food, real food

I grew up on a home cooked meal almost every night.  Thanks to my mom, I learned that dinner should be made from ingredients--not a box.  That's not to say we never ate food from a box, but it tended to be on only extra busy nights.  We'd occasionally have fish sticks before Wednesday night church or a frozen pizza if we were left home alone, but all of the rest of the days, we sat down to a meal made from real food. 

I didn't always appreciate it at as a kid...my mom loved to try new recipes and some of them were  not considered favorites by my pre-teen pallet.  However, I realized, when I reached adulthood and found myself cooking for one in my small downtown studio, that the idea of making food from anything other than real ingredients wasn't really an option for me.  When I first started grocery shopping, I often found myself looking at the ingredients on the box and the unit price for what I was paying for.  I was sometimes amazed that I could put in just a little extra time, make the "same" thing from scratch, and save a ton of money!  Not to mention, the end product usually tasted much better and was better for me!  Pizza crust, pie dough, bread, soup, macaroni & cheese, alfredo sauce, all of these things I found were really simple to make at home and they didn't really take that much time to make.  When I compared the cost and the taste, for me, it was an obvious choice to fill my shopping cart with a few staple ingredients and to leave the pre-made foods at the store.

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This rule, for me, holds true today and has grown into a complete lifestyle.  As we've learned more and more about the things the food industry sneaks into our food and the loss of nutritional value that happens during processing, our desire to put real, whole foods into our bodies has intensified.  I've found that over the past few years, the foods that fill our kitchen shelves and cupboards have even simplified.  Where there used to be several different boxes of cereal, there now sits a jar of oatmeal and a canister of homemade granola.  A shelf which once held cans of chicken broth, is now filled with a few different types of grains, nuts, and dried beans, while frozen jars of homemade broth fill my freezer.  The simplicity of what's needed to run my kitchen, has carried over into my shopping as well.  Instead of making a huge list once a month of all the different ingredients I need for this recipe and that, I'm finding that I now have most of those ingredients in my house.  More on that to come...but for now...

...back to whole foods.  While for some, I know the idea of making food from scratch can seem overwhelming, I also know that for others it may just be something that you may not have thought about.  For me, I've found that I've tended to buy things that I'm comfortable with.  My husband recently asked me why we had cocktail sauce in the fridge (and for how long we'd had it...).  I, of course, said it was for fish/seafood, but then found myself wondering what all goes into cocktail sauce...and is it really something that I need to keep in my fridge, or could I just whip it up if the need for it suddenly arose??  The answer was, yes!  It's super easy to make! Just mix a little ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and horseradish...voilà! For me, its been those little realizations over the past few years that have really propelled me down this trail of whole foods.  The ideas for the prepared foods we now buy, had to have started in a kitchen with real ingredients at some point, right?? (Well, maybe not Fruit Loops...but that's another story...)

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So, I thought I share with you a few of the things that I make from scratch instead of buying--not for you to feel overwhelmed or like you're not doing enough, but rather to inspire and invite you to join me on this journey of whole foods.  It's amazing the things you can easily make in your kitchen with just a bit of effort!  And trust me, the results--both in taste and nutrition--far outweigh the convenience of the boxed versions.  I've included links for a few of the recipes that I use, and I'll also be sharing some of my own recipe versions over the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned.  

  • Grains and Doughs
    • bread (I make almost all of the bread that we eat, in many different forms)
    • biscuits
    • crackers
    • granola
    • pie crust (I use Julia Child's recipe)
    • pizza dough
    • popcorn (popped on the stove in a bit of oil)
  • Meats & Beans
    • chicken bone broth (recipe to come)
    • whole chicken (meaning I only buy whole chickens, not breasts, not thighs, just whole uncut birds)
    • cooked beans (I buy mostly dried beans, cook them, and freeze them)
    • gravy
    • soups (any and all...soups are the easiest thing to make from scratch)
  • Desserts
    • brownies
    • cakes
    • cookies
    • pie fillings
    • pudding
    • whipped cream (yup...leave the Reddi-wip and the Cool Whip at the store...)
  • Dairy
    • kefir
    • shredded cheese (meaning we only buy blocks of cheese)
  • Condiments & Sauces
    • alfredo sauce for fettuccini  
    • apple butter
    • cheese sauce for macaroni 
    • jam
    • mustard
    • pickles
    • sauerkraut
    • salad dressing
  • Spices, Seasonings, & Extracts
    • vanilla
    • taco seasoning
    • pumpkin pie spice (just use the individual spices)
    • Italian spice (just use the individual spices)
    • poultry spice (once again...just use the individual spices)

If you're looking for an easy place to start with real, home cooking, get yourself a good, basic cookbook.  I recommend this big 'ole Betty Crocker version.  Most of the recipes use whole, real ingredients and it's full of pictures and how-to's to really educate you on all things related to homemade food.  I use mine on a weekly basis.  

If you're looking for some good information on topics such as whole foods, processed foods, traditional foods, here are some resources that I've found super helpful/interesting.

Changing the way you eat/cook can, and probably should, be something that you do over a period of time.  If it's something you're interested in doing, then pick one new thing to start making.  Once that one thing has become a part of your life, add another.  Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by it.  And when life gets really busy, order a pizza, relax, and get back to cooking tomorrow.  That's what I do, anyway. 

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healthy bodies, happy lives

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."  -Hippocrates 

We've become a culture with so many health problems and illnesses, that people seem to just be used to getting sick.  Vaccination signs are everywhere.  Prescription drug commercials fill our TV screens and radio waves.  And there are multiple brands of any kind of over-the-counter drug you could ever need or want and they all claim to fix whatever ails you. 

So, with all of these ways of "fixing" sickness, why the heck is our society still so sick?!?!

In our house, we've decided to take a different approach to staying healthy.  We spend so much time as a society trying to kill germs, but what if we instead spent all that time on just building up our immune systems to be able to fight off those germs?  I believe that our bodies were created to heal themselves; they just need the right fuel.  This is where food comes in.  

About a year and half ago, Dan and I started doing some research on the food that feeds us.  We started learning all about conventional produce, conventional meat/dairy, and GMO's.  What we learned set us down a path of finding better food.  As we've slowly transitioned to a mostly organic, grass-fed, and local diet, we've noticed that overall, we've been a lot healthier!  It has now been a year and half since I've been sick with any sort of cold, flu, or bug.  I've had a day here or there when I've felt a bit run-down or a little scratchiness in my throat, but my body has been able to kick it by the next day.  Dan has had a similar experience.  He's had one or two colds over the past year, but they've been short and rather insignificant compared to the full on sicknesses we were both used to dealing with once or twice each year in the past.  

So, what has changed?!  I've always been one to cook mostly whole foods, mostly from scratch.  I grew up with food like that and I've always been a bit turned off by anything that comes in a box.  So, with that being said, the types of foods I'm buying has not really changed, but the quality of that food has.  

We've also learned multiple ways to give our immune systems an extra boost when we feel that our bodies need it.  So, now that the cold and flu season is quickly approaching, I thought I'd share some of the things we do to stay healthy in our house.  I'll briefly highlight those things today and then share more in-depth about them over the weeks to come.  

  • We eat good, whole foods.  There is so much to say about this (and I will definitely do so later), but for now, if you haven't done any research on the benefits of whole foods, organic produce, grass-fed meat and dairy, and the potential/unknown dangers of GMO's, then I highly encourage you to do so.  Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to these matters.  Take responsibility for what goes in your mouth and do some research!  The bottom line is that we are what our food eats.  In the U.S., if we eat a conventional diet (with conventionally grown produced, conventionally raised meat/dairy, and highly processed foods) we are eating a diet filled with GMO corn and soybeans.  I'm not going to take the time now to fill this post with references and links, but stay tuned (or do some research), because there is so much to know and learn about this topic.  
  • We are active people.  We are not exercisers.  We literally don't exercise.  I'm in no way promoting a non-exercising lifestyle, as I do realize the great benefits of exercising.  However, I'm also not saying that we are couch potatoes.  Rather, both Dan and I work jobs where we are on our feet and moving around for a large majority of the day, and when we're not working, Dan's often out hunting, fishing, or working outside.  While I'm often moving around the house or yard working as well.  We stay busy and we keep moving.  We also are outside all of the time--even in the dead of winter.  I think this is a big factor in keeping us healthy.  We get fresh air and sunshine (whatever there is of it) almost everyday.  
  • We try to get good sleep on a regular basis.  Sleep plays such an important role in helping our bodies heal themselves.  However, we live in an over-worked and overly-tired society.  It can be hard to get good sleep.  And on top of that, we are also an overly-caffinated and overly-sugared society that struggles with sleeping problems.  In our house, sleep is important.  We are by no means great at this, but it's something that is often on our minds and in our conversations as we find ourselves feeling run-down and over-worked.  When we feel those first scratches of sickness in our throats, we make sure we do what we need to do to get ourselves to bed early for a long, good night's sleep.  It's amazing how effective good sleep can be.
  • We take large doses of vitamin C when we're feeling run-down.  While most of us know that vitamin C is good for the immune system, it's power is sometimes overlooked or forgotten.  We have a vitamin C, zinc, and echinacea supplement that we take on a fairly regular basis.  However, when we feel like our bodies are run-down or fighting something, we take double, triple, or quadruple the regular amount.  Now, I am not a doctor, and I'm not in any way saying that you should do this, but this is what we do and we've seen great results.  We've gone to bed feeling like we're on the verge of a nasty cold, taken vitamin C, and then woken up in the morning feeling as good as new.  Do your research and find a vitamin C supplement that is well-reviewed.  We use Melaleuca's  immune system support supplement and have been very happy with it.  If you want to know more about Melaleuca and their products, send me a note and I'll get you that info.
  • We start fighting colds as soon as we feel them coming on.  Whenever we get those initial cold symptoms (a little scratchiness, a runny nose, a tired body) we our bodies the fuel it needs to fight back.  Homemade bone broth is one of the ways that we fight back.  It's packed full of good things that help our bodies heal.   Another remedy we use is to make ginger/lemon tea.  I chop up fresh ginger and put it into a tea strainer.  Then I pour boiling water over it and let it steep for 5-10 minutes.  Squeeze in a bit of fresh lemon juice and add local raw honey to taste.  Ginger, lemon, and raw honey are each so good for you and the three combined with hot water often takes care of any cold symptoms we may be facing.  

Now, we are by no means perfectly healthy people all of the time, but since we've started viewing food differently, we noticed great improvements in our overall health.  We don't spend time being sick--which gives us much more time to just enjoy living life, which is a much better way to live.  Wouldn't you agree??

the seasonal shuffle

Fall has most definitely arrived.  The temperatures are dropping and the swirling, falling leaves are quietly whispering that winter is most certainly on its way.  With the changing of the seasons, my house tends to go through a few changes as well.  The sandals and slip-ons by the back door have been replaced with boots.  The mittens have found their way to the top of baskets.  The summer blankets for the yard are being moved to the basement and the warm living room blankets are taking their places.  The Crockpot has taken up residence on the shelf by the stove, in a place where it can slowly cook meats, broths, beans, soups, stews, and roasts for us during the long months ahead.  The napkins have found a new home (as they've been evicted in order to make room for the Crockpot).  A fern now graces our dining room in an attempt to make it through the winter so that it can be restored to the outside world come spring.  And the sundresses and tanks have been tucked away, so that the sweaters, wool skirts/pants, and cable-tights and long underwear can take their turns.  

While the seasonal shuffle can be a somewhat time consuming task, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it this year.  In part because it gave me a change to organize and clean (both of which were much needed!), and partly because I found myself really assessing each item's value.  Do we really need this napkin basket?  Why do I still have this shirt??  Am I really ever going to wear this again?  These shoes were pulled out for summer, but I don't really even like them.  And so the assessments continued.  I found myself purging more than I have in a long while.  It felt so good, so freeing.  You see, living in a small house somewhat limits the amount of things we can collect.  There is only so much room for coats and shoes (neither of which live in closets, since we have none...), and there is only so much room for clothes, and blankets, and kitchen items.  So, we prioritize, and organize, and purge.  One of the things that I've come to love about living with a little less is that it really does make life easier.  When there are less options, the decision making takes less time.  When there are less things, the cleanup goes much quicker.  When there is less to do, there is more time to simply enjoy life.

How about you?  What does the seasonal shuffle in your home look like?  

walls filled with books

I've always kind of had an obsession with books.  I love them.  I love how neat and organized the words are on each page.  I love the designs on the covers, be they old and simple, or new and beautiful.  And I love the smell.  I think I've probably smelled almost every fiction book that I've ever read.  Not just a little whiff, but a nose-to-the-binding deep inhale.  Ah, I love books!

New books are great--they smell like new paper and glue and they are crisp, clean, and all mine to break in.  Used books, though, they are my favorite.  They tell a story, not just with the words on their pages, but with their smell, with their dog-eared pages, and their stained covers.  They tell the stories of those who have devoured their words before me.  They tell the stories of those who love to read.  

This love for reading has prompted me on many occasion to head to the book isle when I'm in need of a gift--especially a gift for a beloved niece, nephew, or other little one.  I long to share this love with others, especially those whose imaginations have not yet been stunted or forced into hibernation by the realistic world in which we live. In the past, though, I've found myself so disappointed with the book selection I find in big stores.  The prices are just so-so, and the choices of literature and stories leaves much to be desired.  I often leave these excursions wishing I'd had more forethought and ordered something online.

However, this last excursion was far different; it was truly wonderful.  I visited a new little used bookstore in my neighborhood and completely fell in love.  It was quaint, charming, and filled with books.  What I had meant to be a quick trip turned into an hour of pursuing shelves and brushing my fingers across bindings.  There were so many classics!  So many books I'd never heard of.  And so many books I longed to buy.  

I eventually found my way to the children's section and was able to pick out a few favorites for our nephew's second birthday.  When I finally walked out of that store, I felt a little like I had walked out of a fairytale.  I know, a little dramatic, but stay with me....

Books, like so many things in our society, have become things that we buy new, use, and then discard.  While the digital world is definitely taking over a bit in the book selling business, it has not stopped newly printed books from appearing on bookshelves.  These new books are wonderful, but I think they cheapen the quality of the written word. The thing that I loved so much about this little used bookstore was that the shelves were filled with good books--books that someone had taken the time to decide if they were worth selling or not.  There were also so  many books that had lovely hard covers, just waiting to be opened on someone's lap.  (Fact: it's much easier to knit while reading if you have an old hard cover book with a broken-in binding...)

So, with all that...I must say that I felt a little bit like Belle as I walked out of that shop...I may have even considered saying bonjour to people standing outside of the taproom across the street...ok, not really...but that would have made for a great story!