Well, another year has come and gone. And with it we've had times; some good, some not so good. But God has blessed us with another year to see and endeavor towards His purpose for us, so for the good and the bad I regard the last year as a blessing. And this year is going to be another one of those. What's been happening so far since the start of 2014? Glad you asked. There's a few goings-on happening lately that I'm proud to bring to your attention.
Firstly, Lauren and I have agreed to undergo a change of diet inspired by the concept of "Real" food. This means adhering to a simple rule: read the ingredients list on a food label and if has 5+ (or any, depending on the people) processed ingredients, pass it by. This change of heart was inspired by a food blog I discovered entitled 100 Days of Real Food, and dozens of Real food recipes are listed on the blog for free. I am also using a meal-planning and grocery-listing service for all our recipes entitled Plan to Eat. So far, I'm really liking it. You can store, organize, and plan your meals and snacks on a calender and the grocery list is automatically generated from your recipes. Lauren and I had our first Real meal today with two of our friends and it turned out well.
We had a mushroom and kale white wine sauce over whole wheat penne noodles with hand-shredded cheese, and on the side was some delicious cornbread. The first experience was delicious and about half the portions are leftover for later. I planned on cooking one or two meals a day all week, but it'll probably stretch further than that with leftovers. Which is good, because eating healthy does not equal eating cheap. But it's worth it in my opinion. My thought was that once Lauren and I have a budding homestead then we'll be eating only what we produce (as much as possible) so that'll be a Real food diet, and so we might as well start now and at least get a feel and establish recipes even if we don't eat like this completely from now til the homesteading days.
Another fun piece of news: the aquapon finally has fish! I realize that I haven't given you many updates on this project and that's because it's been pretty slow going and had a lot of setbacks. After all, I am no plumber. But we are finally near the end of it, and I anticipate the finishing touches to be implemented by the end of this week. There have been some plants successfully growing without any fish in the tank, but not nearly all of the maximum growing space has been utilized and so I wanted to get it finished to have my system fully operational.
Unfortunately they are not catfish in the tank as I had wanted or planned, but I still intend to get catfish in there eventually so that meat is produced by the system as well. The fish in there are technically edible and grow to a good size, but are not usually considered a meat fish. But the aquapon is now home to four small koi fish, which are the most popular "non-meat" fish for aquaponics that I know. They grow to be an average of 36" and have a regular life span of 50 years (I'll be surprised if ours make it that far but it'll be fun if so).
I have a bona fide grow lamp coming in the mail to more effectively distribute light to all the grow beds, so once that is up I will post some pictures of the aquapon and maybe even a video for you so you can see exactly how I put this thing together.
And what would a long-overdue update from Austin and Lauren be without a mention of rabbits? :D The rabbits have survived thus far through the extreme winter cold in the upgraded shelter we made for them during a snowy day.
But the quick rabbit announcement is this: there will soon be another rabbit in our little furry community! A friend of mine from UNI is moving and can't take her full-blooded New Zealand buck with her, so I told her I would gladly take him off her hands. Of course, she asked me if I was going to eat him. I chuckled. And in case you're wondering, no he will not be eaten. He will be made part of the family just like the others.
I've never been one for making New Year's resolutions (I think the dedication can and should be applied to decisions more than once a year) but if I have made anything close to one, it's to be more consistent to you as a reader and keep you updated more regularly. This also includes poking Lauren to post more often so you're not always just hearing from me (I get boring, I know). So stay tuned, there will be more this week as I introduce you to the completed aquapon and keep you updated with our favorite recipes from the new diet, as well as other topics in homesteading and sustainability in general. Until then, stay warm and God bless!
Firstly, Lauren and I have agreed to undergo a change of diet inspired by the concept of "Real" food. This means adhering to a simple rule: read the ingredients list on a food label and if has 5+ (or any, depending on the people) processed ingredients, pass it by. This change of heart was inspired by a food blog I discovered entitled 100 Days of Real Food, and dozens of Real food recipes are listed on the blog for free. I am also using a meal-planning and grocery-listing service for all our recipes entitled Plan to Eat. So far, I'm really liking it. You can store, organize, and plan your meals and snacks on a calender and the grocery list is automatically generated from your recipes. Lauren and I had our first Real meal today with two of our friends and it turned out well.
Another fun piece of news: the aquapon finally has fish! I realize that I haven't given you many updates on this project and that's because it's been pretty slow going and had a lot of setbacks. After all, I am no plumber. But we are finally near the end of it, and I anticipate the finishing touches to be implemented by the end of this week. There have been some plants successfully growing without any fish in the tank, but not nearly all of the maximum growing space has been utilized and so I wanted to get it finished to have my system fully operational.
Unfortunately they are not catfish in the tank as I had wanted or planned, but I still intend to get catfish in there eventually so that meat is produced by the system as well. The fish in there are technically edible and grow to a good size, but are not usually considered a meat fish. But the aquapon is now home to four small koi fish, which are the most popular "non-meat" fish for aquaponics that I know. They grow to be an average of 36" and have a regular life span of 50 years (I'll be surprised if ours make it that far but it'll be fun if so).
I have a bona fide grow lamp coming in the mail to more effectively distribute light to all the grow beds, so once that is up I will post some pictures of the aquapon and maybe even a video for you so you can see exactly how I put this thing together.
And what would a long-overdue update from Austin and Lauren be without a mention of rabbits? :D The rabbits have survived thus far through the extreme winter cold in the upgraded shelter we made for them during a snowy day.
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| Lauren's cold hands managed to get this in-progress photo. I'll get a better one soon so you see the finished product. |
I've never been one for making New Year's resolutions (I think the dedication can and should be applied to decisions more than once a year) but if I have made anything close to one, it's to be more consistent to you as a reader and keep you updated more regularly. This also includes poking Lauren to post more often so you're not always just hearing from me (I get boring, I know). So stay tuned, there will be more this week as I introduce you to the completed aquapon and keep you updated with our favorite recipes from the new diet, as well as other topics in homesteading and sustainability in general. Until then, stay warm and God bless!
I just read the previous post (congratulations on your engagement, by the way!). I've been spot-reading some of your blog for a little while now. Cool stuff. Anyway, I noticed that you guys were in Moline! If you're ever in the Quad Cities again and feel like connecting with an old elementary school friend, let me know! My wife and I are living in East Moline now. Good luck with your homesteading and your upcoming marriage.
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