All natural shake powder

Ok don’t get me wrong, I like the taste of slimfast after I add fruits, and sometimes veggies to it, but I don’t absolutely love the ingredients list on the back of the can.

I like knowing what is going into my meals and where that food came from. Sadly slimfast had been the only meal replacement drink that had agreed with me of all the ones I had tried. I tried quite a few natural ones. I think they had too many added vitamins or something because I would always feel really horrible after drinking them.

So I went on a quest to make my own. I did a bunch of research and found I had everything but the chia seeds.

My slimfast shakes were normally around 150 calories because I would use less fruit and lower calorie nut milk like unsweetened vanilla almond or almond coconut milk.

I did not want to up the calorie intake from shakes due to the fact that I usually eat something small every 2 hours in addition to a shake/smoothie in the morning and one at night before bed.

Slimfast, the powder alone, is 110 calories. I decided I would throw everything together and then hope it came out to that or less, so I might add more fresh fruits to the mix.

Now I did not want to add powdered fruit, as I already put fruit in my shakes, I felt it would take away from the texture if everything was powder. I did however, really like the idea of getting more veggies into my shakes. Lately it has just been a handful or two of spinach when it fits the flavor.

So here is what I came up with:


The mix I concocted includes oats, chia seeds, beets, yams, pumpkin, carrot, a green goodness powder mixture (there are like 9+ ingredients in it and I can’t find the list. You can get it at the Herb Pantry though)
I made 13 servings worth of this mix. Each scoop is 2tbsp and is approx. 21 calories (yes, you heard me)

Now this does mean each serving is also only .75g of protein, but I am ok with that, since once I add a banana to the mix, that bumps up the protein to about 2g, which is what slimfast has.

I really like this mix because it is really versatile.
I could add carob or chocolate powder.
I could add nut butters for added protein. (I don’t want the extra protein unless I need it at the time)
I could add spices like cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, etc..
I could add powdered honey
I could add green tea powder, other tea powders, flax seeds, etc.. The possibilities are really endless.

Now they have this pbx powder stuff that looks interesting, but since peanuts are the worst nuts for you comparably, I decided not to get any of it.

Almond flour would be good to add if you do not already use almond milk in your shake.

I made my shake today with a whole banana instead of half, blueberries, yogurt, and almond coconut milk. It ended up being about the same amount of calories as my slimfast shakes would have been, but with more goodness.

Now the texture is going to be different of course, but I honestly did not mind it at all. Anyone who has put powdered oats in their shake will know what I am talking about. The flavor is great and did not taste like leafy greens at all really. You don’t taste the beets, only the light sweetness.

I am honestly quite happy with how this little experiment turned out. Now I just need to come up with a neat name for it instead of just calling it my shake mix.

I would like to note that I did opt out of adding a soy, whey, or hemp protein powder intentionally. While I could easily get my hands on any one of those, after reading up on the pros and cons of them, I felt it best to leave them out. Now pea protein is one that was interesting to me after reading about it, and I might try that one in the future (probably from sprouting, dehydrating, and powdering my own peas) I will update you on that if I do decide to try it.

For those who wish to try making this mix, here is the recipe I used:


Oats I used 1/2c of the normal quick one min oats. Powdered it came out to 14Tbsp.
Chai seeds I used 1/8c which came out to 6Tbsp + 1tsp.
Green powder mix I used 1Tbsp + 1tsp
Pumpkin powder 1Tbsp
Yam (about 1/8 of a yam) powder 1Tbsp
Carrot powder 1Tbsp (I cannot recall how many carrots this was dehydrated, but not many, like 1-3)
Beet powder 2Tbsp (about 1 beet)

I did dehydrate all the veggies myself except for the green powder. Eventually once my garden is growing again, I will be dehydrating more greens to make my own green powder mix.

I also want to mention how inexpensive this is to make 13 servings compared to spending $7 per 14 servings for slimfast. If you use the $15+ mixes, this will be an even greater savings. I have not yet done the price breakdown, but you can see from the above, it does not take much.
The bag of chia seeds I got for like $6 I could make like 18 batches of the above with, and it is the smaller bag… Oats are cheap to buy, as is everything else on the list. Just something you might want to know is all.

Let me know if you try it and your thoughts on it. I want to know what awesome things you add to your shakes!

Tending to the garden

We all know gardening is both a joy and hard work. One thing that I have struggled with lately is getting my garden watered properly while I have been sick with a cold.
My husband will help me water it from time to time, but not always.

Since the hose burst, it has to be done by hand, which means many trips to the spigot. It is a bit harder on my body while I am not feeling well than using a hose would be. Being so close to the end of the season, I had decided not to buy a new hose until next year.

I am still watering my garden, just not as often as I would like. I had hoped the rainy days would continue but of course during this time the temperature decided to heat back up again.

I would have put wine bottles into the ground but the water would have dried up within a day I am sure, and I would not have been able to refill them so easily without the bottom being cut off. Usually it is a battle of spraying the dirt out of the neck before refilling. Seems like more of a hassle to refill bottles that are not cut, than watering the garden by hand.

Sadly I do not have a self watering system in place for my current garden, but I do hope to implement one next year if possible. Doing so with a larger garden would make things a lot easier. Even if only part of it  is self watering through watering wells, pots, etc, it would help take off the load.

I have a sprinkler system in my back yard, though it does not reach the slope. I do not see a drip system being possible for next years plans so I am coming up with other ideas like wicking beds and such.

Some of the tomato plants look a little wilted but are otherwise fine. I see a little acorn squash growing, though no others for pumpkin or butternut yet. The zucchinis are doing great. Most of the beets are growing wonderfully. Peas/beans are flowering.
All in all my garden is doing just fine despite lack of the proper watering.

I have still been able to water my indoor plants. My ginger is really taking off. Lettuce seems a bit hard to grow indoors. I wonder if the temperatures fluctuate too much for the little lettuce heads. Either the heads die off or start to bolt. I think it just gets too warm and our AC unit has problems keeping the place cool even with the fans going.

Watercress has died off but I do believe I was able to get a few seeds that will hopefully germinate later.

I started a mushroom growing experiment. I took the stems of two types of mushrooms, button and the brown topped ones I can never remember the names of, and put them in some moist soil. I have them in my crafting room on the windowsill in 2 liter plastic bottles with a big hole in them.

They appear to be decomposing, which I am not sure if that is part of the re-growing process or if this is a failed experiment. I read somewhere that you could grow them that way but I am not so sure as of yet.
I wanted to try growing shiitake mushrooms but those are hard wood mushrooms I believe, which means they grow on decomposing logs, not in soil.

In any rate if it does not work I will most likely get a mushroom growing kit in the future.

As for the outdoor garden area, I will give it lots of love via coffee, tea, and other yummy things as a thanks for their patience with me while I am ill. I have already put a little coffee out there for the squash.

Whenever I make coffee I make just a little extra that goes into a cup that I put into my garden later. I also save the grounds as well as you already know.

Thankfully even with as bad as I have felt with this cold, I can tell it will not last as long as others have. A testament to what good herbal remedies can do for ones body.

Gardening and baby humming birds

This is what I have in my kitchen near my espresso machine. I have an open container to store coffee grounds in as I use them, and a old ziplock lunchbag that I put dried used tea leaves in. It is not a lot right now, but over time it will be very useful.



I have also started saving eggshells again that I will later grind up.


My little kitchen garden is doing fantastic. Avocado tree, ginger, bok choy, watercress, onion, and romaine. All but the watercress were propagated from fruit stand or grocery store scraps.


This yellow crookneck is getting so big! Now everything I read says to harvest when the skin is still soft… But mine has never really been soft, so to be honest I am not sure when it needs to be harvested. I will most likely be picking it tomorrow after getting some feedback.


The beginnings of my compost pile! The boys mowed the grass and piled it up for me on top of a box that is laid flat. It towers closer to 4 ft tall… I will most likely be scattering it a bit more as I add more things to the pike so the pile is not too high.


Look at these two incredibly cute baby hummingbirds! They are quite the delight to have on the little urban homestead.

Look at those beans grow! I love vined plants. Now if only the bugs would stop chewing on the leaves I would be happy.
Beets are all sprouting up as well though it is too bright to get a photo of that until they are larger.
Carrots are not looking promising. I think the bugs may have gotten to the seeds. We shall see.

Being that I am pagan I wanted to go into a little more depth as to why I have been posting about fertilizer so much. For me, it is respectful to give offerings to the Gods, and the spirits of the land. In my past garden this was usually done by putting out seed for the wild animals to eat. I do not want the seed I have to sprout here as I did in the last house, so I have not put seed out until I can get the non-sprouting kind.
My bird can be a semi picky eater and I would put out what was not eaten. Waste not basically.

To me fertilizing and nourishing the plants is also an offering. A  show that I am here to care for the plants, for the land, and to be a steward. I am giving back to the earth and helping it grow healthy just as it helps me.

Now while I do give offerings other than this, I do feel that the act of taking care of your garden, the act of making your own fertilizer, and showing dedication to your plants is something that speaks volumes to the genius loci. The spirits of the land.
I help them and they help me. It is a working relationship. As I get to know my new land better, they will get to know me and may even teach me a thing or two about the secrets of the land.

I work with them rather than against them. I very much enjoy getting to know the plant spirits, animal spirits, and in general the local spirits as I enter a new territory. There is so much one can learn if only they are willing to listen and be patient.

The grand old silver maple in my yard has to have the most personality of all my trees. I picture her as a happy old woman, who much likes to tickle my cheeks with her leaves and give me encouraging pats on the head as I water the garden. She seems quite delighted with me. While it may seem strange to notice the personality of a tree, I assure you it is actually quite a normal practice for myself and many others.
It has already been proven that plants do in fact speak with each other. Just because we do not always regularly speak with them, does not mean they do not talk in their own way, and are not listening.

It has also been proven that talking to your plants does in fact help them grow. I know this to be true personally myself. Music is another thing that helps plants grow.

The biggest thing with communication would be patience and the knowledge that communication will not happen as I am talking to you now. It will happen in other ways. An impression, a dream, a sway in the breeze. If you are keen at picking up these signs you will know what they mean.

I had two deaf friends growing up. I did not speak sign language myself but I still understood what they were saying. I eventually learned some signs and we could communicate a little better through their teaching me. I think this is no different than that. You are learning the communication style of something that does not speak like you, but that does not mean you cannot communicate with it. I would not change some of the wonderful experiences and conversations I have had with some of the plants I have grown for anything.

I feel very blessed to have my new plants so happy to have me living here. I feel very welcomed in my new home. Some may take a little more time to warm up to me, but the welcome I have had is already quite heartwarming.

13 bean update

So the experiment is going amazingly well.
This was taken just a few days after I put them in my germination station.

This was taken today.

In the first one, the split peas and chickpeas had not sprouted. In the second they are barely starting to show signs of roots.

I will be putting these in the ground shortly, maybe even today.

In my kitchen I have cabinets with side shelves near the kitchen sink window. The one on the right is where I have been doing my tomato seed saving. On the left is where my bok choy and onion experiments have been taking place. On the windowsil itself I have my avocado tree, ginger plants, bok choy, and watercress.

I also included a photo of the hairy little dried tomato seeds from my speckled roma (Also pictured above)

Today I finished the fermentation process for more gardeners delight and my green zebra. I started the process for my orange strawberry tomato.

I also picked a few more common mallow flowers for drying.
As I was picking them and watering my garden, I think I am seeing the first signs of carrot emerging. It gets so dry during the day I was worried the ground may not be staying moist enough even with watering twice a day. I guess I was wrong. I like being wrong on that one.

The picture on the middle right is my new drying rack set up. I don’t know why I had not thought to use a door coat rack for drying herbs. I have mint drying on it right now.

In other news… I my winter tonic is ready and works amazingly well. I tested out this batch when I started to feel a tickle and a few coughs happening, took a little, and have been great since. I will be making another batch of this here in the near future.

I also decided to make my own almond milk recently. I think it came out wonderful and works great for my protein shakes.
It took 1/4lb (1c) of almonds. At $5.88 a lb that put it at $1.47
It is suggested to use two cups of water, though I ended up using 3-4. We will say 3.
So divide that by 3 and it ended up being $0.49 a serving. Divided by 4 it is $0.37
It costs about the same per serving as buying almond breeze from winco but without any added ingredients.
I am going to try it with one of the unsalted nut mixes just because I am curious… I will let you guys know if it is any good.

This is the link to the site I used for making almond milk: How to make almond milk at home

Tonic brewing

I was off work early today and decided to make good use of my time. I headed straight to the store to grab some missing ingredients for a tonic I wanted to make.

Being that I currently work at a call center, I thought this would be a splendid idea. Call centers tend to be petri dishes. One person gets sick, or is not self aware when they are sick, and the whole call floor can catch it. For those of you who are younger, it is much like High school in that manner.
Being that I get sick fairly easily, I thought this would help when I start to feel that “tickle” or even before.
I have heard some people in the area say that strep has started going around. I thought it might be a good idea to prep this tonic up now, since it takes a couple or more weeks to brew. Well that, and I just generally love making magickal elixirs.

My chopped fresh ingredients (ginger, onion, garlic, chives, jalapeno) minus the thyme and rosemary I added in.


I mixed the ingredients together in apple cider vinegar. I just used a gallon water jug as that is what I had laying around. Normally I would probably use a glass jar.
The mixture smells amazing. I will strain it after shaking it up every day for a few weeks, use the liquid as the tonic remedy, and then puree the rest for an awesome sandwich spread. The boys are actually excited about the last part.

The great thing about this tonic, is that the ingredients in it are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, increases blood flow and circulation, helps fight off cough and sore throat, and is very warming. I may add honey to it later to help decrease the “sting” factor. Not to mention honey is a great natural antibiotic and a good source of natural energy when you aren’t feeling well.



Onto the garden!

It is hard to see at the moment, but you might be able to spot the corn that is popping up out of the ground.

I planted the carrots between the rows as marked below above the rows.
                      Corn  Carrots       Corn       Carrots  Corn



I picked up a bundle of chives that I figured I could add to my tonic. I chopped off all but about 4-6 inches near the base. I planted 7 chives in my garden near my tomatoes. I could have planted them right near the onions, but I did not want to get confused on which needed cutting, and which needed pulling later, so I left a gap.


My chives                                                                My onions

I also harvested those gold nugget tomatoes and saved the seeds from those. I basically washed the gardeners delight and put them out to dry, then put the gold nugget in the same container for processing.

My new chest freezer went out today, so I scrambled to get everything in the regular freezer as I could before it went bad. I am hoping it is something easily fixed, though I won’t know until I get someone to look at it.

I repotted my ginger plants into a bit bigger of a planter as well. I am not sure if they will ever end up outside. I sort of like them on my kitchen windowsill. At least until they get too big. Ginger is seriously easy to grow. At least in my experience.  I just leave whatever chunk of root I did not use from store bought ginger in the produce bag. Eventually it starts to grow a plant from the little nodes due to moisture in the bag. I just break it off a little below the node (About an inch or so below the growing node.) and then burry it 2/3 of the way in seed starting soil.
You aren’t really going to find ginger “seeds” in a nursery. That is about the only way you can grow them that I know of. At least in my area. Now I believe they can get up to like 5 feet tall, but I guess that also depends on when you harvest the root. Pretty much all roots are best harvested in Autumn, though I would have to double check that with Ginger as it is a tropical plant.
If they do end up outside, it will most likely be in a container garden as it will be easier to dig up the roots from there. I will also be bringing them inside for winter if I do that, as they cannot be outside if the temperatures drop below 50.