Sprouting A Nutrition Cornacopia

When you mention sprouting, many people will think it is too difficult, too complicated or harken back to a 1970's commune.

But you should know that sprouting is easy, extremely nutritious and a cost effective way to get more vegetables, greens etc. Sprouts are live food, full of organic vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

If you don't have a lot of space for a garden sprouting is great option. Plus there is no soil to deal with, no weeding, watering is minimal and simple. And since you do not wait for your seeds fully mature into plants, you have a crop at your finger tips every few days.

Sprouts can be eating in a wide variety of ways. On food such as on sandwiches, on their own, mixed into salads or other meals and more. I love eating sprouts all by their self, you can add a little lemon juice or an Italian type dressing if you want, but I can tell you it isn't really necessary, they are delicious on their own!

One last thing to consider, they are a great food to have on hand for 72 hour kits, disaster or emergency preparedness or for when times are tough and money is tight. 

A great retailer of sprouts and sprouters I have done business with is Life Sprouts. You can go to their website and find out more at their website.

http://www.lifesprouts.com/index.html

 

Cheap, Easy Tips for Keeping Mosquitoes Away

An article about ways to controlling mosquitoes and preventing them from eating you alive like little zombies.

http://blog.aarp.org/2012/08/06/cheap-easy-tips-for-keeping-mosquitos-away/ 

Cutting Back, Living Small And Simply May Be A Prudent Move at This Juncture.

An article about a impending world wide depression scenario.

http://beforeitsnews.com/economy/2012/08/nothing-can-be-done-to-avoid-coming-world-wide-depression-heres-why-2445598.html

Juicing For Health

Last year I had purchased an off brand fruit and vegetable juicer. I set off on a 90 day Juice Fast. Unfortunately the juicer broke after only 60 days. But in that 60 days I lost about 70 Lbs and hadn't felt that well for as long as I can remember.

Well next week will be my wife Karen and my 27th wedding anniversary on August 17th. My son Shawn, his wife Ravin and my three grandchildren gave us a Breville Juicer. 

I learned about juicing and it's health and well being benefits of juice fasts and drinking of fresh made fruit and vegetable juices from the DVD "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead." 

In the documentary the brand of juice used was a Breville. Here is a link to the juicer they purchased on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MDHH06/ref=s9_simh_gw_p79_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1SNKKNQQHWTK4PX00KNM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 

A photo of the Breville Juicer:

A link to the to the Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead movie only at RebootYourLife website.

http://www.jointhereboot.com/

And the website for the Fat, & Nearly Dead.

http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

You can check out my juicing blog, New Life Reboot Juice Feasting at.

http://nlrjf.blogspot.com/ 

Take a moment to check it out...

ShelterBox...

ShelterBox is an international emergency aid group that lends a helping hand in large disasters etc. I like the idea and contents of their boxes. I believe the concept could prove to be extremely valuable in a devistating natural disaster or other tragedy scenario. They are worthy of supporting, but I would recommend checking out their box contents. It would be really smart to make up a box like this for your family to be prepared no matter what comes your direction.

http://www.shelterbox.org/index.php 

 

A Non-Traditional Take on the Bug Out Bag.

A bug out bag is something to seriously consider. You may have to leave to leave due to a natural disaster, man made catastophy, civil unrest etc. A bug out bag is much like a 72 hour kit, but more extensive. Here is a link for a two part article about the subject.

http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/07/12/a-non-traditional-take-on-the-bug-out-bag-part-1/ 

http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/07/13/a-non-traditional-take-on-the-bug-out-bag-part-2/ 

 

Cooking With Solar Ovens

A solar oven is a great addition to your kitchen tools. Not only is it sustainable, a sustainable way to cook without adding to the carbon foot print, it's free energy and won't heat up your home and kitchen. My friend Susan and her family have two of them and love them. Susan lives in the very North West portion of Montana, so they actually work in almost all temperature ranges, so you don't have to live in Arizona or the Sahara Desert to use one.

Emergency Essentials and other survival and preparedness stores and online retailers sell them. You can check out Emergency Essentials Solar Oven at:

http://beprepared.com/product.asp?pn=CK%20O400 

And here is a You Tube video on cooking with a solar oven. You can go to You Tube and find many more videos on cooking with a solar oven and even how to make your own solar ovens.

http://youtu.be/Q-jpYPG0Cb0 

 Another You Tube video showing one mans homemade solar oven. The videos are in more than one segment. The other subsequent videos with show on the same page on You Tube as this one. If you are interested in a solar oven, but do not have the funds to buy a commercially made one, then this may definitely be the option for you. They are well made videos and worth the time to watch the series if you intend to make your own solar oven.


http://youtu.be/tsBpPz_6oIo

A book that looks good that I am going to pre-order.

You can buy happiness (and it's cheap) by Tammy Strobel.

http://rowdykittens.com/writing/ 

Tammy has a blog called "Rowdy Kittens" and live in a tiny house built upon a trailer with her Husband in Northern California. You can find her blog at:

http://rowdykittens.com/ 

 

Being Prepared For Emergencies

I feel it is important to be prepared in case of an emergency. Food storage and other essentials are important. But if you are on a limited budget, or do not have a lot of space, do not despair. You can begin building your food storage and emergency supplies a little at a time. One company I have dealt with and have a fantastic range of products is Emergency Essentials. They have online and catalog sales along with retail stores in Northern Utah. You can see more about them at:

http://beprepared.com/ 

The Poverty Living Beginners Guide.

Though I do not intend to live in "poverty" on my quest to simplify and downsize, it does make perfect sense to learn to live on less... I have come to learn money isn't everything and the pursuit of it via the rat race is a waste of a good life. You get so busy living and chasing the almighty dollar, that you forget to stop and really live life.

This is a Kindle book written by the daughter of a very close friend of mine. It is well worth the 99 cents to purchase...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085ZXV7Q/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

Buy less, have more.
Roger.

You don't have to be expansive to live large...

I thought this was a very nice use of space that may have gone unused. It just shows how one does not have to have a huge domestic space to live large.

http://www.hometalk.com/472782/tiny-attic-apartment

Roger.

Mission to downsize book collection...

In my effort to begin to simplify and downsize, I realized I owned far too many books. I love books and reading! So, I decided to purchase a tablet. I bought it on Monday of this week and absolutely love it! I bought my first e-book from Amazon.com Kindle Store last night, for a whopping .99 I got the Samsung
Galaxy Tab 2 7". Here is a link that reviews it.

http://www.thinkdigit.com/Tablets/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-2-Review_10204.html

Roger.

Acting Vs. Buying Green.

Have you ever considered the difference between acting green and buying green? A lot of energy is wasted in homes on showering, lighting, cooling, using the bathroom and doing laundry.

http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/acting-green-vs-buying-green/

Be the real deal... Roger

The College Conspiracy...

So you want a good and prosperous life? From elementary school through high school we are sold a bill of goods that says without a college degree you will never amount to anything. This is utter bullshit, do not buy into it! Look at the greats that left college, chased their dreams and passions such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg who all left high level, upper crust universities and made it on their own as self-made men. I am not anti-education, but I will not be a wage slave for my home nor education anymore. Our modern system has become absolutely insane! Check out this video.

http://youtu.be/A75KERKwEQM

Seriously consider this, do you want to work the rest of your life for a mortgage or education? Not me my friends...

Roger.

The 100 thing challenge.

What if you had to narrow down your possessions to your favorite 100 items? Think about it, what would you choose? Could you really pull this off? These are things to seriously contemplate upon before you decide to downsize, simplify and live a more sustainable lifestyle. Take a moment to read this great article that addresses this topic.

http://www.jennifertill.com/2011/08/22/82011-real-life-with-jennifer-till-100-thing-challenge/

The sorting and prioritizing all begin in your mind, Roger.

Video tour of a "tiny house"

http://www.katu.com/news/local/This-house-fits-us-like-tailored-clothing-139856793.html?tab=video&c=y 

Great stuff, enjoy. Roger

Rowdy Kittens...

Another great blog. This one from a couple who are actually living in a "tiny house" on wheels. Their life to date has been an interesting saga and there is also some fantastic looking other materials and resources available here.

http://rowdykittens.com/

Hazzzah, Roger.

Consider all the possibilities...

This may seem a little different, but I feel if we are going to simplify our lives and become more self-reliant, we must also be more prepared to fend for ourselves in times of crisis or emergency. Here is a blog that covers some of these issues. Survival Solutions Blog:

http://survivalsolutions.wordpress.com/

Learn, survive and thrive, Roger.

When you grow your own food.

You can really taste the love...

Roger.

A tiny Home highlighted blog

I have several favorite blogs that I subscribe to about the "Tiny Home Movement" that I will share in the future, but this is just one of them. This is the first blog that let me know I was not just some crazy, antisocial renegade, but that there is an alternative today to the buy more, consume more, bigger is better mentality of today's modern rat race. It let me know that there were other like minded people who also thought and felt as I did. Check it out, if you are like minded this may just well be for you also!

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

Think outside the box!

Do you think you do not have enough room to garden? Well this photo and website challenges that notion.

Grow food not grass...

 Lawns are one of the greatest wastes of water, land usage and are environmentally degradation due to all the poisons and artificial fertilizers that are used upon them. What if every suburban household took even a sizable portion of their lawn and devoted it solely to a vegetable and fruit garden, along with fruit trees etc? Gardening is cheaper than therapy, and let's be honest how many people actually enjoy mowing their lawn? Just an idea to consider...

A 300 square foot dwelling. An ideal living space for one person, or two who are very comfortable living with each other in a smaller space. Personally I would add a loft above the bathroom area for sleeping space for the residents, guests or for storage etc.

What would your definition be?

If someone was to ask you what it meant to downsize, simplify and make your life a more sustainable lifestyle, what would it mean to you. How would you define and envision this and carry it out in your life?

Micro-Apartments. An idea that's time has come.

Though this is not quite what I have in mind when it comes to downsizing, I did find it humorous, challenging and worth sharing.