. . .reasons why you’ll want to enroll in the GNOWFGLINS Fundamentals eCourse scheduled to begin next month and developed by my friend Wardeh Harmon at www.gnowfglins.com:

1. Health. Whether you’ve recently become interested in the real-food movement or you’ve been committed for awhile now to preparing real, whole foods for your family, you’re no doubt aware of the health benefits that go along with eliminating processed, industrial foods from your diet and replacing them with what Wardeh calls GNOWFGLINS—God’s Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season. In each of the 15 lessons included in the eCourse, Wardeh will answer three basic questions about the nourishing, traditional foods she explores:
• What is this food and/or technique? What ingredients do I need?
• Why should we eat a certain food or prepare it a certain way?
• How is the technique carried out or how is this food prepared?

2. Time. Maybe you’ve watched the documentary Food, Inc. and read all of the real-food best-sellers (Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Nina Planck’s Real Food) but you have no idea where to start when it comes to implementing the ideas they present in a practical way that fits your busy schedule. Or, perhaps the mere thought of having to wade through every sidebar and recipe on the 675 pages of the weightiest real-food tome of all—Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions—is enough to give you a migraine. Why not learn the basics—in a simple, methodical way—from someone who’s done the research and has a wealth of practical experience to share? Wardeh promises you won’t be overwhelmed by her simple plan that will take you through one step at a time.

3. Quality. I’ve had a chance to preview some of the things in store for those who enroll in this eCourse, and the attention to detail and multimedia presentation setup is incredible. Each lesson will be available 24/7 on a private Web site in print, audio and video formats to accommodate the learning style that works best for you—and so that you won’t miss a thing, whether you choose to read, listen, watch or do all three! I have followed Wardeh’s blog for about three years now, and I can vouch for her ability to present information in a thorough, down-to-earth way.

4. Quantity. You’re going to get an amazing amount of advice, ideas, recipes and techniques here—including printable guides you’ll refer to time and again, as well as access to freebies and resources that won’t be available on Wardeh’s blog. Among other things, she’ll teach you how to sprout beans and grains, cook pastured chickens and make stock, bake sourdough bread and brew water kefir (a probiotic beverage that can help you kick a soda habit).

5. Money. The eCourse costs $27 per month for five months (a total of $135)—a bargain considering the wealth of information you’ll obtain toward converting your kitchen into a real-food haven. And Wardeh offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can’t go wrong by trying it for a month to see whether it’s something that will work for you.

6. Mentorship. Whether you’ve read my blog since The Beginning (my first post) or this is the first post you’ve perused, you’ve probably gathered that Wardeh Harmon—though she doesn’t know it—has been my unofficial mentor as I’ve explored and experimented with real food. (Actually, she’s probably guessed that that’s the case, as I’ve asked her at least 1,095 questions—that’s one a day for the past three years—all of which she has graciously, patiently and satisfactorily answered!) And, as someone who’s got the heart of a teacher, she’ll do the same for you. Seriously, IMHO, you won’t get better guidance from anyone else for making these changes in the way you cook and eat. And if you sign up for the eCourse, Wardeh won’t be your only mentor: Everyone who’s enrolled can exchange ideas and share recipe results in a special forum. I’m planning to be there! How about you?

Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the banner above, you’ll link to a site where you can learn much more about the GNOWFGLINS Fundamentals eCourse. And if you decide to enroll after clicking through from my site, I’ll receive a commission—for which I thank you. But even if I didn’t stand to benefit in any way from sharing what I’ve written here, I honestly wouldn’t change a word.

This week, my Kitchen Life revolved more around what I did to my kitchen than what I did in it. Which got me thinking that maybe I should share a photo of the room where I spend a lot of my time. But before I do, I must explain that much of our home—including this all-important room—has been in remodeling mode for more than a year. And believe me, that has made it incredibly challenging to undergo a conversion to real-food preparation methods all at the same time! As you will see from the photo, we aren’t finished yet. (Note the pieced-together old pink Formica and plywood countertops, which will be in place until we can someday afford to replace them with granite. And you’ve gotta love the rustic look of the walls that remain untextured, unpainted and—if this is a word—unbacksplashed.)

No, I am under no illusion that my kitchen looks great. But it’s getting there. Really. You should have seen it before. (I don’t have a photo handy of what it used to look like, and if I did, I’m not sure I’d share it.)

I think the thing I’m most proud of is the fact that we (well, Shawn, really) did much of the work. The tile floor (which replaced a very outdated cream-colored tile with burgundy grout that Shawn laboriously broke up and removed) and the recessed lighting (which replaced two hideous fluorescent-tube fixtures) were installed by outside subcontractors. And when we discovered that our old cabinets were solid oak buried under layers of paint and dark stain, Shawn asked a friend with a finishing business to strip and refinish them. But Shawn built the island unit to match the existing cabinets, replaced all the hinges and added knobs and pulls. He also removed an ugly soffit that once filled the prime decorating space between the cabinets and the ceiling, and tore out the existing unnattractive backsplash. He rewired a dead phone line and reconfigured the exhaust/venting system on the new microwave before installing it. (I’m not a big fan of the microwave oven, which removes most—if not all—of the nutrients from the food it cooks. I use it mostly to heat water and to time what I’m cooking on the stovetop. But it turned out to be a better option than an oven hood to provide an exhaust outlet. Plus, it saves counter space and adds resale value—though I have to say, after all this work, I don’t plan on moving. Ever!)

In addition to all of the construction work going on, my kitchen had been cluttered up for quite a few months with unpacked boxes filled with everything from cookbooks to linens and utensils, as well as large bags of bulk grains and beans that I couldn’t cram into my pantry. This past week, I finally tackled it all. I unpacked, organized, discarded and donated until everything found a place where it belonged. I scrubbed the entire floor by hand and then sealed the tile grout. It was exhausting and invigorating at the same time! It helped me to catch a fresh vision of what my kitchen might someday look like (when we eventually have the new countertops and backsplash, a new sink, barstools, curtains, a few shelves, and whatever else we add to the list). And perhaps more importantly, it has helped me enjoy actually being in the room that requires so much of my time. My kitchen might never grace the pages of Better Homes and Gardens, but to me, it’s looking pretty good!

This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.