Sprouted Grains and Xylitol

Does anyone have a recipe for a sprouted grain bread? And does anyone have any experience baking with xylitol? If not, what do you use as a sugar substitute in baking if in fact you do!

Thanks!

blueberries

is anyone going blueberry picking or can recommend a good place to go?

Your Local Harvest

I was so excited this week to get our first share from our CSA. This is the second year we have gone with Wayward Seed Farm, and we love it! We have tried others that we enjoyed but in our opinion this has suited our family the best. This week we got 3 quarts of strawberries, a huge bags of mixed greens, two bags of red pac choi, some evergreen hardy scallions, cilantro and hakurei turnips. The best thing this year is they started handing out recipe cards with your share. Which was so exciting for me because i had no idea what to do with two bags of red pac choi! So I made from one of the recipe cards Red Pac Choi and Evergreen Hardy Scallion Frittata. It was amazing... my 3 year-old and 1 1/2 year-old even liked it! If you want the recipe let me know and i will pass it along. We also went strawberry picking this week and although we had a lot of fun we didn't come home with as many as i would have hoped for. They said it wasn't as good of a crop this year? I don't know. But, i did get to make my first strawberry pie! I would be curious to know of others experience with the pick-your-own deal. What crops you go out for and which farms you prefer. This was my first year picking strawberries. I wouldn't mind trying other stuff too if it seems worth it. Not easy bringing all three kids... rowen was on my back but didn't enjoy it every time i bent over to pick the strawberries. I would also love it if you all would be interested in sharing recipes this summer... whether it from the produce you get from your CSA or the stuff from your backyard! Hope to hear from you all!

Sunscreen

I've been trying to sift through all the info on sunscreen to come up with the best solution for my family.  I am the type of person that wants to find one product and stick to it, it is all about streamlining the process.  I have been avoiding the ordinary sunscreens due to the concern over estrogenic active ingredients.  Although it is my understanding that with testing on adults although found in their urine and blood, it didn't appear to affect their overall testosterone or estrogen levels.  But when i think about putting that on my babies... it is scary!  They have three times the relative surface area of an adult.  In addition, I have been concerned about nanoparticles and their ability to permeate the skin and body tissues, making their way into the blood stream.  There just doesn't seem to be enough information on them yet.  I just read this Scientific American article through the EWG's website,  http://www.ewg.org/node/27745.  I found it very interesting.   Also EWG's cosmeticdatabase.com  has some great recommendations... actually for all skincare.  But, these can all get pretty pricey, especially when i consider how much we go through.  We just recently found Jason's Sunbrellas Mineral Sunscreen on sale at Whole Foods and really like it.  But it would be expensive otherwise.  So I would be curious for some feedback on this issue and to know what others use.  Thanks!

Hives

My daughter has been breaking out in hives at different times for the last 6 days.  Not sure why... I am going to take her to the doctor this week, but i was wondering if anyone knew of any natural solutions for soothing hives.  I hate that i have had to give her so much benadryl!  

sharing, caring, designing

i stole the title for this post from our friends dave & patty's blog: . dave's sister jessica just won a student design award at the International Home and Housewares Show this year for her "community" bread maker. it's such a cool concept integrating ideas of community and sustainable living. read about it here.

Allergies...

Does anyone know of any natural remedies for fighting outdoor allergies?