Before I get to my awesome mother in-law's gluten free lime pie recipe, I want to briefly explain what all this “gluten free” food fuss is all about. Celiac disease is a common autoimmune disorder affecting people of all ages. Due to an intolerance to gluten, which is found in grains like wheat, barley, rye,
Humans… we're funny creatures. We love new stuff and then we also love what's old. One of my favourite songs (by a German band) has the chorus: Destroy, improve, and re-build. For some reason, I love the freedom in the intent of the song and the premise conserving holds back creation. But then, another part
Lemongrass is one of those famous herbs known the world over for flavouring Asian food. It's considered quite exotic but I really don't understand why because there isn't anything mysterious about the plant at all in my humble opinion. The fact is, lemongrass is terribly easy to grow and most likely why it became so
Ever wondered if all fertilisers are the same? Or, if one fertiliser was better than others? How about using no fertiliser at all and just the soil – would it make a difference or are we being sold unnecessary products? Plant fertiliser isn't cheap. We're told by sales staff and manufactures that certain products are
Every climate and food garden has a particular time of year – a window of opportunity – when growing food is at its best. It’s extremely important to know when the beginning of this growing window is in your location; because, if you miss this window of growing opportunity it can set your food growing,
Keeping chickens isn’t a difficult thing to do but you do have to get some of the fundamentals right and one of those areas is flooring. In particular, the flooring areas within the coop itself and any areas you (or the kids) have to regularly walk over to gather eggs or maintain the pen. Large
Article updated on 7 May 2015 As a follow-up to my article on “Different types of chicken feeders” I thought I would write about what I consider to be the best drinkers for chickens and indeed other poultry. At the same time, this article will also cover some simple rules for chicken drinkers, various types
I like to try and keep Self Sufficient Me global if I can but please entertain me as I talk domestic for most of this post (what's happening here may well happen in your part of the world too – I'd be interested to know if it is…). In Australia, specifically in Queensland, the rising
Modern society has many ways to make us feel economically inadequate. There are pressures arising from numerous sectors demanding more and more slices of our income pie. Most people could be forgiven for thinking the days of fair wages and a reasonable cost of living are over – and they may well be correct (for
Sterilisation is the process whereby all nasty bacteria is killed on or in a container or utensil before usage. When preserving or storing food in jars or bottles at home it's important to use sterilised vessels and also utensils utilised in the process. Storing food for long periods in non-sterile vessels can make the food
With all the wonder foods and so-called weight loss remedies pushed onto us all daily, I never recall ever hearing about eating quail as a healthy meat alternative or to help lose weight. That’s such a pity because quail is one of the world’s wonder foods and more people should know about it. Of course,
Not all of us get through life unscathed, and the chances are most of us at some point in time will need to recover from a serious injury or operation due to some unforeseen event, injury or illness. Rehabilitation and recovery from a traumatic physical injury or illness is a steep mountain to climb and
If anyone is still undecided as to whether insecticides are dangerous to humans then they should read the news today about 20 school children who died in India over the past 24 hours after eating a school prepared meal, which allegedly had not been washed correctly before cooking. Apparently, insecticide was still on and in
This tomato variety is called the Black Plum. And, let me start by immediately stating how I completely misunderstood this tomato from the beginning (until I actually tasted it). I grew this tomato through our winter here (subtropical climate) and although it's warmer than other places through winter where I am, tomatoes still can be tricky to
Most people over forty are usually pretty stable (yeah, there’s exceptions… bad luck to them) but in the main we’ve survived our teens and mad 20’s, knuckled down through our 30’s, and now in our 40’s we’re pretty settled in life. I’m generalising, but us 40 something’s are half way through a family (or decided
Article updated on 04 June 2016 The question, will my olive trees flower and fruit in a warm climate with a mild winter? Is answered! I love eating olives and olive oil so when we finally moved to our acreage one of the first trees I planted was a Manzanillo olive tree. In fact, for our
Our body was not designed to be sedentary, in fact, it was designed or evolved to be very active. Understanding this extremely important point is usually the difference between a healthy person and one who, through fault of their own, is unhealthy. Those who understand the true meaning of “feeding the body exercise” are often
This short article is about how you can easily lose a few of those extra pounds without making any large changes to your diet or going hungry. I first started to use the tinned protein substitution method of weight loss or weight control in my 20’s when I was at the peak of my fitness
In a world where just about everything is supersized up, quail are no exception – welcome to the world of giants and Jumbo quail… Whether you call them Coturnix quail, Japanese quail, or Pharaoh quail, they all pretty much mean the same thing – a small domesticated breed of poultry. They come in various colours
Often the construction of a new supermarket in an area is perceived to be a sign of progress and opportunity but this is not always the case, in fact, a new retail giant in an area can mean pure evil and the death of a community as we know it. Supermarkets are handy for the
Self Sufficient Me is a blog about self-sustainment by growing our own produce (plant/animal), and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and slowing life down a little.
