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Meet Millie
I’m passionate (my husband Joe calls it obsessed) about feeding my family a diet filled with whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods. Even though passionate, our diet still has a lot of room for improvement. I use the word diet but the way we eat isn’t a diet in the sense that most people think of the word. We choose to eat this way in a continuous manner, not a diet that one might go on for a short time to reach their goals and then toss it out the window after that point. This is what I consider a lifestyle, as far as the way we eat is concerned.
We started this way of eating in January of 2009 after I read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell and Mary Enig. Our progress started very slow with adding one or two things at a time, feeling comfortable with that and then adding more. This has worked well for our family. It helps our budget adjust to purchasing higher-quality ingredients that can be more expensive, it helps our older children adjust their tastes, and it helps keep me from becoming totally overwhelmed and having my head spin off. Again, we made a choice to eat this way. If we were dealing with allergies or illness then we may have chosen to do things differently.
We strive to follow the Dietary Guidelines published by the Weston A. Price Foundation 85% of the time. Weston A. Price was a dentist who discovered the correlation between dental, physical, mental, and emotional health and food. He determined (in a nutshell) that eating foods as close to their natural state was the key to good health. I highly recommend his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. One thing that really struck me in this book is that there is no “perfect diet,” but there are many similarities between the diets of the native people he studied. The Weston A. Price Foundation was founded in 1999 to share Dr. Price’s work.
Joe, KiKi, and Christopher – Fishing
We are now only a family of three living at home: my husband Joe, our little boy, and me.
When I started this blog – way back in ’09 – there were at least five of us in the house. You’ll see many of the older articles mentioning our entire crew.
My oldest daughter, Sierra, and her husband live about an hour and a half from us. She joins me as a writer and more here at Homespun Oasis, so keep reading to meet her.
My second daughter, Angel, her husband, and her son live about five hours away. My third daughter, Kiki, and her husband and my fourth (still single) daughter, Lulu, also live in the same five-hour-away town.
Joe, Christopher, and Lulu – Camping
I work from home part time as a bookkeeper with most of my “work time” being early mornings, evenings, or weekends and maybe a few hours a week during “business hours,” totaling about 15 hours a week. I also run a separate business as a virtual assistant from home, which rounds out my work week and gives me a more than full-time work week.
This schedule is full, but it does give me some flexibility to be able to prepare our meals and work on my kitchen experiments, garden, and tend to our poultry and goats plus homeschool our 8-year-old son.
When I started this blog, my main goal was to share how eating nutrient-dense and whole foods does not necessary have to cost more than eating a Standard American Diet. Over time, our lifestyle has changed considerably.
My focus is no longer just on food/recipes but more on our new lifestyle and the desire to make the home a sanctuary or an oasis.
This blog was originally titled Real Food for Less Money. In March of 2014, I felt that name no longer fit. Homespun Oasis is a more fitting name for this stage of our journey.
In 2019, I branched out from blogging and nonfiction writing to fiction writing. My Havoc in Wyoming series is what I call Cozy Apocalyptic Fiction.
Join My Reader’s Club!
As part of my reader’s club, you’ll be the first to know about new releases and specials. I also share info on books I’m reading, preparedness tips, and more.
Learn more at my author website: MillieCopper.com
I’ll even send you a complimentary copy of Wyoming Refuge: A Havoc in Wyoming Prequel when you join my Reader’s Club.
Cortido and Kraut
Meet Sierra
I’m very pleased to join my Mom in contributing to Homespun Oasis. Writing has been one of my favorite past times since I was a child. I love taking bits and pieces of ideas and stringing them together into a great story. Sometimes that story revolves around a character and other times it revolves around an idea someone is trying to make a reality, like creating a business. When I’m not writing, I’m swooning over vintage dresses, escaping into fantasy novels, and enjoying time with my husband and two dogs.
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Helpful Links
Below are links to a few posts that will give you more information on how and what we eat and hopefully some tips to help you save money in your real food journey.
“Soaked” Zucchini Muffins
5 Ways to Afford Real Food on a Meager Budget
Kelly the Kitchen Kop: Guest Interview with Anne Sargeant
Food Renegade: Eating Real Food on a Budget
The Nourishing Gourmet: Q & A Nourishing Foods for a Single Gal on a Budget (great info even if you are not a single gal)
Kelly the Kitchen Kop: Overwhelmed with the Cost of Real Food
Nourished Kitchen: Food Stamp Challenge October 2009
Organic and Thrifty: New Year Fridge and Pantry Clean Out- No Spend January
Nourishing Days: The Cost of a Nourishing Diet; What is Optimum vs. What is Reality
Cooking Traditional Foods (I’ll just link to the entire blog since so much of it applies)
Frugally Sustainable: 50 Tips for Saving on Groceries
Keeper of the Home offers a $250 a month shopping list and menu plan
This Chick Cooks 5 Tips for Whole Foods on a Budget Wonderfully simple tips that anyone can implement.
100 Days of Real Food has Real Food Tips: 12 Ways to Keep it Cheap.
Please keep in mind that we are not doctors or medical professionals. Information found on this site is for educational and informational purposes only.
You should do your own research and come to your own conclusions for your health care and nutrition along with consulting a qualified health care provider. Any results that we post are from our experience only, your results may vary.
If you read something you like, don’t like, or have questions about, please leave me a comment or email me at millie@milliecopper.com. I’m always open to suggestions and tips that work for you.
Millie & Sierra
