Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Gardening and Preserving E-book Sale!

by 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

gardeningebookcoversm

I’ve heard from so many of you that you are excited to learn more about gardening and preserving your own fruits and vegetables. Tis the season to start thinking about a garden…I’m SO excited! I can’t wait to eat a fresh tomato that is right out of my yard! I’ll be blogging my gardening and preserving progress throughout the next few months.

To get this season started with a kick, I’ve knocked $3.00 off  Heavenly Homemaker’s Guide to Gardening and Preserving e-book! This sale price will only last until next weekend, so hurry to take advantage!

You can read all about what this ebook includes here. 

Go check out Heavenly Homemaker’s Guide to Gardening and Preserving!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Becoming a Better Help Meet: He Can’t Read Your Mind

by 41 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

help meet

I remember the first time we celebrated my birthday as a married couple. It was one of the most disappointing days. Growing up, my mom had always made my birthday all about me. I would wake up to gifts and a special breakfast. We usually went out for a lovely lunch. I got to pick what I wanted for dinner and we all celebrated with a cake.

So naturally, Matt should have known all of that. He should have thought ahead and planned ahead and baked me a big cake and planned the whole day around me because hello…it was my birthday.

I believe the day went something like this:  I did not wake up to presents or a special breakfast. Lunch? Well that would depend on what I chose to make. There was no cake. Matt didn’t even mention my birthday until late afternoon when he said something like, “I have to go out for a little while because I haven’t had a chance to shop for your present yet. What do you want for your birthday?”

What do I want? What do I WANT? I WANT you to know what I want! I want you to spend hours thinking about how to make my day special and about what would be a wonderful and romantic gift for me. And what do you mean you “haven’t had time to shop yet”? You had 364 days to shop!

Mature, wasn’t I?  Expecting a little too much from my new husband? Um, yeah. Especially since I hadn’t expressed one bit of my desires to him in the first place. I didn’t want to have to tell him what I wanted. That wouldn’t have been romantic at all. I wanted him to just KNOW what I wanted. I expected him to create a magical day for me when he had no idea what I had expected. His birthdays growing up had been much more “low key” than mine had been. He didn’t know that the world had to stop and that everything had to revolve around me on my birthday. 

That’s just a silly little example of how not sharing our needs or desires with our husbands can cause unnecessary frustration. But the big point is this:  Our husbands can NOT read our minds.  Your husband probably has no idea what you want until you tell him. 

Hey, you can’t read his mind either. This marriage thing takes communication. 

If you want your husband to help you more around the house, you need to tell him. And you need to be specific. You can’t just say, “I need you to help me more around the house.” He’s likely to look around the house, feel completely overwhelmed and not help at all. Remember, he can’t read your mind. He probably wants to help you, he just doesn’t know what it is that you need help with. While YOU see the pile of laundry that needs to be folded, don’t assume that he KNOWS that you want him to fold it. Instead of, “I need you to help me” say something along the lines of, “Hey, would you be able to get those clothes folded for me sometime this afternoon?” (And then you give him a flirty look, a smile and a wink – but that’s another post for another day.)

Don’t just sit around waiting for him to figure out what you need or desire. He doesn’t know. He’s probably not insensitive and uncaring. He just doesn’t know. Because your husband can not read your mind.

If you expect your husband to read your mind and instinctively know what you want…you are going to be constantly disappointed. Disappointment can lead to resentment. Which can lead to bitterness. Which can lead to a big sinful mess. The kind of sinful mess that rests in your heart, not in his.

Gently and lovingly share your needs with your husband. Be specific. Think about what you are going to say before you say it. Decide if it truly is a need (or just a selfish desire). Express yourself calmly. DON’T NAG. 

Which leads me to this:  Even if you share your needs with your husband in all the right ways…he still may not be able to (or willing to) meet all of them. You may be able to try talking through it with him again another time. You may be able to express yourself differently to help him understand what you need. Or, this may just be a time to shut-up and pray.

And through prayer, you will learn that there’s only One who can truly meet all of your needs sufficiently. And joy of joys…He can indeed read your mind. :)

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

by 118 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I’m not sure if you are a chocolate lover like I am, but any recipe that has the words chocolate and chocolate written side by side makes me very happy and excited.

Chocolate_Chocolate_Chip_Muffins

My biggest hint on this recipe is to use sour cream instead of milk. (The recipe lists either one.) Sour cream makes these super moist.

This recipe is a definite family favorite. They taste amazing with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip MuffinsYum

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sucanat
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter
2/3 cup milk or sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I recommend these organic chips without soy lecithin)

Stir together dry ingredients. Mix in coconut oil, milk and egg. Fold in chocolate chips. Scoop into 9-12 paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 400° for 20  minutes. Makes about 9 muffins. (I double the recipe for my family of six.)

5.0 from 1 reviews
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 9 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour
  • ⅓ cup sucanat
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil or butter
  • ⅔ cup milk or sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Stir together dry ingredients.
  2. Mix in coconut oil, milk and egg.
  3. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Scoop into 9-12 paper lined muffin tins.
  5. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

If you have some good quality coconut oil, I highly recommend using it in this recipe. The coconut flavor with the chocolate is SO GOOD.

How about Chocolate Chip Bread?

Don’t mind if I do. Indeed, you can also make this recipe into a quick bread instead of muffins. Just spread the batter into a buttered loaf pan and bake at 350° for 50 minutes! Get all the details here.

chocolate_pumpkin_bread_2

 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Our Healthy Eating Journey, Part 9

by 58 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

healthyeatingjourney

If you missed them, please catch up on
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7 and Part 8.

I had just been released from the hospital from complications from asthma and Malachi was miserable with his eczema…something had to give. We were starting to make several changes in the way we ate (more whole grains, more organic produce) and the way we cleaned (no harmful chemicals in our cleaning products)…but I was NOT willing to give up my Pepsi. I did feel a little ridiculous drinking a Pepsi (or three) with my organic, free range chicken…but what-ever. I needed my Pepsi!

So, do you want to know what FINALLY broke me of drinking Pepsi? I’m sorry if it’s not as exciting or enlightening as you were maybe hoping it would be…but this is my Pepsi quitting story nonetheless:

We had several thousand dollars worth of medical bills from my hospital visit (insurance didn’t touch it because there was a rider on my asthma). Nor did insurance cover one bit of the Osteopathic treatments we were experimenting with to try to get my asthma and Malachi’s eczema under control. (This is not an insurance bashing post…we just had a lame insurance plan.)  Bills were stacking up like crazy. Our financial reserves were pretty much gone.

I basically had to make a decision:  Keep eating poorly and drinking lots of Pepsi and remain sick, while spending LOTS of money to try to improve my health. (Sounds like money down the drain, huh?)  Or, stop hurting my body and let the money we were putting into my health be WORTH SOMETHING.

I was an all or nothing Pepsi drinker. I couldn’t just have a little. If I had a little…I would have a lot. And then I would have some more.

I was going to have to quit.

As I was wrestling with all of this and “trying to quit”, one of my friends who was quite a few months ahead of me on the healthy eating journey (and who was worried sick over my health) said to me, “Laura, you’re so sick. Your asthma is out of control. You can’t keep up with your kids. You need nourishment.”

Nourishment. I needed nourishment. My family needed nourishment.

Funny isn’t it that although I’d already read through Nourishing Traditions and looked into eating a healthier diet…I still hadn’t equated food with nourishment. 

I had taken all the information I’d learned and just worked to avoid pesticides and avoid hydrogenated oils and avoid high fructose corn syrup…but I’d forgotten that the big point of eating is to fill our bodies with nourishment!!

Until then, eating and food was all about “dos” and “don’ts”. Don’t eat fat. Oh wait, do eat healthy fat. Don’t eat red meat. Oh wait, do eat grass fed red meat. Don’t eat eggs. Oh wait, do eat free range eggs. Don’t eat food coloring, additives, pesticides, chicken from the store, etcetera, etcetera. But do eat organic produce, free range chicken, food without preservatives, etcetera, etcetera.

That simple statement from my friend, “Laura, you need nourishment” was a light bulb moment for me. I suddenly saw food for what it was:  a way to nourish every part of our body.

And the Pepsi? Not only was it not giving me nourishment…it was completely wrecking me. What in the WORLD was my body supposed to do with all the Pepsi I was putting into it? 

I quit drinking Pepsi that day. I missed it, I craved it, I had withdrawals from it. But I knew that I had to just give it up. I had lots of support. And I had so many reasons to stop my Pepsi madness. Five of them are my most precious men who count on me to take care of them every day.

I then had to change the way I thought about Pepsi. I had to stop believing the lie that “I needed my Pepsi”. I had to change my afternoon “relax with a Pepsi” habit and I had to replace it with a healthy habit. I had to pray. I had to be strong.

I’ve been Pepsi (and all pop/soda) free for four and a half years now. Now, I simply smell Pepsi when I have a chance.  Pitiful (and weird), I know. 

So now that I’d conquered the Pepsi addiction…what was next in our healthy eating journey? Ugh, so many other healthy eating changes I thought my head would fall off.

To be continued…
————————————————-

This post is linked to Works for me Wednesday.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: Broken Window

by 29 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

gratituesdaynov09

When you have children, you know there will be “incidents”. You can plan on making some trips to the ER for stitches or x-rays or casts. It’s an unfortunate part of parenting. You always just pray that nothing terribly serious happens and that the ER receptionist doesn’t know you on a first name basis because you frequently show up there with bleeding children.

Thankfully up until now, we’ve only gone in a few times for stitches…and once for croup.

And well…when I think of all the “could have beens” with our broken window last Thursday…all I can do is thank God over and over that all we had was a broken window.

All four boys were upstairs playing when suddenly Matt and I heard a tremendous crash and saw a huge amount of glass fly all over our yard. I was shocked and frozen for exactly one second before I took the steps about twelve at a time to go see what had happened and to make sure our four boys were okay. Talk about heart stopping.

Matt and I made it into the boys’ room at the same time…counted heads…all four boys were breathing, not bleeding and just fine. Well, fine if you consider being white as a sheet and shaking with fear as being fine. Compared to what could have been…a little fear and shaking was absolutely fine.

After comforting the boys, we got the story. Two of the boys were just playing and wrestling on the bed…trust me…this is an everyday occurrence. Then, one of them kicked at the window accidentally and BOOM. Out it went. He must have hit it just right.

And we’re not talking about a tiny little window. This window is about 36 inches wide by 40 inches tall. 

Our child could have flown out the window and crashed onto cement. Or glass could have slammed down and cut him severely. I can hardly breathe when I think of it.

But he didn’t even get a scratch. 

Thank you God for protecting our boys!

broken_window_oneIt’s hard to see exactly how much glass was shattered all over the place, but here’s one shot I took of the cement slab directly under the window. Picture that all over the surrounding grass and you get the idea. Matt and the boys have spent hours trying to pick up pieces, yet I don’t think we’ll be letting anyone go barefoot any time soon.

broken_window_twoThis might give you an idea of how high up they were. 
Here’s me sticking my hand out the window and waving to the boys picking up glass below.

Can I say it again? Thank you God for protecting our boys.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

The Most Nutritious Sweeteners

by 201 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

honey

Raise your hand if you ever feel overwhelmed and confused about which sweeteners/sugars are the best to use in your treats?

Uh-huh…me too. There are dozens of different sweeteners out there and all kinds of  arguments trying to convince you to eat one over the other.

While I’m certainly no sweetener expert (although I do consider myself an expert taste tester of all things sweet and sweeter), I will share with you what I’ve learned through the past few years of researching.

Better Sweeteners (in no particular order)

Sucanat/Rapadura – “Dehydrated Cane Sugar Juice”

This is by far my favorite sugar to bake with. It is processed in the traditional way that people of India have used for thousands of years and leaves most of the minerals intact. It substitutes one for one in recipes that call for sugar and has a delicious, rich flavor.

Rapadura is a brand name for Sucanat, so in general I find that Sucanat costs a bit less. Be very careful to buy Organic Sucanat however, as some ‘regular sucanat’ brands I’ve seen are NOT dehydrated cane sugar juice…but some form of processed sugar with molasses added back in making it MUCH less nutritious.

Raw Honey

If you can find raw honey from a local bee keeper, go for it! Raw honey (honey that has not been heated over 117° to kill healthy bacteria) contains many nutrients and digestive enzymes.

Raw honey is a wonderful addition to buttered toast or granola. Honey is also wonderful to bake with (although then of course, it won’t be raw anymore). If a recipe calls for one cup of sugar, I usually substitute 1/2-2/3 cup of honey.

Real Maple Syrup, Grade B

Mmm…I love maple syrup! I never bake with it, but find it works wonderfully in liquid recipes like Strawberry Milkshakes, Smoothies, Warm Vanilla Soother, Creamy Orange Cooler, etc. Oh, and it’s great on Pancakes and Waffles too!

Because real maple syrup is kinda pricey, I am the designated syrup pourer on pancakes…otherwise we’d have a lot of this “Liquid Gold” wasted all over our pancake plates.

Organic Grade B Maple Syrup is better than Grade A as more nutrients are present. Plus, non-organic maple syrups may contain formaldehyde or other synthetic defoamers.

“Mom, can I please have some more formaldehyde on my pancake?” I don’t think so.

Molasses

Molasses is the “waste product” that comes from the production of refined sugar. It is rich in many minerals. I don’t use molasses much for baking, except in recipes such as Molasses Cookies. Mmm!

————————————————
This is by no means an exhaustive list of “healthy sugars”…these are simply my favorites and the sugars I’m most familiar with. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section if you have researched and know of a great sugar to try!
————————————————

Sweeteners to Avoid

Refined Sugars

Unfortunately even many organic sugars (turbinado, raw, natural) are quite refined and contain very few nutrients. I use these occasionally because AT LEAST they are (unbleached, organic, a little less refined) and better than…

White Sugar

This sugar is so refined that there are no nutrients left in it whatsoever. It is also usually bleached to make it prettier. Because it is not sugar in its whole form…it has a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels in the body. I can actually feel the effect white sugar has on my body (can you?!).

But, if you have a choice between the two, choose regular sugar over…

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Dr. Mercola can explain why High Fructose Corn Syrup should be avoided way better than I can! Read his professional information on the subject…

Agave Nectar

While I used to believe that Agave Nectar was a healthy substitute for sugar, it seems I should have done my homework more thoroughly. Agave Nectar should usually be avoided as apparently, it is almost worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup.

By the way, I think I’ve changed any recipes I have here on my site that included agave nectar as an ingredient…but in case you find it anywhere, please let me know so I can edit it!

Artificial Sweeteners

Ooh, I can’t say enough about fake sugar!!! Please don’t make the mistake of believing that you are eating/drinking healthier if you avoid sugar but use aspertame, splenda, or whatever the latest “fake sugar” is out there. They are worse than good ol’ refined sugar and can cause so many long term health problems. I have reasons to be passionate about this subject…so if you want to picture me down on the floor grabbing your feet begging you to avoid these…that truly is what I’m doing right now. You can read more information about aspertame here. I believe these testimonials may say more than I ever could.

I’d love for you to share your experiences, thoughts on this subject, and favorite sugar choices with us!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How I Plan our Meals + Our Menu Plan This Week

by 60 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Download free menu planners here!

Recently one of my readers asked if I have any special method for menu planning. When planning a menu, I usually ask myself these questions:

  • What do we have going on this week (field trips, soccer games, events, church activities, company coming, etc)?
  • What is Matt’s work schedule this week?
  • What do we have in the fridge that needs to be eaten up?
  • What did we eat last week? (so I can offer a variety if possible)
  • What do I have in the freezers and pantry?

Then, I plan meals accordingly. If we have soccer games, I’ll try to plan a quick meal before we leave…or plan something easy to heat up when we get home. If Matt is working in an evening, I’ll plan a bigger meal for lunchtime so he can share it with us. If we have a homeschool activity in the morning, I’ll plan something quick to heat up when we get home (or something transportable so we can eat on the way there or back).

I try to plan a variety, so that we don’t have three chicken meals in a row or the same veggie all week long. This helps keep food exciting for the kids…plus makes sure we get many different kinds of nutrients each day.

What about you…do you have a special way of planning your meals?

Sunday, April 11
Oatmeal, peaches
Leg of lamb, baked potatoes, honey glazed carrots, peas, honey wheat muffins
Homemade pizza pockets, fruit

Monday, April 12
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Fried chicken legs, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans
Bean and cheese burritos, clementines

Tuesday, April 13
Mini breakfast pizzas, oranges
Spaghetti, tossed salad
Chicken fried steak strips, potato wedges, steamed broccoli and carrots

Wednesday, April 14
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins (recipe coming THIS week – finally!)
Beefy enchilada bake, tossed salad
Simple soaked pancakes, turkey sausage

Thursday, April 15
Breakfast burritos, applesauce
Cheeseburger macaroni, steamed carrots
Italian roast wraps, fruit salad

Friday, April 16
Giant breakfast cookies, pears
 Corn dog muffins, fruit-kefir smoothies, carrot sticks
Homemade pizza

Saturday, April 17
Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit
Leftover buffet
Grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, carrot sticks

Hey, question for you of the UTMOST importance (not really)…

We got our toaster as a wedding gift and it has lasted 15  years (which means it’s actually 105 years old in toaster years – impressive). It’s been good to us and has toasted hundreds upon thousands of bready items. It is now on it’s last leg…sometimes toasting…sometimes forgetting to toast…sometimes sleeping through the entire process.

It’s time to get a new toaster. My question is…do you have any recommendations? Do you know of a great brand of toasters? OR do you think we should just get a toaster oven instead?!

See, I told you my question was important.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Coke, Pop or Soda? Question #63

by 108 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

You knew the Coke/Pop/Soda question was coming after this question, didn’t you? 

We all know that I don’t drink Pepsi anymore. I’ve been Pepsi free for over four years now. However, I still miss my Pepsi so if you’d all kindly whisper while we talk about this subject, I’d appreciate it. Otherwise this will be a difficult topic and I may be faced with temptation. 

Just kidding. I’ll be fine. I won’t give in. I won’t have any. Not even a sip.

However, if you and I are together and you are drinking a Pepsi, I may ask you for a sniff. My sister-in-law always lets me smell her Pepsi when we’re together. She just smiles, shrugs and hands it over…because what else is she supposed to do? She married my brother so she has to love me through my weird Pepsi addicted ways. Ah, everyone should be so blessed as to have a sister-in-law who lets you smell her Pepsi. Michele, I love ya. I can’t wait to smell your Pepsi  sit down for a long visit next month!

So, growing up, I always called sugar filled carbonated beverages ‘pop’. When I went to college, I learned that people from different regions call it different names…names that I (in my immaturity) thought were just plain weird. I thought people only called it ‘soda’ in old movies. Lo and behold, real live people called it ‘soda’ and they weren’t even kidding. And then there were the people that called it ‘Coke’ even if it was a Dr. Pepper or a Sprite…or of all scandalous things…a Pepsi. How dare these people call my beloved Pepsi…a Coke?

Yeah, I’m over it now. In fact, I even started calling it ‘soda’ after a while because everyone around me said it that way. (Although, as a side note, I do get a bit testy when I hear people call ‘margarine’…’butter’. If it’s margarine, it ain’t buttuh. “Don’t you mess with butter’s good name like that,” I scream! In my head. While I smile.)

Well, anyway…I do believe this Coke/Pop/Soda thing is regional. It seems that folks from different parts of the world call it different things. Oh boy, and I even met someone last summer that calls it ‘Soda Pop’. I thought Opie was the only one who called it that…but it sure was cute coming out of the six foot three inch fella I heard it from last summer. 

So what do you call it? Have you found it to be different it different areas of the world?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Which Ice Cream Maker?

by 22 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Since posting about The Ice Cream Experiment, I’ve had all kinds of comments and emails asking which Ice Cream Maker I would recommend. Thought I’d pop on real quickly and tell you about my favorite!

A couple of years ago when Matt and I were dabbling in the Shaved Ice and Homemade Ice Cream business, a friend told us that the BEST ice cream maker was the White Mountain Electric Ice Cream Maker.

white_mountain_ice_cream_maker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE!!

This post was written in 2010 and indeed, we did love our White Mountain Electric Ice Cream Maker. But today is July 2024 and I have better news – a new favorite. A friend gifted us with a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and oh my. It’s a million times easier to use, completely mess-free, and there’s no rock salt/ice involved.

Truly, get this one instead. It’s way cheaper too – bonus!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We weren’t sure at first, mostly because the White Mountain Electric Ice Cream Maker is quite pricey compared to others we’d looked at (you know, like at Wal-mart).

But after checking into the White Mountain Electric Ice Cream Maker and seeing what a high quality machine it was, we decided to order it. Almost two years later, we couldn’t be more pleased with our purchase. This ice cream maker is like none other we’d ever used. We’d already gone through three cheap ice cream makers (the $25 makers you can get at the store). But our White Mountain? This baby is made to last, making it well worth the investment.

Our favorite part is that the can that you use to make the ice cream in is made of stainless steel. All others we’ve had were made of aluminum (which we now avoid, especially for dairy products). And…the motor/gear piece that turns the ice cream? It’s made of cast iron.

Yeah, the White Mountain is one heavy contraption. Did I mention the big tub is made of pine? It’s awesome.

The White Mountain people aren’t paying me to tell you all of this. I just love their product. Our ice cream is usually finished churning and ready to eat in about 25 minutes.

And now seriously, I am SO hungry for ice cream. I have GOT to get my hands on some cream.

I’d love for you all to let us know what your favorite ice cream maker is! Any great recommendations for us?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

The Ice Cream Experiment: Take Two

by 43 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Be sure to take a look at The Ice Cream Experiment:  Take One if you haven’t already!
——————————————————-

I hereby declare that The Ice Cream Experiment is over. I got tired of looking at it. I got tired of it being in my way on my kitchen counter. I got tired of trying to prepare food around it.

After four days, I didn’t notice any more changes in the ice cream. After eight days…it looked the same way it had looked on day four and I decided to say goodbye to the ice cream sponges on my countertop.

Here are the final pictures…

Brand One:

icecreamex21sm

Brand Two:

icecreamex20sm

Brand One with a spoon stuck in it just for fun:

icecreamex22sm

Brand Two with a spoon stuck in it for the same reason as above:

icecreamex23sm

As you can see, if you compare the pictures from the beginning of the experiment until the last day of the experiment, the ice cream did do some melting . After four days, the towel under both boxes was wet and icky. So, it would appear that the milk, cream and buttermilk in these ice cream brands did what they were supposed to do:  they melted. For some reason, it took four days…but they did melt.

But then there’s all the others stuff left in the box that didn’t melt. 

Yes, I understand that stabalizers and stuff are added to make it easier to transport it all over the place…but that still doesn’t make me want to eat it.

My Conclusion:

If possible, I’ll stick to my Homemade Ice Cream.

icecreamex13sm

Or, if I’m in a pinch and need to buy some ice cream at the store…I’ll definitely spend a little more and get “the good stuff” like Breyers or Haagen-Dazs that has basic, more natural ingredients.

And now…I am completely hungry for ice cream. The creamy homemade vanilla kind. Maybe with some fresh peaches in it. Or strawberries. Or both.

So what’s your favorite kind of ice cream?
————————————————-

(Read about which Ice Cream Maker I recommend here!)

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!