Before I start posting recipes, I thought that I should talk a little bit about the ingredients that I use.
Oils: There are some good oils, and some bad ones and here is what we've decided to use: Olive Oil (extra virgin), butter, and
coconut oil. My mom has done a lot of research about oils, and someday I might explain why we've decided what we have, but for now here is a list of what we've gotten rid of: shortening, margarine, canola oil (and other vegetable oils, anything besides olive).
Sweeteners: This is a hard one to start changing!! I have such a sweet tooth, and sometimes look longingly at things I used to eat, but if you eat them (ew!), be ready for a shock! They don't taste anything like they used to!! We have decided to use: Raw Honey (from our own hives), Maple Syrup (be careful where you get this one from, as some people use formaldehyde in the processing! We get ours from a small farm in New York where they use the old method of extracting),
Rapadura (this is a sugar that is processed using a VERY old method from India. I don't think it's been heated, and it still has all the molasses in it.), Stevia Powder (this one I don't use a lot as it has a slight bitter taste, but it's good for making toothpaste and things that you need a dry sweetener for. It is also SUPER sweet, so you only need a tiny bit.), Molasses (we use black strap molasses, as it hasn't been processed as much, you can certainly tell as it is SO strong!! That is good though as you only use a TINY bit for cooking gingerbread men!), and Agave Nectar (made from a cactus, this one is safer for diabetics as it doesn't cause their blood sugar to spike. I am hypoglycemic and I notice that this makes a huge difference in how I feel!!).
But actually, it's best not to use many sweets, or sweeteners! Once you decide to come off of refined sugar (white sugar), you'll find it's almost like going through drug/caffeine withdrawal! It's hard, but once you are sugar free for awhile, you'll find you don't crave it anymore!! OH, and you really aren't supposed to use raw, natural, turbinado, sucanat or florida crystals as these are just refined sugar with a little bit of molasses added back in to give it color. That said, we do use a little bit of it as there are some recipes we just haven't been able to make work (but we are trying to wean ourselves!).
Grains/Flours: We don't buy flour from the store anymore as we buy grain in bulk and grind our own. This makes things super fresh as they were only ground (at most) a week before. I'll do another post on the grain mix that we use, but for now I'll just say that we use whole red and white wheat, spelt (a ancestor of wheat, naturally bug resistant which means no pesticides!!), and a 7 grain mix that I'll talk about later. These grains make a HUGE difference in how your food turns out... if you use all wheat, your cooking will turn out heavy and dry, BUT add a mixture and you have baked goods that almost look store-bought!!
Salt: you may think that this is a silly thing to talk about, but the iodized salt that you buy in the store isn't doing you any good, and in fact may be doing you harm. We use a salt that is mined in Utah. Yes, even though it is from the middle of the US, it is Sea Salt. That is because Utah was once upon a time covered in a huge lake (salt water). This salt is naturally pink and OH SO GOOD!! I don't like to use other salt AT ALL! Check out this website to read more about this wonderful salt... REAL SALT (not to confused with fake salt!).
Milk: Last but most definitely not least (in my book), is milk!! Most of my siblings and I have had severe allergies to milk all of our lives. In fact, I could eat ice cream and at once get a severe ear ache! It is no fun to be allergic to milk, as it is in everything! We did rice milk for a long time (made our own), and soy milk for awhile (stay away from soy like the plague! This messed up my body SO badly!!)... But after many years of not using milk or milk products, we have once again begun using them (for about 4 yrs), we are able to use butter and cheese from the store, but not milk. We have been so blessed to be able to get raw milk (used to get cow's milk, but now we use our own goat's milk), and haven't had ANY of the old problems come back!! Milk is a wonderful thing, and if you study the diets of the ancients... most had diary products as a staple in their diets! I have recently been learning how to make many diary products at home, and they are SO much better than store bought!!
I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into my pantry!
On Christmas Eve, we made a new crust with BUTTER! It was oh-so-good! Pumpkin pie is the family favorite, it was gone fast, which means it was pretty good! 
yum, doesn't that look delicious!?
sorry, I couldn't resist!!
