Joyful, Healthy Living

Family Favorite! I developed this recipe when my husband was temporarily back on the GAPS Diet back in 2018, but it has continued to be a family favorite since then even though no one is on such a strict diet now! The GAPS Diet protocol can be quite similar to Keto and Paleo Diets, depending on how it is implemented. The GAPS Diet is based around healthy fats (such as ghee, coconut oil, and tallow), meats, veggies, broth, fruits, and fermented foods; it allows no grains, pot

Taco meat is an easy-to-prepare and versatile dish. This recipe, spiced with garlic, oregano, and cumin, is a kid-friendly food that can be used in many ways: in taco shells, on top of baked potatoes, over hash browns, in soft tortillas, over pinto beans, or in a salad. Although this recipe is best with fresh onion and garlic, I've also included substitutions for a busy night when dinner needs to get on the table quickly. Ground Beef Taco Meat Serves 4-6 1 pound ground beef

Life gets busy sometimes! This recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight when dinner needs to get on the table quickly. Traditional beef fajita recipes are made with skirt steak or flank steak, which is marinated for hours to allow the meat to tenderize. That's all well and good, but on a busy night there's no time for such preparations. This recipe for 30-Minute Ground Beef Fajita Bowls starts with searing the onion and bell pepper to develop some of the characteristic charrin

Does your family like to eat salmon? In our household, my son and I both love.LOVE.LOVE salmon, but my husband and daughter are pretty lukewarm about it. I've had to get a bit creative to find a salmon recipe that everyone in my family will enjoy. This Teriyaki Salmon recipe is keeper, because even my husband and daughter look forward to it! This recipe starts with a simple 4-ingredient teriyaki marinade. The salmon is chopped into chunks, to allow more marinade to soak in

Here in southern New Mexico, we pass our last frost date near the beginning of May, so it is time to prepare and plant the summer garden. We've been gardening for over 16 years, and in that time we have learned many lessons on what makes gardening successful here. Every location has its own unique challenges, yet there are some basics that every garden needs, including good soil, the right amount of water, and plenty of sunshine. Here is a snapshot of the overall process we u

Homeschool Physics doesn't have to be intimidating or complicated. Here are resources for a high school Physics unit that is engaging and easy-to-do at home. This unit focuses on: Conceptual Physics video lectures + problems Engaging videos to illustrate physics concepts Simple hands-on physics experiments and demonstrations that can be done at home We use a 4-year science rotation in our homeschool, so we have completed two Physics units, first when my kids were 11yo and 14y

These are classic blueberry muffins, now made with Einkorn heirloom wheat flour! My family switched to Einkorn wheat flour over 10 years ago. Einkorn is an ancient variety of wheat that has never been hybridized; as such it is naturally lower in gluten and higher in protein than modern wheat. Some people who have sensitivities to gluten in modern wheat can actually consume Einkorn with no problems . This recipe for Einkorn Blueberry Muffins uses Einkorn all-purpose flour. W

Baking soda and vinegar can replace your shampoo and conditioner! Here's a guide to using the no 'poo method based on over 10 years of experience. Baking soda is used to wash the hair and vinegar is used to condition it. Not only is this method effective, healthy, and frugal, but it is also easy to tailor this method to different hair types. Here's what's in this guide: basic recipes and methods for baking soda shampoo and vinegar conditioner, ways to tailor this method for

Math picture books were an important aspect of our homeschool math studies throughout elementary and middle homeschool. Picture books are an engaging, unpressured way to share the joy of math with my children. I never wanted these books to feel like "assignments," so I purposely did NOT emphasize that these were math books. Instead, we just read and enjoyed the books together. Top 25 Math Picture Books Math Biographies Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese Py

Finding a Better Way We started homeschool kindergarten in 2011 using the typical math education methods such as textbooks, workbooks, and flash cards. By halfway through 1st grade, my daughter was dreading math. How could my only-6-year-old daughter be starting to hate math?This led me to an epiphany about the fact that my schooling methods were detrimental to teaching my daughter to love learning. It was time to overhaul what we were doing and find a better way. After try