MERRY CHRISTMAS

All of us at TwoFarmsOne wish you a safe, healthy, blessing filled and very merry Christmas!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - 12/19/12

Anna's Children - Christmas 2005

Wordless Wednesday 

(AF) Busy, but fine, mostly.

Hello, Everybody!

Yes, we have gotten extremely busy again. It is just that time of year, as I am sure all of you know. We are both still a little under the weather, but improving. My back is out, which is slowing me down, but I am still managing to get around and get quite a bit done. As soon as the cold front that is almost here, passes through, my back will probably be just fine (I am hoping).

We both have soooo many blog posts that we have mulling about in our heads, and we are dying to get them posted, but we have neither one had a lot of time lately to just sit down and write away. As I have said before, it is too bad because that is the time you actually have the most to write about.

We are going to try our best to get caught up on our sites over the next few days, but we make no promises! We truly hope life is treating you all well, you are having a great Christmas season, and we can't wait to find some reading time to catch up with all of you and your blogs.

Have a BEAUTIFUL and BLESSING filled day!

TIGHTWAD TUESDAY - Don't Toss Those Pumpkins!

Jack Be Little Pumpkins (white ones included).... They are so cute that none of us, kids nor adults alike, can resist them. Some just get one or two to paint a face on for Halloween, and some get a bunch of them to scatter amongst their Fall decor. Then, long about now, if you haven't already, they end up getting tossed out with the spent Fall decorations. But you know me, I hate throwing stuff away and wasting things.

Did you know that these darling little pumpkins are not only decorative, but very tasty and good to eat as well?! Last year I ended up with several and just couldn't bring myself to throw them out. They were pumpkins, and it seemed such a waste, so I decided to do some digging and see if they were good to eat at all. To my delighted surprise, I learned that they were not only good to eat, but there are many great recipes all over the net for cooking them! Just type in "Jack Be Little Pumpkins Recipes" into your search box and all kinds of recipes for them comes up!  You can even bake several of them, scoop them out, and make an ordinary pumpkin pie. They have so many uses that I can't believe so many of them are just tossed into the trash this time of year (or any time for that matter). You can even fill each one with a handful of your favorite meatloaf recipe and bake for great, individual meatloaves (a fun way to get kids to eat meatloaf, though I still doubt it would work on me, lol).

Although the wall of these pumpkins is very thick and provides each individual person with a generous, nutritious serving of vegetable, there are also lots of seeds in the center of each one. The seeds easily come out and can be cleaned and used to roast or to plant to grow even more the next year, or you can roast most of them and save a few to plant for the next year. You can really get the mileage out of your money on these great little pumpkins if you first use them for decoration, then cook and eat them, then plant some of the seeds to grow more for the next year. I still can't believe how many of these get tossed into the trash each year. It just doesn't seem right. Oh, and if you don't like to eat them, they are also great fodder for goats and chickens. Here is my favorite way to cook them.... Click Here

If you have other ways of cooking them, or other ways to use these adorable little pumpkins before they are trashed, I would love to hear them!

PHARMACY FRIDAY - Apple Cider Vinegar for healing

 Now, when I talk about using Apple Cider Vinegar for healing purposes, I am talking about the All Natural Apple Cider Vinegar WITH Mother. This vinegar is in its most natural state and has not had extra processing that kills any (usually most) of its natural healing properties. There are actually several different brands you can choose from. Although most of them work equally well, there is usually a very wide range of prices. We have found that Heinz works very well, for a very reasonable price.

Some people think that Apple Cider Vinegar KILLS bacteria, but others say that it mostly just retards the growth of bacteria. There are several types of bacteria that it can stop the growth of, and one of the most important ones is Staphylococcus aureus. This could be very good to know when you have an antibiotic resistant staff infection!
But Apple Cider Vinegar, some say, does not stop the growth of all bacteria (see more HERE), so if you are counting on it for the purpose of killing/retarding many bacteria, you may want to consider something with more antibacterial properties, or digging a little deeper with your research.

Apple Cider Vinegar contains inulin, which is a prebiotic. So what does this mean? This component won't kill bacteria, but it WILL help your body's ability to fight against them by increasing your number of T cells and white blood cells.

Apple Cider Vinegar can also help to stop the growth of bacteria in another way. When applied, it decreases the pH of surfaces (such as your skin), which will help to prevent bacteria from growing.  A word of caution, though, Apple Cider Vinegar IS an acid and can cause some tissue irritation.

Contrary to all of this, research done by the Heinz corporation has shown that apple cider vinegar actually kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold and 80% of viruses.  You will have to be the judge on how much you trust it to kill bacteria and viruses, but this time of year, during cold and flu season, it might not be a bad idea to incorporate some into your daily cleaning routines and to disinfect minor cuts and scrapes. I like to drink a little of it mixed in a glass of water with some honey. It tastes much better than you would think, and since I have elected NOT to get a flu shot (I don't trust them, but that is another subject), I hope that a glass now and then will help to prevent the growth of any flu viruses in my system. As an added bonus, that beverage concoction also seems to help my arthritis pain! But that is getting off of topic, so we will save that for another Friday
HERE is yet a little more great information about the great, antibacterial and antiviral benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar. I hope you find this all helpful (and not confusing) and I look forward to hearing about your opinions, findings and results.

This post is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease or illness. Always remember to check with your health care provider before beginning any treatment on your own.