Easy Trick to Find Best Foods for You, Who Controls Your Facebook Feed?, Junk in Pet Food, Affording Real Food, NFL Coverups, & More in Today’s Mix-up!

Hopefully your 2016 is off to a great start.

If you're like me, you don't DO resolutions — instead each day is new, and I'm always just trying to do better.  If I have a “bad” day (don't get my walk in or eat too many carbs), I start fresh in the morning.  I try to celebrate all the ways I'm getting there though…  For example, in the area of sleep, I'm actually doing good!  Last night I got over 8 hours, and that's the norm these days, because I go to bed when Kent does at 9:00 (he gets up at 5:00 for Mass everyday), then I wake up early and get business stuff done before it's time to rouse the kids.  I told more about how I've finally been able to pull that off in this post:  How to Find More Time and Get Peace in Your Life.

Above is a picture from the Kids Cook Real Food class that kicked off this week with FREE knife skills videos — Click here to check it out.  (You'll love the video quality, that makes a big difference for me!)  Or click here to read my post about how teaching kids to cook can save you TIME in the kitchen!

Here's what I've found for you this week…

There's a LOT here, I always have trouble narrowing it down.  So grab some coffee or tea, settle in, then scroll down and see what grabs you.  🙂

• Most of these specials are still going on — click here for the 2016 gift from so many of my sponsors — discounts on all your favorite stuff!

• Soups are such a FAST dinner to pull together, especially when you have leftover turkey and turkey broth in the freezer like I did yesterday.  Plus, in the winter, they hit the spot and their aroma draws your family toward the kitchen for mealtime.  And, obviously, it's a great way to get nourishing bone broth into everyone!   This book is free over on Amazon right now, but I don't know for how long!
• I'm not a pet person, but this news from The Cornicopia Institute is terrible.  I know that for most pet owners your animals are cherished members of your family and you only want the best for them.  So how would you feel if the pet food you were buying had sodium pentobarbital in it, the very drug used to euthanize pets?!!!  Click here to read more about this and other disturbing stuff found in pet food.  What do you feed your pets?  Share with us in the comments below.  Also, this book for feeding dogs a raw diet seemed to have good ratings, as did this one for cats.  (Photo Credit)

• Cookies aren't just for Christmas!  Catch the conversation on FB about the ginger cookies I made with einkorn flour recently from this amazing cookbook.

• LOVED this email I received the other day:  “I just ordered 10 copies of your book — suddenly I’m having friends and acquaintances asking, “Where do I start?” It’s the perfect tool for me – not to get into their space too much yet hand them something meaningful. It’s less than taking them out to lunch. Seriously, what a deal. So, THANKS!”  Click here to get Real Food for Rookies!  (Or click here to read a more sweet book reviews.)

• I can't wait to see the movie, Concussion!  Watch the trailer below.  Maybe you've heard about the effects of head trauma on different NFL stars over the past few years, but most of us probably don't give it a second thought as we settle in to watch our favorite team play every Sunday.  Concussion presents the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Nigerian physician who first connected the dots between the damaged brains of NFL players and the repeated blows that caused the damage.  While his discoveries were wonderful news for the families who must have struggled watching their loved ones suffer from the effects of of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), for Dr. Omalu it turned out to be his worst nightmare as he and his family dealt with pressure from the NFL to muffle and coverup his findings.  Thanks to Tina for sending me the link to this interview with Dr. Omalu on CBS.  I think she summed up well when she said this to introduce the video, “This is such an eloquent representation of what is wrong with our country, politics and corporations, from the prospective of someone who thought America was the closest thing in existence to what God wanted his children to be.”   Have you seen it yet?  Please share with us in the comments what you thought.

• This movie I haven't seen yet, but I know I'm going to love it — my copy came in the mail yesterday:  War Room!

• Take the meds or no………Sometimes there are illnesses or situations that simply require us to take that dreaded prescription in order to heal.  But how do you know when that time has come?  For me it was the excruciating pain of a UTI/kidney stone that made me relent (oh yeah, and I was happy to do it in that case!), but in this post a reader asks if it is time for a loved one to take the anxiety meds her doctor recommended.  Be sure and read all the comments on each post, there are so many great tips from YOU, my wonderful reader friends.  🙂

• Who controls your Facebook feed?  Facebook does of course, but it's based on all sorts of algorithms nobody understands (FB doesn't reveal that, of course), and they are constantly changing.  If you could help me out and like and share all my posts on FB, that would make it so more people see my stuff and I'd be grateful.  I've asked before, but don't want to get annoying, and so far it's mostly just my sisters doing that for me, bless their hearts!  Read the article here:  Who controls your Facebook feed?  It says there that if you click the small drop-down arrow at the top right of a post you can click “see more like this”, but I don't see that option, do you?  Click here to follow me on FB.

• My friend Liz's story (pictured above) is more common than I knew (pills not going down all the way and causing ulcers in the throat) — wait 'til you find out how simple the natural solution is, and you'll be avoiding the side effects of PPI drugs!  Click here to read the story:  One very rude doctor and how they turn us into lifetime patients…

• My siblings and I have been through an incredibly sad and disappointing year and a half (regarding our Mom's estate) and it was especially bad a couple weeks ago, and that's when I opened the mail and realized what I had ordered.  A little of this “Let it go” blend on the temples or in the diffuser IS relaxing and was just what I needed…  Click here to read the Facebook conversation for a little more info.

• I am asked a LOT about how to afford real food. Have you seen this article by my friend, Anne?  Eating Healthy Shouldn't Cost an Arm and a Leg!

• I know this will sound a little odd, but do you know anyone with chronic anal itching?  A reader asked for help the other day so I put it on Facebook for them (thankfully I hadn't any experience in that area!) and you can click here to read the helpful conversation.

• What is the healthiest diet for humans is a subject right up there with religion and politics. Each side argues over who is “right”.  I loved this article, where Will & Susan share a powerful (and FREE) feedback loop you can use to find your ideal diet.  I'd never heard of this before!  It's much simpler than many people realize to determine what foods are best for YOU.  Click here to read more.

• Did you catch all of these recent posts? Here they are in case you missed them:
  • We’ve had Lice, Ringworm, Skin Cancer, Back Pain, High BP, Kidney Stones, & Doctor Run-ins… — I often wonder if God lets some of these ailments visit our household just so we can then turn around and help others with what we’ve learned…
  • Save TIME in the Kitchen — Teach Your Kids to Cook! (Show them this FREE Video)
  • Ups and Downs of Being a Homeschool Mom and Working Full-Time — Even if you’re not a homeschooling Mom, I think you’ll find this conversation interesting, plus there are lots of links at the bottom to posts I'll bet you haven't seen.
  • 2015 Flashback: Hottest KK Posts and My 2 Personal Highlights of the Year!  2015 has been interesting around here… Kent had a crazy year (bad then really good) and find out what my 2 unbelievable highlights were!
  • Why I Do NOT Trust the Vaccine Industry (What is the *REAL* HPV Vaccine Cost?) — Recently we got notices in the mail for each of our kids with their birthdates and MCIR numbers, saying they’re behind on the listed immunizations and then it says, “What you have to do…”
  • DIY Facial Toner for All Skin Types! — Facial toners are one of those optional facial products that some people wouldn’t do without and others have never even tried, but they have many benefits. Their astringent nature makes pores appear smaller, they remove last traces of oil, dirt, makeup, and cleanser, and return skin to a normal acidic pH, which is especially important if you use an alkaline cleanser, like soap. But commercial toners are usually full of mystery chemical ingredients that you would never choose to eat, which is a concern since much of what is applied to our skin can actually absorb into our bodies. Plus they’re expensive…
  • The BEST Shrimp and Garlic Pasta with Lemon — And a TASTY GF Version, too (A Favorite Fast Food at Home!)
  • Cowspiracy Film Farce — It’s Not WHAT You Eat, it’s HOW its GROWN! (And Why Allan Savory is my HERO) — Animals are not the problem. Animals are, in fact, the solution. Where people get confused is… It’s not WHAT you eat. It’s HOW it’s grown and raised!

• Here's a little reminder to be sure and look around my archive page if you haven't lately and/or my recipe-finder page. 

• Last thing, I loooooove this video of a little boy trying bacon for the first time:

Have a good rest of your week everyone!

(Affiliate links are often included in Morning Mix-up posts.  Check out my affiliate disclaimer here.)