CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE 2018

I figured better late than never, and if you are looking for some last minute gift ideas -some of these may work!

OR if you get money for Christmas – you can buy these for yourself next week.

Ideas For the Kids:

As my children are growing up they are playing with toys less and buried in books more.  As a family, we try to stay away from electronics as much as possible.  It irks me when I see mommies bagging and loading their groceries while 3 children stand around her playing on their phones.

I also prefer children hanging from trees and covered in dirt to indoor clean and staring at screens.

During winter, my country kids typically spend their spare time in a cozy spot in front of the fireplace with a good book (or book series).

I thought I’d ask my kiddos which books they recommend for Christmas.

What they threw at me was overwhelming.  I was typing as fast as I could while they were all screaming book titles & plots at me.

They would all like you to know that they feel strongly that all of your children should read all of these books-

1. Rangers Apprentice Book Series – Orphan Boy trained by a Ranger – a great action book with lots of outdoor adventures
2. Percy Jackson’s Heroes of Olympus The Greeks & Roman Mythology with a fresh twist – absolutely hilarious
3. Wings of Fire Steer clear of this one of you don’t like dragons – this series is about a nice dragon who must save the world
4. Artemis Fowl A genius child who comes from a family of thieves discovers a mysterious species – my daughter absolutely LOVES this series
5. Maze Runner Series – Books are way better than the movies!
6. The Hidden Books (Series of 7)  This dystopia is set where families are only allowed to have 2 children.  When some families break the rules, the children are hidden.  Fantastic series.
7. Beyonders by Brandon Muhl – A young zoo worker hears music coming from the inside of the hippo… he accidentally enters a portal into another world
8. Five Kingdoms by Brandon Muhl – Trick or treaters are touring a haunted house when they drop into another world where they must save princesses, battle evil and decide if he should stay in his new life in the Five Kingdoms or return to his world
9. Anything by Eoin Colfer – my kids love all his books.  He wrote the Artemis Fowl series and several other books.  In my daughter’s opinion, they all have fantastic plot lines and are great reads.
10. Dungeons & Dragons anything (This is for the teenagers).  My oldest son (18 yrs old) and his buddies are having a ball creating worlds, trying to trap each other and beating the game.  If you are worried about all the Dragons (like I was) be comforted, that the game is only as scary and dark as the DM (Dungeon Master – the person running the game) makes it.  The Dungeon and Dragons games that take place around here contain hours of belly laughs.  Everyone loves the game and it’s never ugly or scary.

Prepping, Self-Sufficient Life-

Encyclopedia of Country Living

From craft culture to survivalists, preppers, homesteaders, urban farmers, and everyone in between there is a desire for a simpler way of life—a healthier, greener, more self-sustaining and holistic approach to modern life.

The knowledge you need to survive and thrive off the grid is at your fingertips in The Encyclopedia of Country Living, the best-selling resource for the homesteading movement. With its origins in the back-to-the-land effort of the late 1960s, Carla Emery’s landmark book has grown into a comprehensive guide to building your sustainable country escape haven, while lowering your carbon footprint in the process.

Farmer Johns Cookbook – the Real Dirt on Vegetables

I love this book.  Farmer John owns one of the largest CSA’s in America.  He noticed a need when customers inquired what to do with the unique veggies he was growing and filling their baskets with.  He began providing tips on how to store, prepare and eat the foods.  This book is a wonderful collection of all the tips, recipes and information that has been carefully provided to the CSA members over the years.

My Favorite Cookbooks: 

Ball Blue Book –

Anything Ina Garten

If you’ve never crafted or tasted one of her recipes – you are missing out.  I’ve never been disappointed with any of her meals.  Fantastic.

See her cookbooks here.

Gifts For the Meal Preparer –

Hamilton Beach Food Processor

A food processor doesn’t need to cost over $100 to work well.  I have been using this model from Hamilton Beach to make all my salsas and jellies for years and it works great.

Pampered Chef Chopper

How do people live without one of these?  I know the Pampered Chef version is pricey – but it is crazy sharp and I have been using mine for almost a decade.  This is a must have for chopping small batches of veggies.  I use it almost every day.

InstaPot

Yup.  I’m on the bandwagon.  this dude can cook dinner for you in a flash – or it can cook it for you while you are at work.

Make sure you buy the right one – not all InstaPots are the same.  Be sure you get the model that can steam rice and make yogurt in addition to pressure cooking and replacing your crock-pot.  There are bunches of InstaPots – but this one is my favorite.  The link below is for the 6 quart version (normal sized family).  If your family is larger (like mine) you probably want the 8 quart version.  8 Quart version here.  

NutriMill – I can not imagine a kitchen without a food mill.  I use mine constantly.  The only way to get (truly) whole grain foods into your home is to own a grain mill.  All the products (baked goods and bagged flours) sold at the supermarket are inferior.  Most store-bought flours and baked goods are not made with whole grains.  They incorporate just enough whole grain to meet the minimum requirement so they can label the food, “whole grain.”  Shocking, right?  In addition to the fact that the foods are not “whole grain,” the flour used is rarely fresh.  It only takes a few days for fresh ground flour to oxidize and lose most of its nutrition.  With a home grain mill, you will know that your flours are whole grain and fresh.

Bosch Mixer – If you want to turn your home into a bakery and not knead the dough by hand all day, this is the appliance for you.  I make 6 loaves of bread at a time with this glorious mixer.  I use this mixer to make loaf breads, challah bread, rolls, buns, and even butter.  It is more powerful than a Kitchen Aid Professional and has more than double the capacity (the Kitchen Aid can hold enough dough to make 2-3 loaves — whereas the Bosch can handle enough dough to make up to 10 loaves).

Omega Juicer – DH gave me one of these for Christmas 2 years ago.  I adore my juicer.  As a nation, we are eating dead foods.  Most of our diet comes from frozen, canned, cooked and processed foods.  Living foods are like medicine.  They heal our bodies and protect us.  Are you eating the recommended 11 servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables?  I know I don’t didn’t.  With a juicer, you can consume dozens of fresh, living foods with ease.  I don’t have the time or the desire to eat 10-15 pieces of fruit (or servings of veggies) in a day.  But I can drink a couple of glasses of fresh juice!  Another benefit of juicing is that the enzymes and nutrients go straight to your bloodstream.  Because you are consuming the juice (not the pulp) the foods do not have to go through the digestive system.

Healthy Living and Wellness:

Food Rules – An Eaters Manual

This book is hilarious and practical.  This is an easy to understand, fun manual on how to eat that everyone on earth should read.  It is a concise read that you’ll gobble up in no time flat.

Animal Vegetable, Miracle

This book will rock your world.  It is a look at a family who moved away, grew food and ate from their local area for 1 year.  Read all about their adventures in food and what they learned along the way.

FarmFreshForLife Membership – You know I couldn’t leave this one off.

I think this makes the perfect gift.  Not only will you open a world of eBooks, videos, livestock handbooks, guides, recipes, healthy living tips, and homesteading dish…. a FarmFreshForLife Membership is the gift that keeps giving.  Fresh content is added all the time.  It’s cheap and is sure to satisfy the healthy living farmgirl or farmguy in everyone.

Learn more about the Membership here.

Or Sign up now:

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