With the beginning of a new year I’d like to turn our thoughts back to the best real food related posts of December 2012 before we launch headlong into the great stuff the new year will surely bring 
. Even with the busyness of the holidays so many real food bloggers turned out some fabulous posts! Here are my favorites for the month …
On healthcare and taking care of yourself
I think this one might be my absolute favorite. If you are wondering if probiotics are doing you any good and if stepping up your intake of fermented foods might be a better strategy you must read this. I’ve always felt that probiotics were a drop in the bucket of your bodies need for the good bacteria and a very expensive drop in the bucket at that!
It’s that time of year … I’m hoping there isn’t anyone with a cough in your house, but if there is you might find this natural cough remedy a try. I plan to squirrel this one away.
Just because you didn’t eat it doesn’t mean it’s not hurting you. I’m talking about all the stuff we slather on our skin like creams, lotions and gels, sunscreen, etc. Your skin absorbs what you put on it so be sure your skincare products are natural ones.
I think Granny might need to take this one to heart this year. In fact one of my new years resolutions this year is to rest and de-stress more often. Who knew it would benefit my memory?
As a former acne sufferer it breaks my heart to see so many young people suffering with something that is so easily reversed with diet. In my case that was all it took but if you find you are still having some trouble Empowered Sustenance, a fellow sufferer has made a list of natural acne treatments that may help you find relief.
If your little ones are prone to ear infections you might want to check this post for alternatives to antibiotics for ear infections.
It’s just criminal that the medical profession still recommends margarine to heart patients. Like My Cultured Palate’s mother my brother also has a heart stent and he received the same advice.
Recipes
I really enjoyed the holiday treat posts last month! We have almond paste and homemade coconut butter as ingredients for those delectable recipes. Whole Natural Life is just a genius at coming up with the simplest and most delicious things! Here’s her chocolate coconut butter bites that travel well. And we have Weed’em and Reap’s healthy hot chocolate. Very similar to my bachelor’s hot cocoa 
but just a touch fancier. I might start adding a splash of vanilla too! And how to make salted caramels … yum! You may want to save this one away for next year, raw milk eggnog. This looks delicious and nutritious, a winning combo.
I love soup, I’d have it every day for lunch if I could manage it! Nourished Kitchen’s cream of chicken soup recipe is definitely a keeper!
Recently I began offering “From Your Freezer To Your Family: Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes” in Granny’s General Store. So glad to see that there is print version available now! It is chock full of slow cooker freezer recipes for all us busy cooks.
This is the way to save money on chicken. Learn how to cut up a whole chicken by yourself!
Homemade Mommy wrote a great post on how to turn any recipe into a real food recipe. Some great tips here ! This is the kind of skill we all need to develop as we move along towards a diet of 100% real food.
I am dying to try my hand at making wine. I loved this post on making elderberry wine. Maybe I’ll start with this recipe.
Events and News
I was shocked to hear how far things have gone in Finland. Real Food Suomi reports that traditional foods are disappearing in Europe! I’m planning a post featuring an article my cousin wrote a while back on the wide variety of traditional foods she found while living in Europe during the 70′s. I was disheartened to learn that so much of that is already gone.
Often when talking with people about the desirability of buying organic, someone will bring up the idea that not everyone can eat organic. They say it isn’t possible to feed the world with organic food. Small Footprint Family makes an excellent case for why that is not true.
Producing your own food
We are so little in touch with where our food comes from. It was a joy to read Real Food Family’s story of taking their thanksgiving turkey from the farm to the table this year.
Every month there are just too many to list! What did you find that you loved in December?
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