Another month has come and gone, Christmas is right around the corner and so is a new year! This month has seen some serious building here at the vineyard – we had an ICF barn raising! While it is still not completed, it is close. We contracted the concrete floor and roof and we did the ICF (insulated concrete forms) walls ourselves. When we returned from Thanksgiving in Georgia with family, the roof was completed (pictures next week!) With the flat terrain here in west Texas, you can see the red metal roof for miles!
November was the month that I quit coffee and other caffeinated beverages! On November 7, 2012 I was officially off all caffeine and I marked it on the calender 
For me that is a major change. Not that I was addicted to coffee (denial), but 8 – 10 cups per day were very comforting! I am definitely sleeping better and feel more rested.
I was also privileged to do a couple of guest posts this month – one at Gutsy with my Liver and Onions recipe and the other at Kelly the Kitchen Kop where I shared my story of Healing Arthritis and Osteoporosis with the GAPS diet.
Elsewhere, here are my favorite things:
E-Books and Classes on Sale:
- Natural Cocktails from Our Nourishing Roots includes recipes for honey sweetened cocktails like Hard Lemonade and two Tea Bourbon Cocktails that are GAPS-friendly, virgin Eggnog, Shirley Temples, a Lime Rickey, and other drink-making recipes that do not involve alcohol plus non-alcoholic aspects to the book like how to make homemade bitters which are very stomach-settling and a good help to digestion when made into a Bitters & Soda.
- Real Food for the Holidays from Nourished Kitchen includes a 10-workshop online series featuring over 30 videos, 30 holiday menus, a mix-and-match holiday menu maker and 200 real food recipes for the holidays. Recipes and menus are suitable for Weston A Price, GAPS/SCD, Grain-free and Paleo eaters.
- DIY Organic Beauty Recipes from Mommypotamus includes recipes for such beauty products as shampoo, conditioners, lotions, deodorant, lip balm, body butter, natural tooth powder and much more – get ready to pamper yourself!
Articles:
- Guest post at The Kitchen Rag on healthcare
- Understanding cooking oils at PV Nutritional Therapy
- With holiday parties inevitable, Our Small Hours helps with real food away from home
- Granny’s Vital Vittles examines the possibility of eating real food while shopping at Walmart
- Oh Lardy gives 5 reasons to ditch the sports drinks and gives a healthy alternative
- Whole Natural Life teaches how to use coconut oil and The Coconut Mama has 10 ways to add coconut oil into your diet
- Ever wondered why raw milk is better? Real Food Eater has the answer
- Thank Your Body gives health foods to avoid - they may surprise you
- A Crafty Gourmet gives information about Vitamin B-12 deficency and supplementation
- Have you ever used Elderberry Syrup to prevent cold and flu – Whole Green Love tells you how
- Real Food Suomi tells about the butter police in Scandinavia
- 20 Something Allergies has a guest post on the oil cleansing method for radiant skin
Recipes:
- Nourished Kitchen has a mouthwatering sugarplum recipe
- French silk pie from Our Nourishing Roots filled with chocolate sounds heavenly!
- Empowered Sustenance shows how to make faux-cornbread
- Gutsy gives a GAPS legal substitute to one of our family’s favorites with Coconut Flour Banana Bread
- Ditch the Wheat helps in the quest to add fish to the menu with a great salmon recipe as does Adventure in Eating with a whole fish dish to make for an easy weeknight meal
- Little Owl Crunchy Momma has a scrumptious blueberry muffin recipe
- Maple Pecan Candies from Homemade Mommy is a winner and only has 3 ingredients!
- Another mouthwatering recipe from Butter Believer – Mini Apple Pies
- Mmmm – Honey Caramel Apple Cider from Nourishing Joy and Venison Stew from And Here We Are – perfect for cold winter evenings
- Holistic Squid has just the thing to soothe you – homemade bath salts
