Since having a child I’ve made breakfast important. I mostly make meals from scratch and make the best attempt to stay away from anything packaged. The chickens have been such a blessing. We’re able to cook eggs most days any which way you can think of and have them for breakfast or “breakie” (what we call it here).

Pancakes are the biggest hit for breakie…just ask my son, he’ll tell you he wants *pancakes*! Before I knew about this recipe I’m going to share; I’d always thought I was making pancakes from scratch.

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I am calling this “Homemade Indian Yum Yum” because it is full of spices often used in India, but it isn’t actually based on any specific Indian dish.

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Take your pizza quality up a notch while keeping money in your wallet by starting to make pizza at home. While pizza may seem complicated, with a little planning and thought, you can whip up gourmet-quality creations faster than that delivery car can pull into your driveway.

Here are some easy, cheesy starter tips:

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Every week after I’ve make homemade nut milk (our favorites are almond or Brazil nut) I’m left with nut pulp I’ve strained out of the milk mixture.

This pulp (which by the way can be frozen for later use) is great when dried and ground into nut flour, or used in recipes like the raw truffles my family enjoys so much.

This recipe is quick, easy, healthy, and delicious!

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You can make your own cheese, and it’ll be tasty, local, and organic.  Yes, right in the comfort of your own kitchen, probably with cooking equipment you already have.  If you have an hour of time and an adventurous spirit, you can easily make your own mozzarella cheese.  After one failed attempt I made mozzarella cheese in about an hour, though with some practice, it could probably be done in half that time.  Mozzarella cheese is one of the easiest cheeses to make and since it can be used in a variety of dishes, sandwiches, pizzas, pasta, etc. it will disappear quickly.

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When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, there was really no question in my mind that I’d be making baby food. Ensuring a healthy diet and knowing that my son would be getting the necessary nutrients were my determining factors. I also wanted to be in charge of what was going into my son’s system and wanted to be able to offer him a wide palate of foods.

I knew this couldn’t be done if I bought food from a jar at the grocery store. How often do you see eggplant, collard greens, and zucchini purees at the grocery store? Unless it’s an organic gourmet baby food line such as Yummy Spoonfuls it’s highly unlikely you’ll find less common veggies and even fruit.

To be in control of my son’s first start with solids I knew I’d have to make his baby food from scratch. If making his own food meant being aware of the ingredients, then I was willing to take that plunge and go for it. I’d much rather know what was going into my son’s food then always worry and have to read each and every label. With all the preservatives, chemical, added sugar, salt and starch it made absolute sense to avoid those factors and just make it.

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I used to have a yoga bag that I was pretty proud of. It was shaped like a hot dog, with a drawstring opening and a comfy shoulder strap and it made me look like a hunter with a bouquet of arrows on my back. The problem was, I couldn’t find a darn thing in it. Everything sunk to the bottom- my sweatband, my wallet, my cherished tube of Kiehl’s lip balm that has an eternal lifespan and still hasn’t run out despite the fact I swiped it from a hotel room four years hence.

And then there was Lumi. Lumi stands for “Love you, mean it”, and let me tell you, they really mean it. These courageously affordable bags are designed to help you carry things in style- including your better self. Each handmade bag comes with a cell phone pocket (but only if you promise to keep it on silent), a section for your water bottle and a homemade eye pillow coordinated with each bag.

Lumi’s are green-made in Paris from leftover swaths of fabric from the creator’s interior-decorating dad. (Are you feeling the love yet, or what?) Plus, toting your Lumi bag is a charitable act. 5 euros from every sale goes to benefit the Ãdhãra-Shakti collective: a grassroots organization that helps serious yoga students participate in yoga retreats at the divine YogAriege, even if they are seriously broke.

Don’t live in France? Pas de problème! Chantal, the multitasking wunderkind behind the Lumi bags, will send you one by mail. The bags are 29 euros within Europe, and 37 dollars to the United States. Want something special? Ask for a custom order! Lumi loves you back. 

Photo credit: All photos used by permission by Chantal Tacoronte-Perez.

Yet, many still opt for simpler skincare and go homemade.  While this is an easy and cost-effective route, there are certain products that need to be created, manufactured and packaged by professionals to provide the results and safety we all want and need.  Whipping up an exfoliant or cleanser is do-able and even fun.  Hair products and makeup are a completely different ballgame.

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The holidays have the aroma of pine trees, spiced cider, candles, and woodsmoke to me. The smells bring back memories of Christmas traditions from my childhood, mostly food-related: we baked a lot of cookies and made a lot of fudge, popcorn balls and caramels for parties and friends.

Easily the most exciting tradition for us was making gingerbread houses. It seemed like a long process back then, but really, it’s just two days. Perfect for a weekend family project.

Recipe, instructions, and a video after the jump…

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A flood of mass-produced, artificially colored and flavored, high fructose corn syrup sweetened candy is about to be unleashed to the masses.

Not for my kids.

They deserve better.

When our kids get all dressed up as ladybugs and fairies, we give them a goodie bag full of homemade treats and all natural candy, such as mini organic chocolates or sesame candies. We might make pumpkin spice cookies or vegan brownies. They may even get a honey stick or two.

The favorite Halloween treat, though, is maple candy, a treat so simple and pure, so heavenly sweet, that it puts all other candy to shame.

If you can operate a stove and a spoon and a thermometer, you can make maple candy at home. The recipe is simple, and there’s only one ingredient. Pure maple syrup. You also need a candy thermometer, but they’re pretty cheap, and many grocery stores sell them.

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A homemade belly cast is best done around 8 months along, although a progression of casts done each month of the pregnancy would also be really neat. This video gives you an idea of the process, with full instructions after the jump:

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You may be familiar with a recipe swap; I belong to an online recipe swap blog for local bloggers. A food swap is similar.  Its a party where, based on pre-established guidelines, all guests provide multiple portions of food items, and each guest takes home a number of different items made by others.  Food swaps are a great idea for two huge reasons: you can try foods/recipes you might not be familiar with or have thought of, and you can save a huge amount of time by making a large quantity of one item, but get the benefits of coming away with a variety of dishes and foods.

This can take many forms and themes.  Here’s five themes to get you started, after the jump…

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I am never going to win with the traditional recipes from the old country - these would be inexpertly executed versions of my grandmother’s legendary matzo balls and kugel. Instead, I try to reimagine a dish I love within the dietary restrictions of the holiday: no leavened bread, no corn products, no rice or whole grains, no legumes. (Growing up with the yearly Passover semi-fast has been an education in corn additives, I will tell you, but that’s a story for a different post.)

This year, I focused on dessert. Several bakeries manage to make Kosher for Passover cakes and cookies from matzo crumbs, but these have the cardboard-y taste and alarmingly fake consistency of diet foods. Instead, I coopted this addictive matzo bark recipe from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn. But what should go with it? Why, ice cream of course!

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While this is a good general introduction to homebrewing biodiesel, I have to repeat the disclaimer I made earlier (see 6 Ways To Find And Use Biodiesel Anywhere - Part II): before attempting this on your own it’s important to do your homework. Don’t trust it just because you’ve seen someone do it. Most of these videos don’t discuss the specifics of making biodiesel, and for that I would recommend a solid resource (also see the link just above): Biodiesel, Basics And Beyond: A Comprehensive Guide to Production And Use for the Home And Farm.

You’ll notice a lot of these videos utilize a homemade biodiesel reactor called the “appleseed” reactor. This is the simplest and cheapest way to build a biodiesel processing facility in your garage. The plans for it can be found here.

Number 1: Guy Makes Biodiesel In His Kitchen

I can’t believe his mother lets him do this in the kitchen, and where are his gloves?! (I have a particular affiliation for the video, though, since I had the same old truck.)

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Each quarterly issue features 10-15 new patterns tailor to each season, as well as columns, articles, interviews, product recommendations and more. One of the consistent columns, titled "Frankenknits," is written by Kristi Porter, in which she chops up clothing, and transforms them into updated items of wonder (perfect for us reuse-loving crafters). Knitty’s Fall 2007 issue recently went live, and the Frankenknits column features two handy dress incarnations: one for women and another for baby.

Past installments of Frankenknits, which became a regular column last year, include dying wool with Kool-Aid, knitting superheros, duplicate stitching (also known as Swiss darning), intentionally adding dropped stitches into designs, transformed bags, and shibori scarfs (which make great quick gifts). If you happen to love knitting for your pooch, you should check our Kristi’s first book, Knitting for Dogs: Irresistible Patterns for Your Favorite Pup — and You!, released in 2005.