Hey everyone!
I want to welcome you and let you know I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to check out my new blog! Thank you.
My name is Jeri. You can see what I look like from the picture on the right. I am a wife, proud mom to 3 great kids (2 are all grown up, though), and mom to a giant Saint Bernard dog, a cat, and a flock of chickens.
We live in the country in rural Northern Alberta, Canada. I love my family, pets, cooking, gardening, crocheting, kayaking, skiing, yoga, hiking, traveling, and the outdoors. I'm optimistic, positive, and I look for the best in everyone and every situation.
I love being busy, and I have goals for every day, week, month, and year(s). I am very creative, and I love learning new things... and I don't give up on anything... ever. Also, I stay the course and plow my way through until I succeed. I always seem to find new ways to challenge myself!
Three years ago, we moved to my husband's parents' farm to help his parents with their farming. I decided to work full-time at home, so I didn't have to drive 1.5 hours a day for work. I also wanted to be around to help out on the farm whenever it was needed. It was the best decision I ever made! I certainly don't miss the busy, stressful life I had before! Now, each day I watch the sunrise over the hills with a hot cup of coffee in my hand, and I am grateful that I have the life that I have.
Being out here in the country, our life has certainly changed. It has slowed down, it's less stressful, and we get the chance to enjoy life. I have the time to experiment in the kitchen, try out new recipes, and spend time with my family.
On the farm, we try to live as simply and as naturally as we can. This means cooking homemade meals from scratch that contain very few processed ingredients and no refined sugar. We try our best to eat clean, wholesome food (with a lot of it grown on our own farm) and lead a healthy, active lifestyle. Unfortunately, I read recently that the average person's diet consists of 80% processed food and 20% natural food. Yikes!
Why Start A Blog?
My husband, Bill, and I started the Winding Creek Ranch blog in January 2021. We decided to start this blog to share favorite recipes passed down from generation to generation and are homemade using fresh, wholesome ingredients. These recipes are delicious, fresh, and healthy (we try our best anyway), family-friendly, and easy to make with everyday ingredients. Most importantly, our recipes always taste great, and we have tested them to make sure they turn out....every single time.
My husband and I have always tried to eat healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables. If I eat refined sugar or too much processed food, I feel it right away, and it's not good. I don't know if it's an allergy, or my body is just saying STOP!...don't feed me that! Anyway, I feel great when I consistently eat food that is made from scratch and homemade. We believe every time we eat; it is an opportunity to give our body nourishment for a long, healthy life.
My husband and I were trying to figure out exactly what "diet" we follow. I think it is basically clean-eating or Paleo or Minimalist, or a combination of the 3, but we do eat dairy as well. Basically, we try to eat less "processed" food and use more "natural" ingredients. We try to eat as much "organic" food as possible to eliminate our intake of chemicals on our food. I also use natural sweeteners like maple syrup or organic cane sugar instead of refined sugar. Honey is a great alternative, but my daughter has an allergy to it, so I never use it in recipes that she will be eating.
I have never taken any formal training to be a cook or baker. I used to do baking when I was a teenager, and I watched the Food Network religiously. Once upon a time, I also used to help teach teenagers in a Foods class in high school how to cook. I learned from that experience that not everyone knows about proper food handling or nutrition. I have done tons of research over the years on how to improve my kitchen skills as well. My mom and mother-in-law are also amazing cooks, and they have shared numerous cooking tips and family recipes with me and taught me some of their kitchen secrets; and I will forever be grateful to both of them for that.
Traveling with my family is also a passion of mine, and I get inspiration for new recipes everywhere I go. I like to figure out how to make a bowl of seafood chowder just like the one I had in Victoria, or how I can make a taco just like the one from a food truck on the beach in Hawaii. I am a firm believer that food and travel go hand in hand. Again, I always seem to get inspiration from every place I go. We are certainly looking forward to the day that we will be able to travel again. 🙂
Here at Winding Creek Ranch, we have decided to be as self-sufficient as possible. This allows us to save money, reduce waste, lead a healthy lifestyle, and feel proud of accomplishing our goals. My husband has decided he would like to say goodbye to the outside workforce as well and wants to work from home. So, this summer we will be fixing fences and getting ourselves ready to start cattle ranching. This should be interesting. Another new challenge! I can certainly say I am looking forward to being able to raise our own organic grass-fed beef.
We think it is important to use organic food such as fruits and vegetables whenever possible, so we grow our own. Most importantly, we love knowing where our food comes from. We have a huge garden, a greenhouse, and a root cellar. We grow enough food for an entire year. Fortunately, we have the space to do this.
About Winding Creek Ranch
I started this blog to share our favorite recipes to keep track of the amazing recipes I have collected over the years but, Winding Creek Ranch is more than a food blog. It's a lifestyle blog that shares how to make delicious, nutritious, wholesome meals quickly and easily, and hopefully, lead to a more balanced life. I understand that people are always on the go and are looking for recipes that can be whipped up quickly that are also healthy, and I hope to be able to help you out with that.
My goal is for you to fall in love with cooking homemade food with fresh, wholesome ingredients, and hopefully find some new recipes your family will love. I encourage you to keep things simple, natural, and healthy. We believe that clean, natural food is the success of health and wellness.
I love to try fresh, new recipes, and I will share my favorites with you.
We really hope you enjoy this blog and find recipes that will become favorites with your family as well.
Thanks again for stopping by.
I'm glad you're here.
Jeri
Whew! That's enough about me, tell me about you!
Email me at [email protected] anytime, I’d love to hear from you. Also, let me know if there is anything that you are interested in that you would like me to write about. Seriously, I would love to hear your ideas.
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