Spend more than five minutes on social media these days and you’re almost guaranteed to see at least one video or picture of sourdough something….jars of starter, loaves of beautifully scored bread, or desserts made from the discard. There are beautiful lives portrayed by these influencers, lives that seem calm and peaceful and perfect, though I know are perfectly curated and not a complete picture of anyone’s life. These videos portray a contentedness and a purposeful intention that I want to nurture in my own home.

I watched a sourdough video one day and then went down the rabbit hole of watching other videos by the same influencer. In one particular video, she named 10 items she no longer purchases from a store…things like bread/dough related items, crackers, granola, chicken stock and so on. I was intrigued, but also a little bit like many people in the comments…who has the time for all that?

Actually, I do. My name is Melissa, and I am a stay at home wife and a mother of two amazing girls. My youngest daughter started school this year, and I have been eager to find new ways to be a blessing to my family while I remain at home. We, like most families, are trying to nurture our children as they grow to be adults, providing them with love and connection, a wonderful education, adventures and experiences, as well as a healthy beginning in life. I decided we could do better with that last one.

It is easy to get caught in the quick pace of life, especially once children are in school. It is also easy to get caught in the “convenience trap” of store-bought snacks and processed foods that have ingredients we’d prefer not to consume. The sourdough videos started it, and I have been inspired to make changes in my own home.

I’ll be working to replace one store bought food item at a time in our home, working on that single item until we can easily incorporate it into our lives. I hope you will enjoy following along as I make changes in the food we eat, swapping store bought for made from scratch foods with simple recipes and ingredients that may not always be the best there is, but are better than our before. As you might have guessed, I’ll be starting with sourdough and working to replace the sandwich bread that goes in our children’s lunchboxes every day. Keep an eye out for the recipes we try, the final one we choose, and how we plan to implement a sourdough baking schedule into our lives!

These are stock photos, but aren’t they gorgeous!? Our first attempt at sourdough sandwich bread will be up soon…let’s not compare our future photos, to these beauties, mkay? Thanks y’all!