My plate

When I was going to school, we had to learn the 4 basic food groups. Protein, dairy, grains and cereal, and last but not least fruits and vegetables. We were thought that we need to eat from each food group each day to be big and strong.... Even the dinosaurs ate well, way back then... Ok really the dinosaurs were long gone before that but not according to the girls... lol

Then there was the Great Pyramid the girl had to learn.  You know the one where the closer to the top you got the less of that item you should eat... The girl understood that very easily.  It's the pyramid with the stripes well lets just say we all sign a big sign of relieve  that none of us where in school and had to worry if we understood the diagram or not!!
Why not go to  www.ChooseMyPlate.gov for information, tools, “how-to” materials about healthy eating

So yea this diagram can be understood by the littler ones  in  school.  It can easily understood by many.... but really it is worth 2 million...... that reported the amount that it took to develop and promote the my plate icon. wow.... and we blame the president for the  deficit.

But where we wrong in the "olden" days? Was my grandparents wrong with eating eggs almost everyday for breakfast and milk with every meal mindset?  That the fact was most things where made from scratch and not over fortified with added vitamins.  The animals where not pumped up with hormones.  Oh yea that the main item wasn't the meat.  You  usually had a few side dishes,  you ate everyone of them and that the meat was not the largest part of the plate..........     Maybe our grandparents did have this right....

Spaghetti Sauce

This sauce is a blend of Paula Dean's  and my uncle Paul's recipes. You can add more spices if you want I just go easy on the garlic for Miss Animal Rights belly, that can't handle to much garlic. Plus NO meat is added.  Uncle Paul believes that the meat should never be cooked with the sauce, but placed on the table with the sauce...


1/4cup of onion, chopped
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup water

Yes when you dd the baking soda it will bubble, but it will stop in time. This step help cuts the bite of the tomato. Giving it a smoother flavor. Simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool. The sauce will keep for several days covered and refrigerated.

Cooking up Anti-Ant Spray

So Miss Animal Rights now is now dealing with ants in her place. I thought yea I don't miss them... LOL but I don't really miss coming home after work to see the sink filled with dishes cause both girls glazed all night. But she tells me she washes the dishes every morning after Tech goes to work. But she still has ants. I don't get freaked out about them like she does. Guess it is just something you have to deal with every summer.
So guess what I saw this morning? Yep ants, at my house.... so off to find my lemon juice.

Yea I hear/read that ants don't like the taste of lemon or anything citrus. So cleaning with vinegar and/or lemon juice will help get rid of them. It is that you need to keep doing it after all... but I will do that every time I do dishes. Just add some lemon juice to the dish towel and wipe counters. My mudroom is a different story. It get the little buggers all summer and yes the lemon juice works but not for long. I guess that citrus kills the type of fungi the ant eat. Extra bonus with the great smell killing fungi.

One site I found has borax used with jelly. Any flavor jelly will work. The problem is we have cats. Oh yea my one cat the physic one, she loves PBJ. Yep she has been know to steal my sandwich from my plate..... PLUS if you have small children it not a good thing to have borax jelly traps in pop caps all over your house. Cause it can make them sick. Borax can be used in your mop water for the floors, just keep the animals and small children off the floor until it dries. If your kids that are older; you can enlist them to help you keep the pets off the wet floor. "Sweetie I need help keeping Rover off the wet kitchen floor cause it might make him sick" was all I had to say to Miss Animal Rights. She was like that since she could walk....

Now the mudroom isn't air tight that is how they get in I know it..... It is said that you can lay a line of baby powder where they get in to keep them from entering. I also hear coffee grounds can do the same thing.
They don't like the smell of coffee! That just us humans, that need it to wake up... SO hey I got some of them right now in my coffee maker!! But then I will have drink coffee all summer for it is great for my tomato plants and my roses.... Plus roses like citrus peels too....

So in my search I found a site that has a all purpose organic pesticide for inside and out. Gotta love Instructables! Where you use things like onions, hot peppers and garlic to make a pesticide for your plants. Hey it might work on your ants or other nasty crawling pest inside like the article said it works on the pest on your inside plants......