Say NO to unnatural ingredients!

This is really just a rant, but read it if you like.

Seriously though, there are so many unnatural ingredients in the foods we eat, not to mention how bad the preservatives and such are for us.  These ingredients are even in simple things like canned beans and other foods we eat on a regular basis!  Yikes!

So I have begun a quest to slowly diminish and hopefully eventually get rid (at least the majority) of the plethora of preservatives we eat each and every day.  There are so many resources out there with information and healthy homemade recipes to help my cause.  I have been especially intrigued by this blog, 100 days of real food which talks about harmful affects of certain foods and provides recipes and other options for food that are healthier for us.  There is also a 10 day pledge you can take where you do not eat anything that contains preservatives.

So I don't have a ton of time due to the fact I am in school, but here are the things I have made in an attempt to lesson the preservatives we eat:

Homemade Tortillas (half wheat/white--and I used oil instead of shortening) from Make and Takes

Homemade Pasta Sauce (for pasta or pizza)--adapted recipe from several sources here

Dried Beans (rather than canned beans--much cheaper and more tasty!)
     AND they are so easy to make, just make a bunch and freeze in about 2 cup containers and then they are just as convenient as canned beans!

Fat Free Re-fried Beans-I actually just tried these today and they turned out lovely! I mostly used this recipe from here although I altered it a little bit.

Here are some pictures I took before I cooked them!

This was 2lbs of dried beans and it yielded about 11 cups refried beans! This is about 5-6 cans worth!

Also, not food related, but related to things that are harmful to our bodies, I have started using "green" cleaners that I have made from household items.

For the all-purpose cleaner, I use a mixture of vinegar, baking soda, and water

For air freshener (which is greatly needed in our apartment-there are always odd smells that are hard to get rid of): about 1/8 fabric softener (which I also made), and 7/8 water

I also make liquid soap from bar soap, this really just cuts costs seeing as liquid soap is anywhere from $1-3 for the cheap kind/bottle and this is only about $1.25 TOTAL.  But you basically just grate a bar of soap (of your liking) and combine it with 6-8 cups water and about 2 Tbsp glycerin in a pot to make a liquid.  This amount lasts forever!  Well not forever, but I made it about 6 months ago and I have only used about 1/3 of it.

In the future, I want to make laundry detergent, but I still have at least 3/4 of a large tub left.  So once I am low, I will do that, there are lots of recipes out there.

On a total sidenote, I loved General Conference,  the messages we so personal and I have been spiritually uplifted immensely.  I love that we have a latter-day prophet and apostles who receive revelation and give us guidance in our lives.  I am truly grateful for this church, it pours out countless blessings for me and my small family.  I am also grateful for this great opportunity both Stephen and I have to get an excellent education!  I just love my life so much! :)