"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Nettle Infused Oil

 I have resurrected a blog post draft from 2018!  Crazy how some of these drafts slipped through my days.

I have been using nettle as a nutritional tea, allergy tea, and medicinal tea for years.  According to my research, stinging nettle is a powerhouse of goodness.  You can read about it in many free books from the library (or trusted/reliable sources online).

I have started a nettle (stinging nettle) infused oil to eventually use.  We will be using it to make salad dressings and drizzling on vegetables. It can also be used for sore muscles/sore joints, and it can be used to make a nettle cream.  Lots of possibilities with nettle oil.  I made ours with organic olive oil, as we use that for our summer salads.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Got Ripe Bananas? Healthier Banana Cookies

 The weather is 19°F this morning, as I post this blog post today.  Brr.  I sure hope it warms up, but if not, it's a good day to bake something.


I used my larger cookie scoop, and used the back of it to spread the cookie out a bit.




One of the kids wanted a healthy banana cookie recipe, and I have a few.  I had to dig this one out and make to see if it was one of my keeper recipes (I have a habit of not taking notes).

It's a soft cookie - no flour, no sugar.

3 ripe bananas, organic, mashed
2 cups of organic old fashioned oats
1 cup of finely diced apple or dates (I used half of both for this batch, using organic apples/dates)
1/3 cup organic canola oil *
1 tsp. homemade vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. organic cinnamon
A few dashes or so of organic nutmeg

Mix, drop on parchment paper line baking sheets, and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool on a rack.  I let these sit on the baking sheets a bit after taking out of the oven. I had larger bananas, so they needed a bit more time, but they are so good.  Healthy snacks to have on hand, or a quick morning bite if you are pressed for time.

*Note:  I have no notes on the recipe as to if I have cut the oil, and used half home canned (sugar free) applesauce.  I will do that the next time I have ripe bananas on hand.

I am low on homemade vanilla extract.  I have ordered my vanilla beans, and will post the process soon.  It's very easy to make.