I went out and took a picture of it again this morning. We put the roof on in the dark last night because the wind finally died down. It’s supposed to be windy all week. Womp. Womp.
Our coop is really coming along! We found a ton of reclaimed barn wood on Facebook Marketplace. When we contacted the seller, it was still on the barn. Scott got the base and the frame done on Friday/Saturday. Sunday, after church, we got started on putting the siding on. We had 20-30 MPH winds yesterday with stronger gusts. That made everything extra challenging. We had to hold pieces up to see if they fit. Some had to be cut down to cut out large holes. On the back wall, you can see big gaps and rough pieces of wood. The inside of the back wall will be completely covered by another wall. We are going to make this thing weasel tight. We are also going to reinforce the corners, so you won’t see any of those rough edges or holes. I’m so excited at how it is looking so far.
Scott wrote up these plans himself, and I’m so proud of him. I plan to do a full blog post on the coop plans, size, and costs. If you have looked at the price of lumber recently, you know that it is SO expensive, and the cost continues to rise. We’ve actually watched prices rise as we have priced things over the past month. It’s absurd. The barn wood was a huge blessing. I also would love to leave the wood as is, because it is just so neat. But, we are going to paint it to give it added protection. We put the really weathered looking pieces toward the inside, so all of those cool details can still be seen. I’m just so thankful. Every time Scott and I are outside, we just stand back and think of how blessed we are. It is so much work. There is always something to be done, but we are loving every second of it. God has blessed us so far beyond anything we deserve.
We have finally been able to check one of our many projects off the list. The duck house and run are complete!
You can see the house before in the above picture– this was last June. The people who lived here before us had this inside of the shed. We pulled it out so that we could make room in the shed for our chickens and nesting boxes. It didn’t look too bad from a distance, but it was in rough shape. We moved it to the new location and took the doors off so that we could paint it all. We wanted it painted to match what we will do with the new chicken coop.
Scott built a new ramp and door so that the ducks will be safe at night.
I don’t mind painting, but all of these little details made me crazy.
The old roof was completely rotten. We pulled it off and Scott built a new roof out of plywood. Then, we used rolled roofing on top of that. For rolled roofing, you need roofing cement and roofing nails. It was super easy to do on a small scale like this. We just rolled it out on the ground, measured, and cut. Scott put the cement on the roof, then we both lifted it on and positioned it. Nails were put in to secure it, and it was done. The roof was probably the easiest part of the project.
Putting everything back together was the trickiest puzzle ever. But, it was completely worth it. It looks so much nicer, and we feel more confident that the ducks will be safe from predators at night.
We have only been able to work on this over the weekends. It took about four weekends to get all of this complete. Scott and the girls buried hardware cloth all the way around the run so that nothing can dig underneath. It is almost time for the ducklings to go outside for good. We are so, so thankful for all that we have been blessed with.
Tarter stock tank— this will be their “pool” to play in Run kit— do NOT use this as a chicken coop like it is advertized as. Predators could easily get in. That is why we spent so much time making the house secure. We only have hawks as daytime predators, and they won’t work hard enough to get through this. At night would be a different story. Clark & Kensington satin white exterior paint Clark & Kensington satin neutral base exterior paint— Midnight stroll Duck Waterer— this is still inside with the ducks, but we love this waterer for them
Last month, we did our first ever Azure Standard order and pickup. I shared our experience and the few things that we ordered. We ended up liking it all so much that we ordered again. This month, we did a big order, and don’t plan to do any pickup next month. We are trying to replace our former ingredients with healthier options. Since we were getting low on all purpose flour and sugar, we replaced those with Kamut flour and organic cane sugar. Small steps make such a difference over time.
I thought I would share what we got this month. I always like seeing what other families buy, and what it’s used for. Is this something that you all enjoy also? Before I start, please don’t fall into some comparison trap. This was a BIG order. We try to use some of work bonuses to stock up on groceries so that we don’t have to buy as much during the normal times. This is not going to be a typical order for our family any time soon.
25 pound bag of Kamut Flour— this is an ancient grain that can be used in place of all purpose flour. It has much more health benefits and is apparently easier to digest for people who are gluten intolerant. 25 pound bag of organic cane sugar— sugar, just a better option with less processing A2/A2 yogurt— the A2 protein in this milk is apparently easier to digest than A1. I am curious, so we are going to try it out. We have a kid with a milk protein allergy that she has mostly outgrown, but she still does have some trouble. 5 pound bag of steel cut outs— I love steel cut outs. They have a different texture than flakes. 5 pound bag of bread flour— I am going to try out making bagels! 5 pound bag of basmati rice— we cook a lot of rice! 4 pound tub of palm fruit shortening— this is a MUCH healthier option when shortening or crisco are called for in recipes. 64 ounce jar of coconut oil— One of our favorite oils to use 32 ounce bottle of olive oil— again, another favorite 2 pound bottle of honey— I love using raw honey in tea, and sometimes in baking. 6 20 oz bottles of ketchup— We use so much ketchup in this house. So much. I know. 1 pound of garlic— garlic is so good. That is all. 13 ounce jar of ghee— I love using ghee on toast. It’s another great option for those who struggle with digesting milk protein. 24 string cheeses— The kids love these and they were on sale. I figured it would be a fun surprise. 2- 5 pound blocks of raw white cheddar cheese— We go through a lot of cheese. Yum. 6 pound block of mozzarella— This gets used for our lasagna and homemade pizzas. Gardeners Lemon Bar Soap— It smells so good! 4- 1 gallon jars and lids— These fit the five pound bags of rice/flour/oats/etc. perfectly. Since mice are an issue on the farm, I like to keep everything in glass containers or food grade plastic buckets.
Buying ingredients in bulk has saved our family a lot of money, and a lot of trips to the grocery store. This obviously was a massive food haul– certainly not the typical for us, as I said. This should last us several months. I am still very pleased with Azure’s quality and the ease of the process. Our pickup date and time did change again– which ended up being nice for me because Scott had to lift the 200 pounds into the vehicle. We also were able to get some pallets for free this time– perfect for projects that we have going on around the farm.
If you are interested in checking out Azure Standard, I’d really appreciate you using my personalized link. You can also just go to AzureStandard.com and enter the code AshleyPullen1 . Unfortunately, there isn’t any benefit to you, but it does give my family $25 once you order $100 in groceries. We appreciate the support. You will also get your own link to share once you sign up. Once you start shopping, some items give you “azure cash” to put towards your future orders.
Let me know if you give them a try or have any questions. I’d be happy to answer to the best of my ability.
I feel so incredibly blessed because I’ve been able to try a brand new product to share with you. I have partnered up with Moms Meet again to share Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic. This is a brand new prebiotic and probiotic in one (Synbiotic)! Combining these two powerhouses creates an incredible tool for gut health!
I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.
I know that I have mentioned prebiotics, probiotics and the importance of gut health so many times that I may sound like a broken record. But, I am SUCH a believer in the benefits of prebiotics and probiotics. My entire family takes daily probiotics along with our multivitamin. If I had to give one or the other up, I’d give up the vitamin in a heartbeat. I am dedicated to the probiotics!
I feel so much better if I regularly take a probiotic. If my kids skip their probiotics, they end up sick so much more often. We all love them. Wellness has become such a focus over the last year for many families, and I ALWAYS say to start with your gut. Heal and take care of your gut! Your whole body will thank you.
**As we grow older, our gut microbiotic community changes. Levels of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus decline. These are known to help maintain gut health and immunity. They also help with a healthy inflammatory response. According to researched published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, by supplementing, you can help to restore those levels! Who doesn’t want to “turn back the clock” to a time when their bodies were healthier? On top of that, supplementing can help reduce infections caught during hospital stays, help reduce allergic responses from common allergens, and help ease symptoms from the common cold! You can read more about all of this at www.probiotics.com.
Now, on to the specifics of Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic! These come pre-packaged in individual packets. Inside each packet are two berry smoothie flavored chewable tablets. Because I am to give an HONEST review, they do taste a bit chalky, so be forewarned. They are not horrible but it is not like drinking a smoothie. 😉 You can take them without a meal, which is great. It’s best to stick to a routine and take them at the same time each day. Chewing can send signals to your brain that help with feelings of fullness. Chew slowly and really soak it up.
Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic is Non-GMO, and soy/gluten/dairy free as well as being free of artificial colors and flavors. HALLELUJAH! It has been clinically studied and documented, so you know that they aren’t making baseless claims.
Since Pro+ Synbiotic is a combined prebiotic and probiotic, you get all of the benefits in these chewable tablets. The prebiotics pave the way and help make it so that the probiotics can do their job more efficiently. That is obviously over-simplifying it all, but that’s the best way to understand. Prebiotics roll out the red carpet.
My personal take on Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ synbiotic is that I love it. I really appreciate how easy it is to just grab and go. I love that it is a two-in one, so it eliminates the need to purchase one more product. Also, they don’t need to be refrigerated. As a mom of three, fridge space is a precious commodity, and I am thankful to not have to keep these in the fridge. My favorite thing is that it helps to eliminate my stomach pains. I have had a lot of stomach problems for years. Most foods cause a lot of bloating and pain for me, and it’s miserable. I started taking these when I was incredibly uncomfortable and could not figure out the cause. I still don’t know the cause, but taking Pro+ has helped me feel so much better.
If you are interested in trying Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic, you can go here and find a store near you. Any time you switch to a new probiotic, you can have some gas and bloating while your body adjusts. I did not have that problem, but I do want you to be aware that it is a possibility in case it happens to you.
Kyo-Dophilus has probiotics formulated for every age from infants up. They also have products specifically formulated for urinary tract health, nutrient digestion, and even for those 50+! It’s really nice to be able to focus on specific concerns that you may have with your body. You know your body best. If you want to take a quiz and see which product would best suit your needs, you can do that with this link.
**disclaimer– these studies were conducted by independent researchers and presented for educational purpose only. The subject products of the studies may be classified as dietary supplements in the US. Those dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.Always talk to your doctor.
It is that glorious time of year. Spring is on its way. The ground is starting to thaw. Seed catalogs have been arriving in the mail for weeks. We ordered our seeds back in January. We have been talking about the garden since we finished up last year. Probably even before then.
I am so excited for the garden. We are expanding our garden quite a bit this year. (I am just praying the “seventeen year cicadas” aren’t going to ruin it all.) In the picture above, you can see where I have drawn our three garden beds. The smaller rectangular raised bed was the only garden bed that we had last year. Scott built the 4X4 raised bed in the fall for our garlic to be planted in. We are working on another bigger bed. We may actually expand it more than what we have in mind right now, but we will see what we need. We had to pivot our mindset when re-starting our flock.
Where We Buy Our Seeds:
We have a few places that we like to order our seeds from. Some have major shipping delays because of the influx of orders this year. I highly recommend ordering ASAP so that you can get started on time. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds This is where we ordered most of our seeds from this year. I love that they have so many heirloom varieties to choose from. They currently don’t have any delays in shipping. Something fun about this company is they send a free packet of seeds with your order, which is a fun way to try new things. Shipping is also free with your order. Johnny’s Select Seeds You can get free shipping on orders over $200. They are currently accepting home garden orders, so jump on it! Seed Savers Exchange This is another place with loads of organic and heirloom seeds. I’ve received free seed packets from them with previous orders in the past. They are currently accepting orders, but limiting the number they accept each day, so keep your eyes out. True Leaf Market This was our first year ordering with them, but shipping was fast. They also had a lot in stock. I’m thinking about ordering microgreens and/or sprouts from them later this year. Territorial Seed Company Be sure to check their shipping update page to know how things will ship for you. Annie’s Heirloom Seeds You can get free shipping on orders over $50. They are substituting seeds if something in your order goes out of stock. Be sure to note if you don’t want substitutions.
What we are planting:
This is my favorite part of it all! We are all truly so excited for this season–the kids included. We are trying to plant things that we can store long term through the fall and winter months and things that I am able to water bath can. A pressure canner is at the top of our wish list so that we can safely can veggies and meats. I am so thankful that I was sent a water bath canner a few years ago to try and review. It has been fun to learn how to preserve foods. There is something so incredibly satisfying about pulling a jar of home-canned food off the shelf to eat. Now, on to our long list of what we are planning to grow this year.
Veggies– Scarlet Nantes Carrots– my plan is to plant a lot of carrots this year. They take a long time to mature. This particular variety is a good storage variety. Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions– these are my favorite, and also a good storage variety. Chocolate Pear Tomato– I know nothing about these, but I was curious to try them. Amish Paste Tomato– These will be perfect for sauce. I hope to can many of these! Tam Jalapeno Pepper– I love jalapeno poppers, and we plan to make salsa as well. Parris Island Lettuce– this was one of our free seeds from Baker Creek. Russian Red Kale– Another free variety from Baker Creek. De Jours Radish– I love how quickly these mature. Yummy as a snack and to go on top of salads. Chinese Pink Celery– Everyone (but me) loves celery in this family. I’m excited to try another variety. Flat of Italy Onion– This is another variety that I just wanted to try. Merlo Nero Spinach– This is supposed to be a slow bolting variety, which is good for our temperature fluctuations. Utah Tall Celery– We grew this last year, and it was so flavorful. The greens on top were beautiful also. Musquee De Provence Squash– these are beautiful pumpkins, but are also great storage squash. Cornfield Pumpkin Squash– just for pumpkins in the fall!
Fruits: I hope that our strawberry and blueberry bushes grow again this year, so we will see on those. Beni Kodima Watermelon– This variety is a personal sized watermelon. We have found that we don’t eat a full melon before it goes bad, so we are excited to try these. Rhubarb– We will plant this in the fall. I ordered these seeds to plant last year, but we couldn’t decide where we would put it.
Herbs: Genovese Basil Wild Thyme Slo-Bolt cilantro Broad leaf sage Oregano– growing again from last year hopefully Garlic Chives–also growing again from last year *I will purchase rosemary plants because I’ve never had success with starting it from seed. We will have around 90 head of garlic to pull up when they mature this spring, too!
Beans: Dragon Tongue Beans (to dry) Climbing French Green Beans Hutterite Soup Beans (free variety from Seed Savers) Black Turtle Beans (to dry)
Flowers: Lavender Paradiso Mix Echinacea Hopi Black Dye Sunflower Autumn Beauty Sunflower Evening Sun Sunflower
Cover Crop— We have winter rye to plant in our gardens after the main growing season is over. This will help put nitrogen back in our soil and prevent soil erosion during the winter months. I’ve tried to learn about soil health. The healthier our soil, the healthier our plants and food will be.
Of course, these plans could always change. We hope to grow more and more each year as we learn preservation methods. I’ve been slowly buying canning jars and/or lids whenever I find them in the stores. If you didn’t know, there is a major shortage happening on canning equipment. If you are a canner, buy when you see it all or you may miss out. It’s wild times.
I hope that it was warming up where you are! If you garden, what are you planting this year? The big girls want to have their own little garden space to grow flowers, so it will be fun to see what they choose.
I have heard about Azure Standard for years from various youtube channels that I watch or from people in groups that I am a part of. Everyone was always raving about how great it was. I was always curious about it, but never looked at their website. I would say that I’m a skeptic by nature. I assumed that it was going to be really complicated and overpriced. No, thanks. Not for me.
Last year, I started buying more items in bulk. Less grocery store trips always mean less impulse purchases. Plus, we cook all of our meals at home. Many of whaI cook is made from scratch, so we go through a lot of things like flour, sugar, butter, etc. After hearing how much could be saved on healthy foods by buying in bulk through Azure, I decided to FINALLY check it out. I was quickly shocked at the variety of products and sizes available on the site, and placed my first order. Here’s what I thought.
To back up a bit, Azure Standard is an online co-op for buying groceries. You can buy bulk sizes, or smaller amounts of your favorite foods. Most of them are organic foods. There are many more options of flours and grains than you can find in the grocery store. Our local area has a drop once a month. The co-op has to reach five hundred dollars in sales for them to actually deliver to our area. Not $500 per person, but for the entire group. When you search for a drop near you, it will show you the location, date, and time of your pick up. It will also let you know the last day that you can place an order.
Once you place your order, you can add to or delete items from it up to about five days before your order pick up date is scheduled. It’s nice to have a whole month to add items that we run out of or change my mind if I decide I don’t want something, or if the budget has to tighten up. How often do you buy something from the store on impulse, and quickly regret it when you see how much you’ve spent. This really helps you stick to your budget because you can see exactly what your price will be. You know if you can afford to add that box of cookies, or if you need to put it back.
I am not a fan of new things like this, to be honest. I like to know exactly what to expect, or I start to feel really anxious. I wasn’t sure how it would work or how smoothly things would run. I was pleasantly surprised. It was so simple. The semi truck was parked in the lot with our group members parked at the back end. The drivers of the truck quickly unloaded our drop goods. Each package has the person’s name on a sticker on it, and they sort everything out for you. You just confirm that you have the right amount of parcels, load it in your car, and be on your way. It took maybe five minutes from the time I got out of my car to the time I drove away. You also have the option of asking for pallets for free if they have any. I could see that our drivers didn’t have any since we were the first delivery of the day. Eight in the morning. Ouch. But, next time I hope to snag some!
Here is everything that I ordered: 6 inch beeswax candles- count of six 4 One gallon wide mouth glass jars 4 lids (that fit gallon sized jugs.. not jars.. oops) 9 ounce organic Peppermint white chocolate chips 1 pound ground medium arabica coffee 12 ounce squeezable maple syrup (I plan to wash and refill this from a larger jug later.) 5 lb organic white basmati rice Peelu Peppermint Xylitol chewing gum (100 ct.) 2 lb raw clover honey 5 lb frozen sliced organic bananas
I also ordered 5 lbs of sharp raw cheddar cheese and a 25 pound bag of kamut flour, but those went out of stock and did not ship. HUGE bummer!
Everything looks so good. I am really impressed so far. I also am already working on our order for next month! I really hope the flour and cheese stay in stock for me this time. Each month, there are different items on sale. I got a March sales flyer in my order so that I can see exactly what has a lower price.
The two big downsides were the out of stock items and our time changing. Our drop is supposed to be a different day in the late afternoon. The week of your drop, you get an e-mail with the schedule. Ours changed to a different day and time. So, you may need to have someone that is available to pick up for you should your scheduled time not work out. Our drop coordinator is willing to pick up items and schedule a different pickup if it doesn’t work for anyone.
Also, some of the name brand items can end up being cheaper at your local grocery store through sales and coupons. So, be sure to keep an eye on it. The goal is to save money for me, and I’m not interested in wasting any.
Overall, I am really impressed by the store itself and the whole process and am excited to order again. If you want to check out the website and possibly place your own order, check it out here!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. I will answer them to the best of my ability.
While this post is not a sponsored post, the links shared are referral links. This does not cost you anything extra. However, should you order $100 or more during your time with Azure, I will receive a $25 credit. My family and I are so grateful for the support we receive from the blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
After breaking the news that we lost our flock to the girls on Friday, we went to the local farm supply store to look at chicks. We figured we would see what they had available, but didn’t expect to come home with any. We were so surprised that they had pullets of every breed we talked about getting, so we came home with 10 new chicks.
We wished we had taken pictures of our other chickens as chicks so that we could have compared them. We got much more variety this time, and made sure we got our pictures. I think we will be able to tell them apart to know which one is which when they are grown.
Meet our new flock:
Bantams are just miniature breeds of chickens. We aren’t completely sure what they will end up being. They are so tiny! We will have some really nice variety in egg color. Marans are supposed to lay deep copper eggs. The barred rocks lay cream eggs. Easter Eggers are a surprise. It will be a fun summer when they start laying.
Oh, and did I mention we got ducks?
Ollie and Daisy
Duckie (Professor Mallard if you watch NCIS)
Ducky Duddle– if you are an Abeka mom, you know.
One of the ducks has wry neck. It was given to us because no one wanted it. We decided we would take it in and try to nourish it back to health. If it doesn’t make it, at least we did our best. I really don’t want to lose any more right now. Honestly, we don’t know much about ducks other than they need a water source and can be with the chickens. I bought this book to learn and hopefully we have all girls for eggs. The chicken equivalent of that book is also really good.
It’s really hard to be starting over when things were going so well. It’s hard to get out of the mindset that I need to go check on the chickens.. We have fourteen peeping babies in our house that keep us occupied. We will also be starting seeds soon! Spring is coming, my friends. We just have to get through the last of winter.
Hi, my friends. I have been planning to share a post about what we are planting in our garden this year along with where we ordered our seeds from. Looking forward to the hope of Spring.
That post is going on hold and I’ll share it soon. Today has been rough. I went out to feed the chickens and let them out of the coop this morning, just like I do every day that Scott leaves for work at 4 AM. While I was filling up their food, I kept thinking about how odd it was that they were so quiet. Surely they weren’t still sleeping. I was late in getting out there.
I opened the coop door, and their bodies were everywhere. I wrestled the door open and immediately started sobbing. I remember saying over and over “what happened?” and counting them. Surely one survived, right? Not one single chicken made it. I thought maybe a rooster went crazy and killed them all and ended up dying also. Now that I’ve had time to investigate, we are pretty confident that a weasel got in and killed them all.
You guys, all of our beautiful chickens are gone. My mind can’t seem to process.. I’ve cleaned some of the mess up, but still have more to do. I still have to tell my kids. I know that this is part of homesteading life. These are the hard lessons that we have to live. But, I really, really hoped that we wouldn’t lose every single one in one swift motion. It feels so cruel.
I am THAT person who laughs hysterically watching them hop through the snow because they don’t like their feet touching it. I cheerfully tell them good morning. I say thank you every time I get an egg as though they understand. I excitedly go feed them mealworms and food scraps. My mom got me a “crazy chicken lady” shirt for Christmas that I proudly wear.
To look on the bright side, because I can’t camp in the heartbreak, we have everything we need for new chicks. If we get them this month, they will start laying in the summer. Our hens gave us over three hundred eggs in January. (We had 13 hens.) We have time while babies grow to fix the coop and find the problem.
Today, I am so devastated. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that. But, we aren’t giving up on this homestead dream.
I write about the kitchen a lot. Meal times are so important in this family. Everyone that is home at the time gathers around the table to eat together. We spend a lot of time together in the kitchen.
I FINALLY checked out the Azure Standard website, and placed my first order. It’s an online grocery store where you can buy healthier options in bulk. I just picked a few basics so that I can get the hang of ordering and pickup. That’s not what this is about, but I thought I’d share in case you haven’t heard of it. I’ll let you know how I like it when I pick up my order next month.
We have been busy in the kitchen this month. I love baking during the cold months. It warms up the house and our bellies all at once. I decided I’d start sharing some of our favorites that come from the kitchen each month.
Intentionality has been my focus this year. I am trying so hard to be more intentional with my time and energy. I’m trying to love and serve my family well. One of the ways that I show my love (I have learned) is by cooking. I love filling their bellies with foods that they love.. foods that are healthy and/or comforting. I also recognize my faults. I am NOT a morning person. If I want to make a good breakfast for my family, I need to do all prep the night before. In fact, the biscuit dough was made the night before. Scott cut out the biscuits and cooked them the next morning in this instance.
Some of these things are just simple. We try to do fruits and veggies with meals. Nourishing healthy bodies is really important to me. I decided to try cutting carrots into chips to make them more fun to eat. It really wasn’t more work than cutting them into sticks. Side note– you can store cut carrots in a jar filled with water and they stay crisp and don’t dry up. I eat way more veggies if they are easy to grab and go.
I’m tired of wasting time. Getting started is always the hardest part. I have regretted 0% of the time I’ve spent being intentional. I haven’t regretted teaching my kids skills that will last them a lifetime.
We are all happiest in the kitchen. Whether it’s gathered around the table for a warm meal, or playing a silly board game. Our kitchen is always bustling with life and love– and that’s precisely how I want it to stay.
I still need to can up a big batch of pears. We will make more bread this week. We also have been making our own pizza on Friday nights using the recipe from the Magnolia Table Volume 2 cookbook. We double the recipe. Half is used to make a big rectangular pizza on this sheet pan. The other half gets pressed out and allowed to rise a second time. It becomes delicious breadsticks.
Do you spend more time in the kitchen in the winter months? If you have any good soup recipes, please share them!! We like to do “soup Saturday” on our menu plans and I’d love some new ideas.
 to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links. I know that I have mentioned prebiotics, probiotics and the importance of gut health so many times that I may sound like a broken record. I am SUCH a believer in the benefits of prebiotics and probiotics. My entire family takes daily prebiotics and probiotics along with our multivitamin. If I had to give one or the other up, I'd give up the vitamin in a heartbeat. I am dedicated to the probiotics! I feel so much better if I regularly take a probiotic. If my kids skip their probiotics, they end up sick so much more often. Wellness has become such a focus over the last year, especially, and I ALWAYS say to start with your gut. Heal and take care of your gut! Your whole body will thank you. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pro.jpg **As we grow older, our gut microbiotic community changes. Levels of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus decline. These are known to help maintain gut health and immunity. They also help with a healthy inflammatory response. According to researched published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, by supplementing, you can help to restore those levels! Who doesn't want to "turn back the clock" to a time when their bodies were healthier? On top of that, supplementing can help reduce infections caught during hospital stays, help reduce allergic responses from common allergens, and help ease symptoms from the common cold! You can read more about all of this at www.probiotics.com. Now, on to the specifics of Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic! These come pre-packaged in individual packets. Inside each packet are two berry smoothie flavored chewable tablets. Because I am to give an HONEST review, they do taste a bit chalky, so be forewarned. They are not horrible but it's not like drinking a smoothie. ;) You can take them without a meal, which is great. It's best to stick to a routine and take them at the same time each day. Chewing can send signals to your brain that help with feelings of fullness. Chew slowly and really soak it up. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is kyo-dophilus.jpg **disclaimer-- these studies were conducted by independent researchers and presented for educational purpose only. The subject products of the studies may be classified as dietary supplements in the US. Those dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.){kind=link}
