Keto Recipe for Fancy French Toast
Marti leverages our eggs to provide protein-rich, low-carbohydrate meals that excite and nourish. French toast is a classic breakfast that works well as a fancy dinner. Adding your favorite jam or syrup does add a few carbs, but there are almost none in the French toast, so we can have our jam and eat it, too. While this is more sugar than we typically like in a single meal, it is a treat that helps keep a Keto diet interesting.
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DIY Shower Build
Today, we put tile on the wall in the shower. Setting tile requires time and patience, like few other construction trades. Getting the perfect layer of mud on the wall or floor is the most critical part of the job, and getting that wrong under one tile can create chaos in your buildout. Plan your job thoroughly to improve your experience setting tiles.
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Planting Camellias for Self-sufficient Caffein
Today, we are working on making our own energy drinks. That's right, tea. The most common stimulant in use is caffeine, a white water-soluble crystalline substance produced by some plants. Coffee is the most commonly used plant in the United States, but in most of the rest of the world, tea is the most common plant used. All tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia Sensisis plant. We can grow camellias, pick the leaves, oxidize the leaves, brew the tea, and make our own energy drink.
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Easy Homemade Hair Care - Spring Floral
Today, we are making our own hair care products. The Lilac is in bloom, along with many other favorite springtime flowers. Those flowers smell amazing. Preserving that smell in a hair rinse is easy. Make a vinegar.
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What to do When You Get it Wrong
Today, I need to fix my sloppy work. The tile setting in the shower was not my best work. Some of the tiles need to be ripped out and reset. Excess thin set and uneven pressure when setting the tiles caused oozing. The thin-set should be below the tile, not between the tiles. Think set is porous and will allow water to penetrate. The space between the tiles should be filled with grout, which is a solid, mechanical, waterproof flooring material. Grout makes up the majority of the floor. I need to fix these tiles and then fill the gaps with grout.
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From Scratch Low Carb Chocolate Mousse
Marti is in the kitchen and looking to make a desert that has no added sugar. This simple chocolate mousse can be made in about 10 minutes. The same mousse can be made with any flavoring we care to add. Simple quick desert.
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DIY Shower Floor with Penny Tiles
Today, we set penny tiles on the shower floor. The tile is filler for the grout, which forms the watertight seal for the floor. Using a polymerized thin set, we applied the sheets of mosaic to the floor. To add some excitement we mix in a contrasting penny tile.
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How to Apply AquaDefense for Water Protection
We need our shower to hold water and AquaDefense is one of the products that help ensure it does. This elastomeric compound applies similar to a paint product. As it dries it forms a solid layer of rubberized plastic across the surface. Water may make it through cracks in the tiles or grout and the AquaDefense prevents that water from soaking into the subfloor.
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Spring Time Homesteading Chores
In this video, we give you a peek behind the scenes as we do some of the more mundane chores around the homestead. These seasonal chores will improve systems all over the property. This year, we are focused on managing water, perinial plants (add more), and property. Water pours out of the rocks on The Return Homestead. Allowing these small springs to flow freely while not flooding other areas of the property is a constant effort. Perennial plants come back every year and are our preferred type of gardening, especially for food crops. Sunshine needs a sun yard, the blackberries need more rows, and the chickens need a safe place to roam. This spring all these concerns spawned several must-do-now chores, so let's go get them done.
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Creating a Place to Relax - Return to Life
Today we spent some more time at the lake with a chainsaw. Last time, we were getting firewood, but today, we are sculpting the land around the lake. The dam still needs trees removed, and the view is completely blocked by a wall of honeysuckle. A small tractor with a bush hog would be the best solution, but a chainsaw will get it done too.
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Installing Water Lines for Shower
Today the plumbing is simple. We have to get the water from the poorly installed supply lines up to the mixing valve and on up to the shower head. This is my first time installing CPVC lines. While I had planned to transition the shower over to PEX, but could not acquire the tools and pipe. There is plenty of PEX-B offerings but the big box stores are acting like PEX-A no longer exists. So for supply logistics and price the CPVC became a better choice.
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How to Plumb Two Sinks for One Drain
Today we are plumbing two sinks for one drain. You may want to install two sinks instead of one when retrofitting a bathroom. The vanity manufacturer you purchased assumes you have all the expected drains, so they built the unit to accommodate proper plumbing. But one drain is more than enough to remove all of the water from both sinks. Modifying the vanity and the plumbing is on you. And yes you can do it!
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DIY Shower Drain Bonding Flange Install
Today, we installed the shower drain by using thin set to attach a bonding flange to the hole in the floor. Though it may seem difficult to align the drain with a hole in the floor, everything is perfectly centered by the pre-sloped pan. So the hole in the floor is just that, a hole. Attaching the flange makes it a drain, and any body can do this.
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Simple Recipe for Pickled Eggs
Today, Marti is back in the kitchen to work on stretching the shelf life of our eggs while preparing a perfect snack/lunch food. Eggs are not only delicious hard-boiled, but they can also be pickled. A simple brine will protect the eggs from oxidation and decay and impart an exciting flavor. Every spring, our chickens kick into gear with their egg laying, and pickled eggs are an excellent option for increasing shelf life and the number of eggs we eat in a day.
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DIY Prepping Shower for Pan Installation
We only have about an hour to work on the shower today, so we will do the final prep before installing the pan. We always miss critical drywall backing concerns during framing; the shower is no exception. Cutting the drain hole in the center of the floor is easy after you find the center. Then, a final dry fit of the components moves us into the "ready to spread mud" phase of the project.
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How to Frame a Seat and Pony Wall in the Shower
Today, we are moving forward on the shower build-out by framing a pony wall and a seat inside the shower. We chose the location for the shower based on the location of the previous shower drain. Once we chose the location we framed out a space that was as large as possible. That left us with an unusually sized shower. Then, we chose a pre-sloped foam pan with a maximum size of 48x48 inches. Using a pony wall on the home's exterior wall and a seat along the back of the shower, we limit the actual shower floor to a perfectly square 48x48.
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Preparing for Hydroban Laticrete 48x48 Presloped Shower Pan
In this video, we do the setup work to install a 48x48 Hydroban Laticrete presloped shower pan. This pre-sloped foam shower pan is the fastest way to build a proper shower floor with perfect drainage. All showers need a floor sloped correctly from the walls down to the drain. Getting that slope right is the hardest part of installing a new shower; get it wrong, and the shower will fall apart quickly. But with this pan, you can't get it wrong. We estimate this product choice saved us about 7 days' work.
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How to Install a Frost Free Hydrant
Today we finally get to finish our repairs to the frost free hydrant behind the barn. The original hydrant had a faulty valve that allowed water to slowly fill the standpipe instead of having it drain out when the valve was closed. That lead to the pipe being full of water when the temperature dropped into the single digits. The thin-walled metal that these standpipes splits if the water inside freezes, and there is nowhere for the pressure to be relieved. We could not remove and repair the valve, and the standpipe was split, so we decided to replace the entire hydrant instead of attempting repairs.
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Recipe for Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Desert
Today, Marti is in the kitchen making some delicious healthy treats that are on our diet. In August, we changed our diet to remove all carbohydrates on a Carnivore diet. We have lost weight, doubled our energy, and learned to get through a day without any sugar. We are reprogramming our food expectations to improve our self-sufficiency. That means shifting our diet away from processed food toward what we can reliably produce off of our land through our labor. While we work on adding more fruit, honey, tree syrups, and other natural sweeteners, we are experimenting with other nonsugar sweeteners. These treats have no sugar in the recipe and contribute positively to our current dietary fulfillment by adding extra fat.
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fat Bombs - ketofocus.com
12 Servings - 4.6 grams of carbohydrates
3/4 cup almond flour
2 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup NO SUGAR ADDED chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup Monk Fruit
1/8 teaspoon salt
In a medium bowl, cream the flour, butter, cream cheese, sweetener, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the chips. Scoop, drop, chill.
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Fixing a Frost Free Hydrant - Do What Others Don't
The first super cold winter weather froze our frost-free hydrant, and I will fix it myself. The valve in at the bottom of the stand pipe has been leaking since we moved in 2 years ago. I added a "Y" to the faucet this summer to attach two hoses. The "Y" has separate shut-off valves, stopping water leaking through the valve. During the last two winters, the leaking water would make long icicles, but the hydrant would be fine after it thawed. With the "Y" in place stopping the water from coming out of the standpipe, it could freeze completely, rupturing it. Repair or replace: I will fix this myself rather than pay a plumber. I chose to dig in the cold, rain, and mud over multiple days if necessary. Though other people would not do this work, I am willing. This is how I invest daily in the value of our homestead.
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Life Requires Protein, Fat, Carbs, and Pancakes
Homesteading means being willing to adjust modern food preparation methods to find substitutes. Global unrest is altering our supply chains and substitutions go a long way to helping keep spirits up while we work toward recovery. Pancakes are an ancient way to incorporate other food products into your breakfast besides eggs. Eliminating all carbs from pancakes is impossible, but we can significantly reduce the carbs by choosing flour other than wheat. Marti is working with coconut and almond flour in today's recipes. With pancakes, the carbs are mainly from the sugar in the syrup. Reducing the amount of sugar means making your own syrup. Choose your favorite fruit for the syrup and follow Marti's lead to create your own.
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wholesomeyum.com
1 c. almond flour
1t. baking powder
5 eggs
1/3 c. milk of your choice
1/4 c. avocado oil or other neutral oil
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
Mix all together and drop onto an oiled pan. Cover with a lid while cooking.
Makes 12, 3-inch diameter.
One serving is 2 pancakes.
3 Net carbs per serving (plus syrup)
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Recipe for Snow Day Chili and Cloud Bread
Today, Marti, is in the kitchen preparing a perfect snow day meal, Chili. We are reworking our menu to be high in protein and fat but allowing our grown food to be introduced one plant at a time. This elimination diet has allowed us to identify several of our favorite vegetables that encourage inflammation for one of us. So far, we have enough approved vegetables to make Chili. Chili needs bread! We prefer homemade sourdough but we are many months from reintroducing wheat. So, Marti is trying a bread substitute called Cloud Bread to see if it pairs well with a chili.
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DIY Mobile Home Remodel - Setting Vinyl Tile Around Plumbing
In today's video, we tackle the job of setting vinyl tiles around the plumbing in the bathroom. We like the look of these SmartCore tiles, which are wide and short instead of the regular thin and long planks. These tiles are twice as thick as standard luxury vinyl. Looks like marble but with a coefficient of friction closer to smooth wood, so it's great for wet areas like the bathroom. This product has been discontinued, so we saved about $2/sqft on the bathroom floor. During the installation, we use every tool in the floor setting kit and custom fabricate spacer blocks to assist with the installation.
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Recipe for Diet Friendly Fudge
With the new year come resolutions to refrain from eating so many deserts, but this low-carb, no-sugar, fudge is on the diet. Fudge is mostly about sharp contrasts in flavor between bitter and sweet, supported on a creamy base with a smooth tongue feel that lingers on the pallet. While sweet is an important part of the recipe, we do not add any sugar to the mix. Other natural products such as sugar alcohols (be careful some brands are mostly sugar), and allulose which is like sugar but is not processed by the body like sugar. This fudge has little to no impact on your blood sugar unlike its name sake.
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Our Projects Plan for 2024
The Return Homestead used January 1, New Year's Day, to work on homestead chores while planning homestead projects. This next year promises to be full of homestead improvements. This will be our third year on the property, and the changes accomplished in the first two years convince us to be optimistic about 2024. Over the next year, our focus will be on food and water. We plan to adjust our gardening mix to accommodate what we have learned this last year about nutrition and our own dietary needs. Water is all about conservation to ensure we fully utilize every drop of water and use rainwater to provide for the animals. Join us for a day of chores around the homestead as we discuss our project plans for the coming year.
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