Once we have kids, things change. Choices that didn't matter yesterday become big decisions today. What our children eat today and what we use on and around their bodies will impact their health as well as the health of the planet. We research. We get confused. We throw up our hands not knowing what to do with the contradictory information, but still knowing that we should do something.
Hip Organic Mama is a one mama's journey to feed her family real food in today's over-processed world.
I am a mom of four healthy children and a wonderful husband in the beautiful Florida Keys. I love to cook and enjoy using real food to create meals that even the kids find delicious. An avid researcher, I found the information out there overwhelming and contradictory with no real solutions. I made it my goal to learn about controversies that impact our health, our food, and our planet and decipher that information into easy steps we can take to make a difference. In today's hectic world we don't have much time, so I put this information together with shortcuts I have learned in cooking nutritious (even sneaking veggies in) delicious meals on a budget. Enjoy food. Be healthy. Make sustainable choices for the future of our planet.
The food industry has many dirty little secrets. Things they don't share with us consumers and things some of the us simply don't want to know because to know means we must make a conscious decision and well, who has time for that?
Food Inc has brought a lot of facts about our "food" to the public. Beef is a prime example.
The NY Times recent article, Safety of Beef Processing Is Questioned, about the very beef fed to our children in schools and fast food chains exposed a dirty little secret and has awakened some consumers. Yes, they inject beef we eat with floor cleaner.
But let's not get our panties in a bunch, you know, it's all for our welfare, to kill ecoli and other harmful critters, hey, it's FDA and USDA approved, it's all good, they know best, we're just, well, people and they are corporate America here to guide us in what is truly safe. Thank goodness!
That doesn't even get into the horror of the much touted "corn-fed" beef.
The impact of more corn being fed into our beef is even more GMOs into our diet! (not to mention very unhappy uncomfortable unhealthy cattle.)
That got me thinking, why is it that the ground beef we get at the grocery store is red on the outside but when we get home we see it's brown inside that layer? According to kosherorganics.com:
It is a common industry practice to infuse ground beef with carbon monoxide gas, which keeps beef red for weeks after it actually spoils, tricking consumers into buying bad meat.
So how much poison is ok with you in your daily food intake? It's time we make a choice, not based upon alleged "convenience" in our busy lives, but based upon over very lives.
We eat eggs. With the six of us, we go through about a dozen a day. We use them for any meal and in many ways. Eggs are an inexpensive yet good source of protein and nutrients and the magical egg - it does amazing things: soufflés, frittatas, sauces, pudding and custards, cheesecake, baked goods, meatloaf, casseroles, soups, stir-fries or all on it's own, truly a versatile food.
The whites and yellows each have their own unique properties. We can whip the whites to add lightness and air to dishes, while the yellows act as an emulsifier and adds creamy richness. The whites contain protein and no fat while yolks contain half of the protein in the egg and all the fat (about 4.5 grams of fat, 1.5 of which is saturated and the rest is polyunsaturated which has been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol) as well as most of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The yolks offer all the vitamin A, D, E, and zinc that is in an egg as well as a larger percentage of the phosphorus, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, and calcium than the white. The yolks are also a rich source of Lutein and Zeaxanthin, (carotenoids) essential vitamins with antioxidant value .
Yolk color is determined by what the bird eats. Deep yellow to orange egg yolks are richer in carotenoids.
Contrary to what you may have heard, eggs do not increase bad cholesterol. Nor do they increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, for the average person who is not at high risk. (Hu, F.B., M.J. Stampfer, et al. 1999) (JAMA 281(15):1387-94.) Bad Cholesterol, LDL, is based upon what you eat (saturated fats and transfats) and even what you don't eat (vegetables), than simply your egg intake.
Egg color is simply an aesthetic preference. Birds that lay brown eggs tend to be larger birds with reddish brown feathers and earlobes around their neck. Since they are bigger, they eat more food than their paler cousins and therefore these eggs are a bit more expensive. White egg layers have white feathers on their neck and white earlobes. The breed of the hen determines shell color. Aracona chickens lay a lovely green shaded egg.
Size is actually determined by the age of a hen. The older the hen, the larger the egg. Double yolks come from the same hens making the XL eggs.
Fresh eggs from pastured free roaming hens allowed to eat bugs and raised under organic conditions are best. Fresh eggs are noticeably different. The yellows stand up and are perky. There isn't the air pocket in the shell that forms between the shell and the membrane as it ages. When you put a whole fresh eggs in a glass full of water, it will sink while an older egg will float due to that air pocket. But older eggs aren't all bad. When the whites are more broken down from age they whip up lighter and fluffier making higher soufflés.
Fresh eggs will also have a more noticeable chalaza (the egg white strand that anchors the yolk in place). (The chalaza is indeed supposed to be there and it is not an embryo. It does not need to be removed.)
If your egg white is a bit cloudy, you can be assured of a very fresh egg. The cloudiness is from carbon dioxide found in the young egg that has not had time to escape yet from the shell.
Believe it or not, a bright red blood spot would also indicate a fresh egg. Though very rare nowadays, less than 1% of all eggs have blood spots, they usually occur from a rupture of a blood vessel on the surface of the yolk follicle. The blood spot can be removed for aesthetics; a blood spot does not make the egg inedible.
However, eggs with blood spots are not considered kosher. This is because blood spots can also occur due to fertilization. Of course, most hens are not allowed anywhere near a rooster so fertilization is an impossibility in today's eggs, but religion dictates that we toss the egg with the blood spot. The laws of Kashrut do not dictate white eggs over brown or other color eggs, just that it not be a fertilized egg. Some people believe that there are more blood spots in brown eggs than white eggs because they mistakenly think that a naturally occurring brown marks of coloration in the brown egg are a blood spot. The laws of kashrut are clear that it is the red blood spot that is not allowed for fear of fertilization and that brown spots can be ignored.
Inappropriate temperature and humidity will age an egg. (A week-old egg can actually be fresher than a day-old egg.) In the U.S. eggs are refrigerated but in other parts of the world they are not. They will keep fresh out of the refrigerator if never placed in a refrigerator but once they are refrigerated, they must always be refrigerated to maintain freshness.
Conventional eggs are from hens living in very cramped quarters where their beaks are clipped so they don't peck at themselves or their sisters who are literally stacked on top of one another. They are fed genetically modified and pesticide-doused corn and soy and sometimes their own brothers ground in the feed. They live stressful lives in a toxic environment - that is carried through in the eggs they produce. Just remember, you are what you eat.
Choose organic free range eggs. Yes, they are more money, they need more room but organic eggs are more nutritious so you get more bang for your buck. Organic eggs are from hens given no hormones or antibiotics and fed only organically certified feed grown without pesticides, insecticides or herbicides. They are free roaming and must have access to fresh air. They are healthy eggs and all in all, we're not talking $10 for a dozen eggs, it's still pennies an egg, maybe dimes, but seriously, is that the quibble here? Cheap eggs to poison our world, our animals, and our bodies or healthy eggs to make us strong that cost less than .40 each as an inexpensive source of nutrition.
This post is part of the No GMO Challenge - JOIN US!
How to tell what you're eating - what do those numbers mean?
Tags (PLU "Price Look Up" code sticker) on fruits and vegetables can help you identify organic, conventional and even genetically modified produce.
ORGANIC produce stickers start with a 9 and have 5 numbers
Conventional ones have 4 numbers
GM (Genetically Modified) produce have 5 numbers like organic produce but start with the number 8 so be particularly cautious of those fruits and vegetables
Choose 9 for peace of mind -
This is part of Food Renegade's FIGHT BACK FRIDAYS where people who are fighting back against the dominate food culture blog about our adventures in real food including:
updates & stories about our Real Food journey,
tips,
recipes,
anything we think others might find useful, helpful, encouraging, or inspiring.
There is no more important single thing we can do to have a bigger impact on helping the planet and our bodies than choosing real organic foods.
Organic foods are produced without the use of chemicals, herbicides, fungicides, petroleum-, sewage- or sludge-based fertilizers or chemical pesticides. Organic food is not bio-engineered, genetically modified, nor is it irradiated. Poultry and Beef are fed only organic feed, are grazed on organically maintained pastures, and are not given antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products.
Until WWII, organic was the "conventional" practice as it was the most common way to farm. The use of synthetic chemicals and toxins won the battle away from home and were now touted to improve our lives here too. With this fanfare, it was well received and pushed through quickly. At that time, shocking to us now to think, but chemical poisons were even sprayed directly onto children to kill off bacteria! And some of us still remember walking behind the trucks spraying chemicals to kill off mosquitoes and other bugs around the neighborhood because it was so cool to see that puff of smoke come out. Conventional, the norm, changed to today's standard of using these chemicals readily.
Conventional farmers use millions of pounds of pesticides each year, much of which ends up in our drinking water and oceans. Pesticides and chemicals kill off living things - bugs and animals that may eat the food as well as parasites and microorganisms. Pesticides deplete the soil so more chemicals are needed to fertilize enabling the cycle to continue.
Pesticides are poisons. Most have the potential of causing cancer and are endocrine disrupters that mimic or interfere with our hormones. Pesticides cannot always be washed off the food, even with soap, as they are "ingested" in the plant through the roots and are actually in the body of the food.
Pesticides have a well documented and serious impact on our health. Among the many adverse effects, pesticides:
compromise our liver's job of cleaning toxins from our body
compromise each cell's ability to produce energy and do their respective jobs in our body
compromise our nerves and their job of sending important messages in our body
In short, pesticides cause disease and death. That's their goal, to kill off the bugs and pests. But they are having serious impacts on the lives of humans and especially on our future, our very own children. This is particularly important in the amounts and combinations of these pesticides. Since most children are picky eaters, they will eat more of one thing meaning more of certain chemicals. The long-term effect of these pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemicals, and the effect of the 'cocktail' of pesticide combinations on growing children has not been completely studied but it's clearly impacting fertility, development, health, and longevity. Pesticides can cause birth defects, cancer, nerve damage, impact our immune system, and disrupt our hormonal balance.
More recent news suggests that conventional foods may help us keep unwanted weight on our bodies. We all know the liver's function is to clear our bodies of toxins. The latest research indicates that the toxic buildup burdens the liver's function to such an extent that it cannot do it's other important jobs - burn body fat! An impaired liver can therefore cause weight gain. Organic farmers are leaders and innovators at protecting our environment while protecting the crops naturally. Organic farmers work with the natural ecosystem to improve the soil and deter pests. They rotate crops between fields and have diversity in their farms; while the conventional farmer limits crops and farming practices which depletes the soil's nutrients and leads to a real risk of crop damage from disease.
Organic farmers plant certain flowers and bushes to attract helpful insects who will then eat or deter pests that might otherwise eat the crops; conventional farms kill off insects and pests, helpful and hurtful to the farmer.
Organic farmers work with nature to replenish the soil, do not use toxic pesticides or fertilizers and maintain a biologically sustainable investment in our future. The organic farmer works to create and maintain healthful soil. Worms and microorganisms work to keep the soil strong. The soil feeds the plant. Therefore healthful soil creates food with more nutrition. True, conventional food is devoid of harmful bacteria and bugs, but it is also lower in nutritional value and has less flavor.
Chemicals deplete the top soil and cause soil erosion which in turn offers less nutrition to the plant which in turn creates less nutritious food for us. In addition, the chemicals and pesticides are killing off microorganisms. Many of these microorganisms are helpful and are actually healthful. Discoveries of helpful bacteria that turn into cures for disease are found in dirt regularly around the world. In killing off the good and bad organisms, we are creating new super-resistant bugs and strains of insects and pests that require even more powerful chemical pesticides to be killed.
Healthy plants are more disease resistant, are more drought resistant, create a better supply of food, create more nutritious food, and grow strong without chemical assistance. It all works together.
At home, our own yards can be maintained organically. Years ago, we would to play in the dirt, dirt that was free of harmful chemicals and loaded with helpful microorganisms. As children this set up our immune systems to be strong. Children were healthier. When our children run and play in the yard, we need to make sure that is a yard they can lie in safely and that runoff from our yard is not going to poison our planet and water supply. Conventional farming overseas is even worse than in the U.S. since farmers can get away with more with relaxed environmental laws. In many countries, conventional farming is destroying the rainforest and causing the demise of plants and animals for the sake of one single kind of "cash" crop ki. Forests are plowed to make way for planting, soil is eroded, chemicals and poisons enter our water systems, animals lose their homes, toxins enter the delicate ecosystem.
And talk about doing our part to help curb global warming, conventional farming uses more fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used to create pesticides and chemicals. They are used to transport them to the farm. Micro-organisms that would otherwise hold carbon are killed releasing carbons into the atmosphere. Once the soil is depleted of micro-organisms, the soil must be enriched with chemical fertilizers which again take fossil fuels in creation and transportation. Conventional farms are more automated and use more fossil fuels generally. They have an over-abundance of manure since they are not using that so that is another issue which must be removed with fossil fuels. Organic farming uses up to 60% less fossil fuel per unit of food.
What is Biodynamic? Biodynamic Demeter supervised farming meets all organic standards and takes them even further. This system was created in ancient times to create healthful soil to withstand the test of time. Biodynamic farming takes even more time and money and therefore things cost more, but what it gives us is a true harmony with our land. It works with the plants, animals, and the environment to promote healthy soil and healthy plants.
Choosing organic produce and biodynamic products supports local, generally smaller, organic farms and the families who work those farms. Paying organic farmers in other countries a fair wage by choosing Fair Trade products allows them to create strong communities, schools and help children and their families. In addition, and as you would guess, conventional farmers and the people that work in and around the fields (including the people that crop dust and spray the chemicals and pesticides) have a much higher risk of cancer than organic farmers.
Organic certification confirms a set of standards:
farmland used to grow the produce must be free of chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, etc) for at least three (3) years. During the three year period, they are considered "transitional" and before that they are simply conventional.
there is a paper trail to make sure that product is indeed the organic product you expect.
organic poultry and beef are raised on organic feed or organically maintained pastures
organic cows and chickens cannot be given growth hormones, stimulants or antibiotics
organic dairy cows, poultry and cattle must be treated humanely with o clean water, o a clean place to sleep, o access to the outdoors, o exercise, and o fresh air
organic dairy pasteurization must meet hygienic standards
dairy cows may not be sold for slaughter as beef
beef is processed in a certified plant where organic cows are separated from conventional ones and the entire processing line must be cleaned to organic specifications for the organic ones
no more than 5% of the ingredients (excluding water and salt) are conventional; or at least 95% of the product is organic as per the standards of certification
organic products cannot use some organic and some conventional of the same ingredient
Chemical poisons are dangerous. The environmental impact is great today and sadly, they remain in the ecosystem for decades after use. When we look and see that organic foods are sometimes more than conventional, we need to remember the toll conventional foods are having upon our world and our future. Organic foods are actually less costly when we look at the money it takes to fix the problems created by conventional farming. And yes, EVERY choice, EVERY person, EVERY item counts as a vote in the right direction.
Understandably, organic can cost more than conventional, but remember that cheap is not food, cheap is a way to fill the belly that has expensive repercussions long-term upon our health and our planet. It's actually more expensive to produce cheap food, more energy is needed to create each calorie and the clean up of the mess made to our health and our environment is expensive. Instead choose organic whenever possible - particularly for those foods you feed yourself and family most. That will offer you the biggest impact on your own lives and is the best place to start.
Organic farming protects our water supply, our wild life, our families, and our future. Choosing organic foods is like voting to go back to a more natural and safer way of breathing, eating, and living. It's a vote for our health today, our children's current and future health, our environment, animals, and our planet.
For Cinco de Mayo last week I brought in fresh organic roma tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, limes, garlic, avocados, and scallions to make salsa with the kids. And of course, I brought in chips for the class.
4 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 lime, fresh squeezed juice
1 garlic, chopped
1/4 jalapeno, chopped fine
sea salt
2 scallions, chopped
Mix and enjoy as a topping or with chips. You can cuisinart it if you like it less chunky.
They did an outstanding job chopping and making their own salsa. We talked about the different flavors, smelled and tasted. I helped share information with this bright group of third and fourth graders about the differences between organic and conventional and why our family doesn't eat certain things, especially those made of conventional corn. Eating salsa and chips isn't a simple task for us anymore as we have to search for organic corn chips or at least those labeled non-GMO.
In the U.S. there are no labeling requirements when a product contains anything genetically modified. Corn and Soy are the top two crops that are genetically altered. Therefore, corn chips are most assuredly GMO if they are not labeled organic.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) or Genetically Engineered (GE) foods involve a scientific process that alters the very genetic make-up of a plant by introducing new DNA into the nucleus. Genes from humans, bacteria, viruses, other plants, and even animals are spliced into the seed. The effects of these changes have not been fully tested on our environment, nor on our health. Europe has banned GMOs but here in the U.S. we have to search and read labels carefully.
The organic label is a good place to look to make sure the products we choose are not GMO. By definition, organic foods cannot be genetically altered.
My rule of thumb to people just starting to change their eating habits is to choose organic particularly for those things that your family eats most and especially those products that contain any soy or corn in them. And corn is in almost every processed food under the label of a variety of things including:
in Baked Goods that contain Baking Powder or Confectioner’s/Powdered Sugar
When you ditch the microwave (that's another post) and stop buying most pre-packaged foods, you start to create short cuts to having real food in a hurry. Real food doesn't necessarily take more time, I can usually get dinner on the table in 30, but it does take planning and having a good filled pantry (fresh, frozen, dry) of supplies so I know I can make anything based upon the fresh veggies or meats I have on hand. I choose organic (non-gmo) for everything except meats and fish, those are grass-fed and wild respectively.
My Pantry consists of Dry - Frozen - Refrigerated/Fresh -
Stock, preferably fresh made and frozen but I have some of that organic chicken stock on hand just in case, don't tell anyone
Basic spices - sea salt, (NOTE: this is NOT regular table salt! I only use real sea salt, grey salt, river salt, we feel a big difference in our health and if we ever eat out, we can feel the difference in the sodium.) fresh black peppercorns, cumin, cayenne or chili pepper flakes, curry and curry paste, maybe some spice blends, vanilla beans and vanilla extracts
Canned tomatoes whole and diced (make sure it's in a lined can so the aluminum doesn't leach from the high acidity of tomatoes and only organic tomatoes)
Brown Rice (there are so many kinds of rice: Red, Wild, Sweet Brown, Short & Long Grain), Brown Rice Pasta (we love Tinkyada brand), Quinoa, Millet, Wheatberries, Grits (only organic), Kamut Berries, Barley, Oats (steel cut, rolled, thick rolled, Scottish, we use them all in different ways)
Baking supplies - flour, (I'm using the last of the organic unbleached all purpose and whole wheat flours, moving toward Amaranth Flour, Coconut Flour, Buckwheat, Spelt, Garbanzo Flour and things like that. Also having whole wheat berries I'll be getting a Vitamix to grind my own and make my own sprouted wheat - can't wait!), chocolate chips, baking powder/baking soda, yeast, chia seeds (whole and pulverized - I add them to smoothies and baked goods to add omega 3s)
Honey - I like YS Organic Honey and New Zealand honeys, but there are tons of lovely organic honeys each with their own qualities. I use one from Africa on meats and in sauces, it is the only honey I know of that is from a flowering tree; the flavor depends upon the flowering blossoms and organic means the bees are roaming on pesticide-free flowers
Sweeteners we use Sucanat, I love the flavor and color of it, or Rapadura which is a brand name of the same thing, we also use in moderation: Brown Rice Syrup, Agave, Xylitol, and Therasweet from Living Fuel and
Organic Maple Syrup, Maple Chunks and Maple Sugar
Date Sugar
Jam, there are organic all-fruit spreads by bionaturae that are great!
Raisins, Apricots, Cherries, and other dried fruit
Fair Trade Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Powder, I have some organic fair trade milk chocolate for the kids but they are beginning to like some of the dark ones now too
Seaweed stuff - Sushi wrappers, Dulse, Wakame
FREEZER:
Nuts: we have a big variety - cashews, pecans, walnuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, flaxseeds and flaxseedmeal (great for baked goods and smoothies), every kind, I keep them in the freezer to keep them fresh since they have a high fat content which can lead to them going rancid quickly
Frozen fruit are great for smoothies. Any fresh fruit that doesn't get eaten gets frozen. Frozen fruit are also great to put in a juicer to make mock ice cream or even just to eat right out of the bag.
Frozen veggies are good to have on hand for frittatas, stews, etc. but I prefer fresh.
Grassfed Meats/Pastured Free Roaming Organic Poultry/Wild Alaskan Seafood - grassfed ground beef, lamb, turkey, grassfed bison, bacon, burgers, skirt steaks, salmon, halibut, a variety of cuts and kinds of meats and fish
Frozen pre-made meals that I made extra including Chicken & Beef Stock, Stews, Soups (lots of soups), breakfast muffins, desserts
I store Wheat Germ and Whole Wheat products in the freezer or anything I buy in bulk
Flax oil - great to add to smoothies or salad dressings
Eggs - organic, preferably pastured
Fresh Fruits, Veggies and Herbs - LOTS of Fruits & Veggies - and a great variety!
Cultured Veggies, Pickles, Olives
Miso
Kombucha (have to learn how to make it myself)
Organic Deli Meats, but not that much since they are not usually grassfed, when I can find grassfed nitrite-free deli meats, we have our way with those
When I cook an item I use a lot, I make extra and freeze it including:
soups - especially when veggies are plentiful (or about to go bad) like Roasted Pepper Soup, Broccoli soup, and of course Chicken and Beef Stock
basil spinach pesto - I freeze and then I can add that to anything from stews to pizza to frittatas or anywhere I need to add some greens and some flavor. Link here to see other GREENS tips.
baked goods - desserts, cakes, muffins, pancakes, waffles, all of these freeze very well and that way it's there when you need it when friends pop by
More Meal-Make-In-A-Hurry Tips -
make extra - use leftovers and create something new, heat them up as is for leftovers the next day, freeze them for another day
I'll make meatballs and freeze them uncooked to use another time: drop them into soup, braise them, cook them in the oven - ready to go and I know what went into them!
freeze peeled GINGER, I peel it and freeze it. It grates easily frozen, no need to thaw, and that way I always have some on had to grate into any dish with my micro-rasper.
freeze any fresh fruit or vegetable you don't use in time for use later
fresh fruits and vegetable preparation - I cut up apples and swoosh them in orange juice to keep them from browning and use as a quick snack; cut up celery and carrots and have on hand in the fridge ready to grab. The kids will grab those with nut butter as a snack. I take fresh herbs and rinse them, shake off the excess water, and wrap them in a kitchen towel and put them in a refrigerator drawer ready to use.
I take meat, fish, poultry out of the freezer every couple of days to plan my menu for the next several days
sauces make a meal, adding a sauce can change it and make it really delicious
extra soup can be used the next day or frozen for another day - be sure to label the frozen food with a date and what it is (maybe even the ingredients or the name of the recipe so you know what it is and what it includes in case of allergies in visitors or new allergies)
extra rice can be used the next day to make a chicken/beef/pork/veggie-fried rice
stews incorporate veggies, meats, broth, everything in one hearty bowl, I tend to make quite a bit of stews since they are fast to put together, can be crock-potted, are satisfying and nutritious.
breakfast for dinner - the kids love eggs, frittatas (great way to mix veggies in), pancakes, omelets, so much you can do with eggs! We tend to have a bigger lunch.
oh for my daughter's birthday party I made sandwiches cut up in flower and other shapes and saved all the crusts and used that to make an easy bread pudding with eggs, honey, vanilla, orange zest, milk.
don't toss the bones from roasted chicken, you can use that to make a rich chicken stock, add in the parsley stems that you didn't use fresh
Favorite kitchen gadgets and things I could not live without -
GlassPyrex dishes. These are great for storing, come in a variety of sizes, can be used to reheat things straight from the fridge as long as you start them in a cold oven, and can even be used to store things in the freezer! There are containers, mixing bowls, all with tops and in a variety of sizes. They are glass but the tops are plastic. I just try not to overfill them so the top doesn't touch the plastic and I wait for the leftovers to cool before putting the top on the container.
Immersion Blender- without a doubt my number one favorite kitchen gadget is my Immersion Hand Blender. I have a Braun, 400 watts, but there are others out there. I use this for making everything including salad dressings, soups, sauces. I use it practically every day. It's easy to use, easy to clean up, and makes cooking from scratch a snap. I cannot imagine preparing food without it.
Hand-held Grater for grating cheese into sauces, soups and sandwiches, it's easier than the big food processor
Cheese Slicer saves money from buying pre-sliced cheese and does a great job. Plus when you slice it yourself, it's fresher and, if you're getting cheese wrapped in plastic, the whole block has less surface area touching the plastic so less change of leaching.
Food Processor - it doesn't get as much work in my house but is handy to have
Juicer - we haven't been using it as much lately and I don't recommend it if you have a good blender like a Vitamix. The problem with my juicer is that with a family of 6, every time I juice for us it takes forever and then clean-up is not a snap, but I do believe it's important to juice veggies, especially leafy greens.
Blender - we use our blender practically every day to make morning smoothies for the kids. I add frozen fruit, milk, honey, sometimes a couple green leaves, chia seeds (for omega 3s), vanilla and blend BUT my goal this year is to get a Vitamix as they are super powerful for smoothies and juicing greens and for my new step into good food: grinding fresh grains
Cast Iron Pots and Enameled Cast Iron - of every shape and size to do the job right. if you have any nonstick or silverstone pots and pans, get rid of them and don't buy any more, they are harmful to our bodies and the planet, I'll write a post on that another time.
Dehydrator - this is good for everything from keeping home-made yogurt at the right temp to making your own fruit leathers
Silicone Spatula, Tongs, Poultry Shears, thin but wide stainless Spatula, Slotted Stainless Spoon, utensils important for the job. If you find this post or my blog helpful, I'd appreciate you linking on the affiliates the next time you want to buy something to help support my writing habit - Thank You!
For Packing Lunches:
This year my kids are back in school. We found this wonderful Montessori school and they are loving it and I do too. I do miss our family big lunches each day and the time together, but they get home so excited with much to tell me. I make the kids lunch each day and usually add a note. Planning and the proper containers make this easier.
I warm up and add leftovers to a stainless steel thermos after filling it with hot water so it stays warm. I make sandwiches on sprouted wheat bread with no nitrate deli meats or cheeses. They love yogurt and I usually add no sugar cookies or pretzels for dipping.
I make raw meatballs "batter" (meat, Parmesan cheese, oats, milk, tomato sauce, seasoning, maybe some basil pesto) and keep it in the fridge to make meatballs and rice for their lunch fresh in the morning; they love those meatballs.
I make panini sandwiches and wrap them in recycled aluminum foil. If using aluminum be sure not to use it on anything acid next to it, to buy recycled foil and to, in turn, recycle it. Aluminum is a killer on the planet to source but can be recycled indefinitely!
Some nifty things for making lunches eco-friendly and healthful include:
You'll notice what I do NOT have because the ingredients on the manufactured ones are poor:
Granola, Granola Bars - store ones contain soy oil, canola oil, bad fats, sugar, all to avoid and it's actually pretty easy and MUCH more delicious to make yourself, I'll post our recipe fave with pictures soon as I'm due to make more
Cold Cereal - they normally contain sugar, corn, preservatives, even the organic varieties have things I don't like and I just don't believe cereal is good for us, it starts our day on carbs and the grain is not natural (it's puffed or extruded)
Salad Dressing - so easy to make your own, so much more delicious, ones on the market are gmo, soy oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, even organic ones don't taste good and use bad oils, sugars
Frozen Meals and Pre-packaged foods - we make our own "pancake mix" and things like that, it's really easy and doesn't take so much time, there is just a learning curve, as with anything worthwhile in life
"White" stuff - plain old white sugar, white flour, white iodized salt, white rice
Artificial Sweeteners like Splenda, Asparatame, Saccharine - we use dates, safer sweeteners like xylitol, honey, maple syrup (lots of maple syrup!), date sugar, there are other sweet options
"Health" Foods and gimmicky stuff like Acai, unfermented soy stuff, power bars (except we do like Larabars, but they aren't organic so we don't induge that often)
Traditional Deli Meats - they contain nitrates which convert to nitrosamines that are carcinogenic
"Vegetable" oil like corn, soy, canola, peanut - these are all bad oils, some are even touted as "health" food but the research shows otherwise, more on that later
most prepackaged foods. Typical shelf stable non-organic foods contain HFCS, MSG, hydrogenated oils, and artificial colors. Organic foods don't, so it's easy for us to avoid those things but sometimes artificial flavors, MSG, non-GMO soy and corn do lurk in even organic pre-packaged foods so it's important to read labels and KNOW what you're reading.
Soda, even organic, it's just liquid candy so we don't buy it
Juices - the whole fruit and vegetable is much better than a pasteurized juice which is just full of sugar. We don't drink much juice, we have some on hand but it's not a staple that I must have nor do we drink a lot of it, not really health food
Potato Chips, even organic ones, the oil isn't good since they use cheap stuff for their own bottom line and the process of frying them creates acrylamides which are carcinogenic
any grain-fed meats or regular conventional rBGH agri-biz dairy
most name brands, there are some organic brands we now get but we tend to shy from big name brands just because the product quality ingredients deteriorate to make way for higher profit margins
Eating and preparing real food to me means being frugal with each item and really using everything you can, but it's not always easy. I believe in taking time in preparing and cooking food when possible. Making a meal with love adds flavor, nutrition, and to the pleasurable experience for the one making the food and those enjoying it. We all have our hurried moments, and for those days, which can be many in today's busy world, time-saving tips and being prepared with a good pantry and the right kitchen tools can help us eat healthy in a hurry.
I am really looking forward to reading all the posts for the real food Wednesdays carnival this week and incorporating more ways to save time in the kitchen from these hip, smart, eco-mamas writing these blogs.
* Organic * Humanely raised (animals on pasture, not in factories) * Grown locally when possible * Whole and unrefined (real maple syrup instead of high-fructose corn syrup) * Processed as little as possible (raw milk instead of pasteurized and homogenized) * Nutrient-dense (enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) * Free of additives and preservatives * Free of synthetic and chemical ingredients * Not genetically modified * Traditionally produced and prepared
In other words, butter or lard instead of shortening or vegetable oil. Real milk from a cow instead of soy milk. Real sprouted flour (ground fresh or purchased) instead of refined white flour. Real, natural sweeteners like honey or unrefined cane sugar (rapadura or sucanat) instead of white sugar.
If it’s highly processed and/or doesn’t come from nature, it’s not real food!
We’re not saying you have to be perfect (nobody is) but try to feature real foods in your recipes and minimize the junk like vegetable oil and refined sugar and additives.
I was raised to be aware of artificial colors and hydrogenated oils so we didn't get much candy or packaged cookies at home but I never really understood why and you'd better believe that as soon as I hit school, I inhaled the latest kind of every colorful piece I could find. My friends all thought we were health nuts and I guess comparatively, we kind of were, but, oddly enough, we really were not. We had plenty of sugar in our house, we went through many 5lb bags regularly. We ate a lot of cereal and bread, my mom made homemade bread as I got older. We guzzled regular (not organic) skim milk, pasteurized and from cows shot up on growth hormones and living in small confined areas. We ate regular eggs from hens in coops so tight they had their beaks clipped. We used margarine over butter, it was the healthier alternative then. Our meat was mostly kosher so they got a little more room to move but I'm sure they were fed grain, not healthy for cows; I'm not sure if genetic modifications were big back then but as the years passed, I'm sure they were fed gmo corn and soy. The veggies were mostly overcooked, not very delicious, not organic, and we were not encouraged to drink water.
When I moved out on my own I ate whatever without much regard but did pretty much keep away from artificial colors and flavors, out of habit. But my diet wasn't good. And my body felt the effects of it even though I exercised and looked pretty healthy on the outside.
Life changes when you are responsible for someone other than yourself. Pregnant with my first child, my husband and I really started thinking about what I ate to nourish the baby and we started reading and making small changes.
After he started to eat solids, we realized we needed to get into organics and make greater commitments to our health and so our journey into truly real food began. As well as our journey to change how we lived, our footprint on the planet, our understanding for how our purchase impacted others in the world, and to use real products to clean instead of chemicals.
I was just speaking with someone the other day and she asked if I felt healthier. The truth is that we, as a society, don't know how unhealthy we truly are until we change our diet. Then we can feel the difference.
You can tell a lot about a person from their, well, output. Many of us, I was included, thought it was normal to have uncomfortable poops. It's not! Stomach cramps, pains, headaches, constipation, diarrhea, all of this that we live with everyday like it is the way our bodies are meant to work, but it's not. We see commercials on TV to help make these "regular" symptoms tolerable from antacid to laxatives and pain medication because this is our normal. Once we start eating REAL food, we know the truth. But money drives corporations so we are force fed a bunch of convenience pre-packaged foods created with artificial flavorings from fossil fuels and from things that were once food but were raised on sterile farms poisoned with chemicals to enhance our fast-paced life which causes us to need more meds in order to live comfortably.
How has my life changed? I feel alive! I am alive. I have a connection with my food and my family. I take time to create and appreciate each meal (and I usually make three meals a day for the six of us.) My children understand and I have confidence in the choices they make. We make a conscious decision every time we put something in our mouths or make a purchase.
My children taste. When we travel, our biggest luggage is our food. On our way back from Disney World we were running late and hence had run out of food. We stopped at a fast food place (how many of my friends had looked at me like I was a child abuser for never taking them for fast food!) and figured, well, once wouldn't kill them. They had seen the commercials, so you know, happiness comes in a bag. Well, they looked at it and took one bite, spit it out and asked "what is this?" They were right! It really doesn't even taste good. It doesn't taste like real food because it isn't food at all.
My children understand what food is, what it is for, and that it SHOULD taste delicious always. They have respect for the earth, for real food and our connection to the planet. They know that we impact our environment and that each of us must make choices for our own health and the future of our planet. And because they understand, they make good informed choices by themselves. When there is candy at school, they use it to barter for other things their friends have or they give it away. (Really, I actually have had teachers call me to ask if something was wrong because they wouldn't eat the cake, candy or even pizza that was offered.) My children are smart. They know that when they get home they will have some truly yummy food made with real ingredients, including love.
Join the Real Food Wednesday Carnival. Add your testimonial by heading over to Cheeseslave
What’s Real Food?
Real food is whole, natural, and nutrient-dense.
* Organic * Humanely raised (animals on pasture, not in factories) * Grown locally when possible * Whole and unrefined (real maple syrup instead of high-fructose corn syrup) * Processed as little as possible (raw milk instead of pasteurized and homogenized) * Nutrient-dense (enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) * Free of additives and preservatives * Free of synthetic and chemical ingredients * Not genetically modified * Traditionally produced and prepared
In other words, butter or lard instead of shortening or vegetable oil. Real milk from a cow instead of soy milk. Real sprouted flour (ground fresh or purchased) instead of refined white flour. Real, natural sweeteners like honey or unrefined cane sugar (rapadura or sucanat) instead of white sugar.
If it’s highly processed and/or doesn’t come from nature, it’s not real food!
We’re not saying you have to be perfect (nobody is) but try to feature real foods in your recipes and minimize the junk like vegetable oil and refined sugar and additives.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is a readily used sweetener in processed foods in the U.S.. And, according to the HFCSfacts site, may even be a health food:
"In terms of composition, high fructose corn syrup is nearly identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. Glucose is one of the simplest forms of sugar that serves as a building block for most carbohydrates. Fructose is a simple sugar commonly found in fruits and honey. ...Research confirms that high fructose corn syrup is safe and nutritionally the same as table sugar. ...It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients. "
So it's a natural thing, just like fruit, sugar cane, and honey and serves as the building blocks for carbs. It's completely safe and "all natural." Even the calories are about the same in high fructose corn syrup as in sugar. What a relief!
"High-fructose corn syrup could be all-natural, if cornstarch happened to fall into a vat of alpha-amylase, soak there for a while, then trickle into another vat of glucoamylase, get strained to remove the Aspergillus fungus [like peanuts, corn can grow this mycotoxin, a toxic mold (see peanut scare for more info.)] likely growing on top, and then find its way into some industrial-grade D-xylose isomerase." Dr. Mercola
HFCS is about as pure as this complicated chemical process naturally occurring in our world.
HFCS rise in popularity coincides with the rising obesity and diabetes in our country but that may be coincidence since there was also the rise in fast foods and processed foods generally during this same time.
There is probably some link to the rising use of HFCS and the effects it has had on our food consumption because things like soda, tantalize our sweet taste buds but never satiate us, causing us to want and eat more. But on the front page of the HFCSfacts site it clearly states:
The American Medical Association (AMA) recently concluded that "high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners."
That's because a calorie is a calorie, and sugar and HFCS do contain about the same number of calories per unit. And true, they both contain fructose and glucose. But since HFCS is man-made, it can range anywhere from 42% to up to 90% fructose. That's not exactly the same composition as naturally occurring sugar. Having a higher fructose amount sounds good intuitively. Fructose sounds like fruit and is found in fruit so we assume it must be healthier than glucose:
"but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of the rats on the high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic." Dr. Field
Our body breaks down sugar, 100% sucrose, into glucose and fructose. Our body regulates the rate of this breakdown to control the release and absorption of the sugars into our bloodstream. HFCS consists of fructose and glucose too so it was seen as similar to sugar. But the body cannot regulate the absorption of this sweetener in the same way. The liver turns excess fructose more readily into fat in the body than it does glucose. The way our body metabolizes foods is one of the reasons why HFCS has been cited as a culprit for increased risks in diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, and obesity.
High Fructose Corn Syrup was created in 1970, so there is not much of a history. HFCS is not a sweetener our grandmothers used. Sugar had been the primary sweetener, created from sugar-beets and cane sugar. High Fructose Corn Syrup is more readily used in the U.S. where corn is cheap (and subsidized by our government, but that's another post!) and where, in 1977, tariffs were added to sugar making imported sugar more expensive. No studies have been done on the long term effects of HFCS on human beings, well, except for the massive experiment they are doing on our population since 1970 with us as unknowing guinea pigs. Our country looks differently since 1970. It tastes differently too. Never before in history have so many people consumed so much fructose.
And though the HFCS commercials explain that everything is "fine in moderation," the fact is that you must work to avoid excess HFCS. It is a key ingredient in more than just soda and candy. It can be found in virtually every processed food including condiments (ketchup, salad dressings), snacks (crackers, cookies, cereal bars), frosting, jam & jelly, ice cream, "wholesome" breads, and even some "health foods" like yogurts, energy bars and fruit juices.
Manufacturers use HFCS because it is a super-cheap sweetener despite the complicated process to create it. It is easy to transport and use. It adds texture and helps preserve foods for a longer shelf-life. Talk about efficient, one bushel of corn produces enough corn syrup to sweeten 324 cans of soda. It is found in nearly every single non-organic processed foods.
Along with HFCS, we, as a nation and individually, are consuming way too much corn. Check out this great video on Mercola called CORNOGRAPHY. If you are eating processed foods, grain-fed meats (corn fattens up cattle cheaply and is not what cows are meant to eat (see Alphabet Soup: rbgh for some information on grassfed dairy and meats.), eggs laid by vegetarian-fed hens, then you are most certainly eating too much corn. And let's not forget, corn is a starch, a grain; it is not a vegetable.
It's most probably corn if the ingredient list of the product contains:
Baking Powder
Confectioner’s or Powdered Sugar
Corn Oil
Corn Syrup
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Grain-fed or grain-finished Beef
Dextrin or Dextrine
Dextrose
Food Starch
Fructose
Fructose And Fructose Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Malt
Malt Extract
Malt Syrup
Maltodextrin - made from corn and used in foods for a creamy texture, at a minimum, look for organic in food ingredients
Monosodium Glutamate
MSG
Sorbitol
Starch
Vegetarian-fed Eggs
Vegetable Oil (though it's usually a combination of soy, corn, cottonseed and maybe peanut)
Xanthan Gum
By the way, regular corn syrup (you know, the kind home cooks use for pecan pie) is not the same as HFCS as it is 100% glucose which is more easily metabolized by our bodies, but still is a corn product. Also important to point out, some honeys may try to use cheap HFCS to expand their bottom line and lower the price of their honey. This is illegal and the government does check for it, but you should be aware of the possibility of this occurring.
In addition, and very importantly, conventionally raised corn is most certainly genetically modified (see Alphabet Soup: gmo) and the enzymes used to create HFCS are GMO as well.
And now we find out, HFCS may even contain Mercury:
Environmental Health published a study recently with the shocking revelation that HFCS contained trace amounts of mercury. The vast majority of popular name-brand foods tested positive. The mercury comes from the process used to create HFCS from cornstarch. Of course the corn refineries refuted and extolled the virtues of HFCS.
I'll post more on mercury later but suffice to say that mercury is a prevalent carcinogenic toxin. It escapes into our water systems, soil, and air from coal-fired power plants and from agricultural use in some pesticides and fungicides (so ironically the very corn that is grown for HFCS could have been a culprit in releasing the mercury into our environment.)
Mercury is a cumulative poison which means it accumulates in muscle tissue over time. It heads for the brain where it can stop nutrients from entering the cells and it can bind to immune cells as a factor in auto-immune disorders. Significant levels can cause depression, arthritis, fatigue, insomnia, and mercury poisoning. It can cause permanent neurological damage, fertility problems, and birth defects.
Though prevalent, there are ways to lessen our risk of this poison and one of them may now be to avoid HFCS. I'll add more tips on ways to avoid mercury in a post soon. And even if this study had flaws, as HFCSfacts has come out to say, there are so many other reasons to avoid HFCS, it really doesn't matter.
While it is important for all of us to lessen our intake of too many sweets generally and focus on good nutritionally valued whole real foods, our children should avoid HFCS, gmo and rbgh products. We should work to lessen our family intake of corn and processed pre-packaged foods. Read labels to avoid the ingredients posted above. If you haven't yet, begin by limiting (and never allow children to drink) sodas, no matter the sweetener. Only purchase real juice (especially for kids) and limit intake of juice generally. Limiting sweeteners and sweet drinks (liquid candy) and limiting corn products will go a long way toward helping us get healthier.
We can live sustainable, healthier, more fulfilled lives (see Lean & Green: How to Live Sustainably and on a Budget) while protecting our children and preventing the diseases that have run rampant in recent years. Getting back to basics includes real food; nourishing our lives starts in our home kitchen. Links for more Reading:
When we have toddlers and start thinking about changing our eating habits, the first place most of us start is in the dairy section. And it's a good idea since our kids are gulping gallons of the stuff. On a conventional dairy farm, the cows are injected with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormones) to keep them a pumpin'! Any nursin' mama can feel for these dairy cows and their discomfort of engorgement and the results including possible mastitis and infection. In addition, the conventional dairy farm houses packs them in to maximize profits. Many of the cows live their entire lives in small stalls. Living conditions like this are not conducive to good health and therefore they are routinely given antibiotics to combat disease which would grow rampant throughout the farm. Let's face it, unhealthy conditions cannot produce nutritious milk for our children.
rBGH shortens the (albeit not so pleasant) lives of the these cows by as much as thirteen years! These hormones can also cause reproductive problems including giving birth to deformed calves, digestive and gastrointestinal problems, and persistent sores on the cows. It is done purely for profit's sake. (picture courtesy Just Braise linked below under Resources)
Banned in Europe and Canada, the U.S. has decided to continue this harmful practice. Known as BGH, rBGH, BST, and rBST, this a Genetically Engineered (GMO) hormone that has been used since 1994. There have been no long term studies of the effects of this in our bodies or in our children; like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and GMO (genetically modified organisms), we are walking experiments. When we drink milk contaminated with rBGH, it is absorbed into our bloodstream where it can affect hormones in our body.
Milk from dairy cows pumped with rBGH contain very high levels of a natural growth factor quite similar to the natural growth factor in us humans. It is an insulin-like growth factor (IGF) so there is reason to believe that it does something to our bodies, especially to our growing children. It is a suspected cause in the early onset of puberty in our young girls. Increased levels of these hormones have been found in the blood of people with cancer. It is a suspected cause of cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate. Rick North, director of Oregon's safe food campaign for Physicians for Social Responsibility says, "We don't have 100% proof. But there is a lot of scientific data that gives us great cause for concern."
Important Points:
rBGH makes the cows sick, uncomfortable, and shortens their lives. Calves born to cows treated with the hormone have an increased chance of birth defects. The hormones make the cows make milk more than is normal causing engorgement and therefore constant milking. Engorgement causes mastitis which can lead to infection. The pus and bacteria from the mastitis can be found in the milk itself. Antibiotics (some illegal) used to treat the mastitis are also added to the mix and have been detected in the resulting milk.
Antibiotics are routinely used to keep the cows from getting sick in their tight living conditions in a conventional industrial farm.
rBGH is a GE (genetically engineered) hormone created by Monsanto; a cow cell is spliced with DNA from bacteria.
The milk from rBGH cows is chemically and nutritionally subpar when compared to milk from organic and grass-fed dairy. Conventional rBGH dairy has less protein and more saturated fat. Cows pumped with rBGH have an increased concentration of thyroid hormone enzyme thyorixin-5-monodeiodinase (long chain) and decrease of short chain fatty acids.
Cancer patients were found to have increased levels of IGF-1 hormone therefore rBGH is a suspected carcinogen. This growth hormone, which mocks the growth hormone of humans, is believed to be the the reason girls are developing earlier than years ago.
Canadian and European dairy products, including much beloved imported cheeses, do not contain rBGH as it has been banned.
Milk in the U.S. is treated with rBGH unless labeled rBGH-free or organic. Ben & Jerry's proudly uses milk that does not contain the growth hormone as depicted in the ad above.
Organic farms may not use rBGH, antibiotics, or genetically engineered grain to feed their cows. Almost all dairy cows are grain-fed for convenience. The organic dairy cows are fed grain or hay that has not been treated with herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizer.
Organic dairy farms must offer the cows an opportunity to roam. There are some farms, like Horizon, that push the bare minimum of organic standards and basically walk the cows out and around and back in the barn while other brands are more caring of the animals. Conventional farms are most assuredly using GMO grain since it is so widespread in the U.S. while organic farms can only use organic grains, but remember that cows are meant to eat grass not grain so grass-fed dairy is always the best choice.
Grass-fed animals are not crammed together since they need room to graze so routine antibiotics are not necessary.
Organic, rBGH-free, and grass-fed dairy products do tend to be more expensive. And it's understandable when you see how much less milk that cow creates as compared with the poor engorged cow. In addition think about how much more pasture each cow needs to graze as compared with the conventional industrial farm. The price can make it seem an unaffordable option, but if your family is like mine, they drink so much milk that I cannot afford not to make sure their bodies are not pumped up with hormones and antibiotics; their future health is at stake and this is a priority to me. Remember my rule of thumb is to change what your family consumes MOST to have the biggest impact on their health and future.
A Word about Pasteurization: Years back pasteurization was necessary for sanitary reasons, but today we have indoor plumbing and clean living environments. Many organic brands go beyond regular pasteurization and are UHT, Ultra High Temperature Pasteurized to protect their more expensive milk with a longer shelf life. The high heat of the pasteurization process changes the composition of milk and how it is digested in our bodies. Pasteurization allows the casein (which may lead to lactose-intolerance: bloating, gas, diarrhea, cramps) to move into our blood stream.
Pasteurization of the milk kills valuable enzymes so many believe that Raw Milk, especially fermented (kefir, yogurt) raw dairy is really the best healthful food.
If you are interested, please contact: Miller's Organic Farm 648 Mill Creek School Road Bird In Hand, PA 17505 (717) 556-0672
Amos Miller offers raw cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, cow's milk (whole, skim; in glass, in plastic), goat's milk, goat yogurt, buttermilk, cream cheese, whey, sour cream, cream, cheeses (cheddar, colby, jack; salted and unsalted), butter (salted, unsalted, cultured), and colostrum as well as breads, pickles and other items. The farm is organic. The cows are grass-fed and are fed a high forage diet; they are not fed any grain to ensure a higher quality, more nourishing, and better tasting product. Amos is a good person. You will enjoy speaking with him. Let him know that Annie sent you (I don't get a kickback or compensated for this, it's just so he knows how you found him.)
Dairy cows that are treated more naturally and humanely with a better quality of life in turn create a better quality, more nutritious and more delicious milk. No matter the choice you make for you and your family, it is clear, organic is much better than conventional, grass-fed is much better than grain-fed, and low to no pasteurization is much better than ultra high temperature.
Once we have kids, things change. Our love grows, our bodies change, and choices that didn't matter yesterday become big decisions today that impact health and the future of our environment.
Ahh for the care-free days when ignorance was bliss. But we're mamas now. The decisions we make impact lives, and important lives at that, of the cutest most loved ones on this planet. The decisions we make today on what they will eat and what we use on and around their body impact their health today and will continue to have an effect on their future, as well as the health of the planet in which they will grow and hopefully raise their children. It matters now. So we read. We research. We get confused. We throw up our hands not knowing what to do but still knowing that we should do something.
Hip Organic Mama is a modern mama's perspective on how to apply what we learn to real life. I research both sides, I offer you my perspective and try to include links on both points of view so you can research it for yourself. Then I look for solutions. I look for products or better ways to do things that I apply to my family. If it works for me, hopefully it will help you too.
I didn't study this in school. After graduating from law school I worked to help others do the same; then I worked for Westlaw providing research for attorneys, so food and nutrition is quite a leap. But I have a real passion for food. I love fresh veggies and fruits, colorful and crisp. I love how it looks, smells, feels. I love to eat. I love to cook. When others enjoy what I make, I glow.
That passion for food, and the lack of quality fresh organic produce in our area took me on a turn. I ended up starting an organic grocery delivery service that was well loved for five years. Then our time to expand coupled with the downward economy collided and we were forced to close. I learned a lot about the food industry. I learned things that shocked me as a consumer and I'll be sharing some of those here in my blog. I also learned how to cook veggies that didn't sell out each week in those early years (after that we donated extras to local food shelters twice a week.) I learned how to cook quickly, nutritiously (using lots of different kinds of veggies creatively so even the kids liked them) and deliciously and I will share our family faves with you.
I have always loved to research. I have been researching food and health for over ten years now, when I was pregnant with my first child. I combine my research with my experience in the food industry (and picky kids) to bring you a mamas take on all this. While many sites explain the problem, I was frustrated without suggestions to change. I don't pretend to know the answers to everything, but I do promise to research tirelessly to find the answer to your questions so that we can have healthy children who can support one another in a sustainable world. Thanks for doing your part to tread gently on our planet and make the world, yourself, and your loved ones healthier -
Posts
![](http://www.blogtopsites.com/localdir/food-drink/"><img style="border:none" src="http://www.blogtopsites.com/v_7771.gif){kind=small}
