might equal more formula sales.
|

That’s right, C

And you get something more besides more formula sales. Alienation of baby
and mother. And also something else. If a mother nurses a baby and cares
about it, then the mother feels first accepted (by the baby and by the
father) and also useful. Her self-esteem grows.

To use John’s characterization, she is no longer scared and unhappy. And
cannot be made to participate in consumerism. Also a feeling of guilt and
worthlessness cannot be induced by the media, so she cannot be made to go
slave as a proletarian.

But that’s bad, because now the baby has a parent. It cannot be farmed
off to strangers, be made scared and unhappy, and be trained to be a good
consumer and proletarian.

A nursing mother is one of the biggest enemies of the “capitalist” social
order — she produces humans and not cogs that can be use in the
robot-like machine called “economy.”

—resisting modernization

What a powerful thought! Sometimes you amaze me, P ..

At times obsessed
with absurd linguistic trivia which bores me, and then you come up with this
sort of brilliance. Right. A breast-fed child will be a human being; a
less-mothered child is far more easily robotized. So many are . . .
robotized.

A couple of nights back Annie declared that she wasn’t cooking and was being
taken out to eat dinner; out to the local pub (hotel) for a counter-meal. I
had not been in such a place for maybe five years, maybe seven . . . . and
the people looked different. Chubbier. Vaguer. It was Friday night. Many
large family groups, ten, twelve, fourteen to a long-table, ages usually
from 40 to 3. The kids were like kids always . . . all looking alike,
dressed alike, trying to be liked, admired, approved-of, look good, be
right. But the styles were a bit shocking . . . a lot of buzzzooooom peeking
out the straight low tops and “V”s of what would have seemed when my
generation was that age, sexually-provocative dresses. And piercings. And
the girls still dominating the boys by using their sexuality to steer (and
the inference to castrated bulls is intended) the boy’s lusty urges.

S

oh, yes, the whole sexualization of everything phase has been in full ramped
up mode for years now. While it’s always been around, of course — we ARE
sexual creatures — the fact that (a) humans are virtually always in heat and
(b) we interchange and overlap our sexuality and our commerce is a particularly
toxic situation.

As a result, in order to do more/get more/make more one has to be
willing to sexualize more. It’s way beyond out of hand. I am pretty
“laissez faire” yet i still find the very common fashion nowadays of printing
some fool’s brand name on the rear end of girl’s clothing, or even
worse, printing a little saying like “pretty” or “booty” or what have
you is unduly whorish. (Not that there’s anything wrong with whores
it’s just that not every female necessary has to dress like them.)

The problem is not so much running around with boobs and underwear
and hooting and screwing like bonobos, it’s more that this growth in
sexual activity not only does NOT come with a concomitant growth
in the strength of the family, personal responsibility and awareness,
but rather what seems a willing diminution of same.
S..

I am probably missing many
others, but to generalize, all postings in the last, say month or so, have
been about independence in one way or another, or at least that has been
my impression.

And that’s OK. And that’s exactly what is to be expected. As my favorite
psychiatrists says, the name of the game of “growth” is independence. We
become more independent when we grow, and conversely, we grow by becoming
more independent.

I don’t know how you see it H., but I see the desire to create our own
food as a desire to be independent. Because if we were happy with what
was in store, we would be just OK with being dependent of the “industrial
food system.”

And then, the question is, independent of *what* and independent of *whom?*

And the quick answer is obviously “from the system.” So there is
something in the system that we don’t like, apparently. John has probably
a long list grievances. Steve is obviously unhappy with the system, he
would not be running like hell from anything Amerikan otherwise.

And if we ask ourselves, which particular aspect of the system we don’t
like, may be we can learn something.

Of course, the membership on this list is diverse. Many may not be
interested in “resisting.” Also what “resisting” means is in the eye of
the beholder. Resisting may be “resisting the urge to buy High Fructose
Corn Syrup.” And soil-n-health is apparently the right group, since it
deals, among other things, with healthy food that comes from the soil.
And I guess all of us have passed through this stage of resisting at one
time or another.

So ... at some level, we all want to work hard to create our own food, by
developing more organic ways of improving the soil.

But are they going to just let us do it? Under their noses? Let us
escape from the fold?

And what are we doing to do about it?

At that Community Supported Agriculture conference I wrote up a few posts
back, one presenter aptly pointed out that the coming changes (peak oil,
climate change) present us with marvellous opportunities to transform social
conditions as they are now into a far more human life for everyone, and that
the only reason we will come a’cropper will be if we fail to communicate
with and support each other, which requires seeing past minor differences
and abandoning the intention to be right by making others wrong.

Community Supported Agriculture was the topic of the day; about 40 attended
in an old community hall, Sulphur Creek, Tasmania. Annie and I presented for
an hour; we described our small-scale market-gardening venture and I
explained the three fundamental reasons for our success:

1. I am a highly skilled veggie grower;
2. we grow on first class agricultural soil;
3. we know how to do business and we do do business in a businesslike
manner, or, as is said of that attitude in Yiddish: gescheft ist gescheft !

We also developed a business based upon the actual circumstances and
opportunities immediately presented to us.

Another presenter helped found and develop this enterprise that everyone
with any interest in growing market crops should know about:

http://www.foodconnect.com.au

This is a unique and new (to me) method of food distribution which is
encouraging more ethical food growing whilst simultaneously increase
farm-gate income for participants in its program by a huge leap.

S...

The clearly delineated “keep it local” rule is very much
in line with the concept of ‘slow money’ discussed by
more and more folks: Catherine Anne Fitts (sp?) and
Chelsea Green folks.

Keep the money, effort and food close, where it can
continue to circulate through the economy and do
good in a tangible fashion. makes sense.

stepping back....as much as I love watching a
fine National Geographic special from a part of
the world i may never go...or having the choice
of having Acai berries or Goji or coconut, etc....
I think the cost of having the world available to
me (ie globalization) is as John d’H. would say,
entirely dependent on oil. When the pumps
dry up, the whole model collapses, and the
only workable communities/regional exchanges
at that point will be the ones such as those
described in FoodConnect.

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soilandhealth/

Celebrating 61 years of marital bliss (LOL) today. <<<

That is a fantastic feat, how wonderful.

Friends do make good partners, as you proved.

May you have many more anniversaries and always be happy.

Many hugs and ‘best wishes’ to both of you.

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/mock-chicken/

Mock Chicken
[Depression era dish]

Ingredients:
1 Large Tomato
1 Large Onion
salt & pepper
Tbs butter
1/4-1/2 cup mixed herbs (we used dry)
2 eggs beaten
1/4-1/2 cup grated cheese (add last)

Method:
This was all cooked in a small pot on the stove mixing as you go then add the cheese once egg mixture is cooked through. We used to spread it on crackers and sandwiches.

[granny notes, watch the herbs, dry are stronger than fresh so use far less of them....]

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/beetroot-with-apple/

Beetroot with Apple

Hello Everyone,

We have recently moved from Belgium (the northern part, where they speak Dutch/Flemish) and intend to stay in Australia for 3 to 5 years. We used to be member of a “Food Team” at home. The resemblances with Food Connect are striking (mostly organic, very local and seasonal, contact with the farmers, sometimes fair-trade produce), but there are some differences as well (your quality and freshness is better, we used to have more “forgotten” veggies that you would discover for the first time or rediscover from your childhood).

Here are some very simple recipes!

Cheers,
Ilse Broekaert

Beetroot with Apples (my grandmother’s recipe who was born in 1900)
For 4 people you’ll need 2 beetroots, 2 apples (Granny Smith type), 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise (can be replaced by yoghurt) and 1 shallot.

Cook your unpeeled beetroot (I think it needs 20 minutes). Skin when cooled and cut into dice. Cut your apples into parts of more or less the same size. Add a spoon of mayonnaise and one finely chopped shallot. Pepper and salt if needed. Makes a tasty side plate next to potatoes, sausages, chicken, …

Tomatoes and Chips
This one comes from my French girlfriend: take a basket and put some strong fleshy tomatoes in there, top it up with a packet of potato chips, take your friend by the hand and find a nice spot along the river and munch away… one bite of tomato, one bite of chips…mmm! Loved by young and old!

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/christmas-carrot-loaf/

Christmas Carrot Loaf

I’ve been a subscriber to Food Connect for around 18 months now. We moved to Australia 6 years ago from Argentina and having a Spanish and Italian background we love good, fresh Mediterranean style of food and enjoy home made family dinners

Despite our background, Argentineans do not eat a great variety of veggies (big beef eaters) so receiving those wonderful boxes of fresh produce has encouraged my family to try new flavors and myself to find and try new recipes. Great fun!
This is a different and healthy way to use the lovely carrots that have been coming lately in the boxes.

Cheers,
Silvia Distefano

Ingredients:
11/2 cups self raising wholemeal flour
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
½ teaspoon cinnamon
11/4 cup carrot pulp
½ cup oil (light olive oil)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup sour cream

Method:
Grease and line a 22cm x 12cm loaf pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, and carrot pulp into a large mixing bowl. Add cinnamon, walnuts and apricots, stir to combine.

Mix eggs, sour cream and oil and add to the dry ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Pour into loaf pan.

Bake at 160 – 170 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove from oven, stand in pan for 5 minutes before inverting out onto wire cake rack.

Secret ingredient!
Make your fussy eaters try the loaf first before revealing the secret ingredient: carrot pulp (from a food processor). They will love it!

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/lindas-silverbeet-surprise/

Linda’s Silverbeet Surprise

Our family absolutely love the fact that we are getting fresh, local, mainly organic food at an affordable price and supporting farming families at the same time. Every week, there is much anticipation of Thursday (when we pick up our box) and as soon as we get the box home my two children (age 4 and 1) immediately start tearing it apart, excited to see what the farmer sent us this week. Whilst my son (4) has always been a good fruit and veg eater, he eats even more of a variety now because apparently “farmer beans taste much better Mum!” and this applies to almost everything. I have to agree!

One of the things we have struggled with has been the silverbeet, until I stumbled upon this recipe from the book - Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.

Cheers,
Linda Marsden

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 bunch kale or swiss chard (silverbeet)
2 cups crushed pineapple
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tbs Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce (omit for
the kids)
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
salt to taste
crushed skinless peanuts
chopped shallots

Method:
In a covered saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned. While the onions sauté, wash the kale or swiss chard. Remove and discard the large stems and any blemished leaves. Stack the leaves on a cutting surface and slice crosswise into 1 inch thick slices. Add the pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in the kale or chard, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times until just tender. Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco, and cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve with crushed peanuts and chopped shallots. Leftovers make a good soup when thinned with tomato juice or water.

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/zucchini-corn-fritters/

Zucchini Corn Fritters

Hi John,

Here are a couple of recipes I made from our first delivery of vegies from Food Connect. I am a mad keen cook and hope to send lots of recipes your way. I am a married mum of two boys (aged four and nine) and a girl (aged seven).

Most of my recipes are very brief, I’ve written them assuming most of your subscribers would know the basic fundamentals.

Cheers,
Michelle Kalantzis

Ingredients:
3 small or 2 medium zucchini
1 or 2 cobs of corn
1 cup of SR flour
2 eggs
Salt and pepper

Method:
Grate zucchini and add to a bowl with the corn kernels, flour, eggs and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Heat some olive oil in a frypan, add tablespoons of the mixture and fry until golden on both sides.

Keep warm in the oven until all are made. This mixture makes approximately twelve fritters. It is easily doubled or halved to make larger or smaller amounts.

They are delicious served with sweet chilli sauce. Sometimes I add some grated cheese to the mix.

[SR Flour is self rising flour...granny]

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/muffins/

Muffins

Hi Everyone,

I’m a stay-at-home-mum to my 15month old son, a wife to my animator husband, and I was an occupational therapist in my pre-motherhood life. Our family have been embarking on a journey to learn more about living simply, sustainably, and locally. I love baking cakes, biscuits and slices, but subscribing to Food Connect has helped to me to expand my recipe repertoire, incorporating lots more fruits and veges, and experimenting with new (to me) ingredients such as fresh beetroot (which, when cooked and pureed, gives a lovely pink hue to my cupcake icing – much healthier than store-bought red food colouring).

The following recipe is a modification of a recipe given to me by Deb, a friend in my mum’s group. The ingredients from my Food Connect subscription have an asterix beside them.
Cheers,
Cherie
Savoury Muffins
Ingredients:
* 2 carrots, grated and excess liquid removed
* 1 zucchini, grated and excess liquid removed
* Kernels from 1 corn cob
* 1 onion
* 6 eggs
½ cup oil
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup grated cheese
4 bacon rashers (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Mix all ingredients together, no need to sift the flour.
Place spoonfuls into greased muffin tray. They don’t rise much during cooking, so fill the muffin cup nearly to the top. Try using mini-muffin trays to make small ones for toddlers – my son loves these. Bake in a moderate oven for approximately 25 mins.

Index:

http://www.foodconnect.com.au/resources/recipes-from-subscribers/

Chocolate-Cherry Fruitcake

This is a delicious, decadent fruitcake that is, in my opinion a tasty change from the old tried and true variety. I hope you will try it and enjoy it as much as my family does. These cakes will last, well-wrapped, for about a week. If you want a really boozy cake, you can brush with additional liquor every few days before serving. They can be frozen, although if you choose that route, don’t add liquor to them. You can rewarm them once they’re thawed out and add it later. Amounts will vary depending on how large you serve. Source: David Lebovitz from the Food Network.
Makes 2 loaf pans
11/2 hours Total time
35 min prep

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried cherries, well chopped
1/4 cup of your choice rum or whiskey or Amaretto, plus 6 tablespoons rum or whiskey or Amaretto
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature (salted or unsalted)
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt (regular or low-fat)
1 cup walnuts, pecans or almonds, toasted and finely chopped
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F (180C.).
A day or so before you make the cake, toss the cherries in 1/4 cup liquor. Cover, and let macerate (soak up the liquor). To bake the cakes, grease two 9-inch (23cm) loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Stir together the eggs and yolk with the vanilla, then dribble them in while beating. Mix in one-third of the flour/cocoa mixture, then half of the buttermilk or yogurt. Then mix in another third of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the yogurt or buttermilk. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients, and gently stir in the nuts, chocolate chips and cherries.(which should have absorbed all the liquid. If not, add that as well.). Divide and smooth the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand on the counter-top for about 15 minutes. With a skewer, poke about 50 holes in the cake and spoon 3 tablespoons of liquor over each cake. Let cool.

Note:
I have used 2 tablespoons rum extract in apple juice as a substitute for the rum in this.

Struggling2Survive@yahoogroups.com

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm179964.htm

Nutracoastal Trading LLC Expands Its voluntary nationwide recall of Steam Dietary supplement

Contact:
David McLoughlin
(866) 803-2434

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Freeport, NY – August 21, 2009 – Nutracoastal Trading LLC announced today that it is expanding its July 28th, 2009 voluntary nationwide recall of the company’s dietary supplement product sold under the following name: STEAM.

The Company has found by lab analysis that Lot 90260 contains Tadalafil, an active ingredient of an FDA-approved drug for erectile dysfunction (ED), making STEAM DIETARY SUPPLEMENT an unapproved drug. The active drug ingredient is not listed on the product label. The undeclared ingredient may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs such as nitroglycerin and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates. Additionally, the product may cause side effects, such as headaches and flushing.

The recalled product listed below was distributed in white plastic bottles to retail stores nationwide.

Brand Name Size Lot EXP. UPC

STEAM 1 Bottle – 5 Capsules 90260 6 11 8 52263 30033 1

No illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with this product.

Customers who have this product in their possession should stop using it immediately and contact their physician if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking this product.

Any adverse events that may be related to the use of this product should be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm], by phone [1-800-FDA-1088], or by returning the postage-paid FDA form 3500 [which may be downloaded from www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm] by mail [to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787] or fax [1-800-FDA-0178].

The FDA has been apprised of this action.

Nutracoastal Trading LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company, is committed to providing accurate information about its products because of concerns for the health and safety of consumers. It sincerely regrets any inconvenience to customers.

Consumers should return any unused product to the retail location where they were purchased or contact Nutracoastal Trading LLC directly at 866-803-2434 Monday – Friday, 9 am to 5 pm EDT.

#

Page Last Updated: 08/22/2009

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2322774/posts?page=10#10

Second Wave Of The Credit Crisis: Collapsing Commercial Real Estate
Investor’s Business Daily ^ | August 20, 2009 | Scott Powell and David Lowry

Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 1:45:18 PM by Clintonfatigued

The recent uptick in home sales, green shoots of new housing starts and rebounding stock market may suggest that the long-awaited turn in the U.S. economy is here.

But is this daylight at the end of the tunnel or the beam of an oncoming locomotive of commercial real estate insolvency coming down the tracks on a collision course with a shaky economy?

http://www.simplyprepared.com/rehydration%20drinks.htm

REHYDRATION DRINKS

If commercial rehydration drinks are unavailable the following drinks may be used:

FOR FLUID REPLACEMENT DURING AND AFTER DIARRHEA AND/OR VOMITING –
• Infants – breast milk
• Infants and children under 12 years – rice cereal formula
• Children over 12 and adults – homemade oral rehydration therapy (ORT) or oral rehydration solution (ORS)

Rice Cereal Formula
1 quart water
1 cup baby rice cereal
1/2 level teaspoon salt

Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) (substitute for Pedialyte, Lytren or Resol)
1 quart water
1 scant teaspoon lite salt
10 teaspoons sugar (3-1/3 tablespoons)
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
Small amount of flavored sugar free gelatin for flavor (optional)

Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
1 quart water
1 level teaspoon salt
8 level teaspoons sugar (or molasses or raw sugar)
Small amount of flavored sugar free gelatin for flavor (optional)

FOR FLUID REPLACEMENT DURING AND AFTER HEAVY SWEATING – homemade sports drink

Homemade Sports Drink
1 envelope unsweetened powdered drink mix
5/8 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon lite salt (or 1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon lite salt for less potassium)
2 quarts water

REFERENCES:
American Family Physician journal;

Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine http://www.oism.org;

Rehydration Project http://rehydrate.org;

Cycling Performance Tips http://www.cptips.com/index.htm;

Kaiser Permanente http://www.permanente.net

http://www.simplyprepared.com/preparedness.htm

PROVIDENT LIVING PLANS
FOR FAMILY ORGANIZATIONS

Primary group members: extended family members living in close proximity
Secondary group members: all other family members

Purposes:
To care for and help each other
To share equipment
To share skills
To teach each other provident living skills
To provide opportunities for group orders
To provide opportunities for co-op gardening
To provide opportunities for co-op canning

1. Divide the family members into manageable groups and assign each group a captain or leader.
2. Determine frequency of family meetings and group leader meetings.
3. Consider the most likely emergencies and provident living needs to affect your family.
4. Decide what information should be gathered by each group leader about his group members before and during an emergency situation.
5. Compile a resource list of:
1) equipment that can be used in an emergency and for provident living;
2) provident living skills in the family that can be used and shared with each other;
3) living storage at each home; and
4) home storage at each home.
6. Determine which homes are most likely to be affected by natural disasters.
7. Determine which homes are most likely to be needed for housing during flooding, pandemic or extended illness, and/or during other natural disasters.
8. Determine a central gathering point in case of evacuation.
9. Determine a common out of state contact.
10. Develop a communications plan and chain of command with alternate plans, if telephones are not working, whereby each group leader is assigned someone to report to.
11. Assign one person to receive all reports and communicate needs back to family group leaders.
12. Consider the skills family members should know. Make plans to teach them.
13. Discuss the necessity for an account to finance group purchases or rental of equipment and purchase of seeds and other supplies. Discuss how contributions should be made.
14. Review all plans with all family members BEFORE finalizing the plan. Family members may have valuable suggestions and bring attention to items that may have been overlooked.
15. Review the plan with family members each year making revisions where needed.

PREPAREDNESS ARCHIVES

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http://www.simplyprepared.com/lessons_from_a_pneumonia_incident.htm

Preparing for Pandemic Flu:
Lessons from a Pneumonia Incident

• Seek medical care early and complete the prescribed treatment.
• Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night; nap and rest when needed during the day.
• Drink plenty of fluids; take them with you when away from home.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Wash hands often or use hand sanitizers.
• Reduce or avoid strenuous activity until completely recovered.
• Don’t try to resume a normal routine too soon, even if you feel better.
• Social distancing is important in all phases of recovery. A new illness before complete recovery could be deadly.
• Caregivers should also avoid outside contact that would introduce additional disease to the patient.
• Distancing within the home helps avoid infecting others in the house. This could include sleeping alone and/or staying alone in a bedroom during the course of the illness.
• Carry hand sanitizer with you in public places.
• Avoid others who are coughing and sneezing.
• Carry a surgical mask to use when being in large groups or around sick people is unavoidable.
• Make a plan for recovery and avoiding additional illness; stick with it!
• Have on hand:
Medicinal teas
Drinking water
Nutritious drinks
Vitamins
Cough drops
Cough and expectorant medicine
Surgical masks
Anti-bacterial wipes
Hand sanitizer
Soap
Facial tissue