So I have a confession to make. I thought organic was an interesting idea, but I was not sold on it and mostly thought it was a waste of time, money, and energy. Fruits and vegetables can be washed and meat must be OK after you cook it, right?
Well this all started when my husband thought we needed to do a four week health challenge. We chose to make better food choices, avoid fast food, and plan our meals on a graph. We also gave ourselves flexibility, not being crazy about the strictness. I was so excited! My husband was great accountability and encouraged me to work out and not eat candy. :) Well, it turned out well. We felt better and had more energy. (I did let myself have coffee with yummy sugar and cream as my one treat.) It was right at this time I also was really beginning to research fresh foods, healthy alternative recipes, and what the terms whole wheat, organic, refined, and processed actually meant.
After a lot of research, I found the definitions below (not all super scientific):
Whole wheat: All grains start out as whole grains. If, after milling, they keep all three parts of the original grain – the germ, bran and endosperm – in their original proportions, they still qualify as whole grains. http://www.wheatfoods.org/AboutWheat-what-is-whole-grains/Index.htm
Organic: Organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. It includes a system of production, processing, distribution and sales that assures consumers that the products maintain the organic integrity that begins on the farm. http://www.ota.com/definition/quickoverview.html
Refined: freed from impurities by processing http://www.thefreedictionary.com/refined
Processed:Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processed_food
I watched Food, Inc. and learned about how food has been changed, patented, and controlled. I also found out what CSA’s are (Community Supported Agriculture-see localharvest.org) and went to a local farmer’s market! I got local, home-grown, organic tomatoes, yellow squash, zuchinni, cantaloupe (my husband loves this), and a pumpkin that I can use for cooking when I am done enjoying its beauty this fall season. I am so excited! The food was delicious and I was so thankful God has blessed us with the finances to enjoy a few healthy alternatives. I also made homemade whole wheat noodles which we will be trying this week, and asked my husband for a bread machine for Christmas (can I say slightly ecstatic?!). I found one really nice one for a pretty good deal and he wanted me to order it right away. I am going to not use it until Christmas :( but just knowing I will be able to make healthy alternatives for just about every grain item is so wonderful.
I also read an excerpt from In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan, that “Corn contributes 554 calories a day to America’s per capita food supply and soy another 257. Add wheat (768 calories) and rice (91) and you can see there isn’t a whole lot of room left in the American stomach for any other foods. Today these four crops account for two thirds of the calories we eat. When you consider that humankind has historically consumed some eighty thousand species, and that three thousand of these have been in widespread use, this represents a radical simplification of the human diet. Why should this concern us? Be humans are omnivores, we need somewhere between 50 and a 100 different chemical compounds and elements in order to be healthy. It’s hard to believe we’re getting everything we need from a diet consisting largely of processed corn, soybeans, rice, and wheat.” (page 117-118). I am going to attempt to get these two books. Read an article here by Lindsay for a summary of this book:
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/10/in-defense-of-food-an-eaters-manifesto.html
I am also reading a lot about milk and homogenization. EEK. Our milk isn’t that great after all. I talked to Jon about this and we will have to decide what we want to do. There is not a VERY close farm with fresh, raw milk (closest 30 mins) but in the opposite direction of anything we go to now. If I can plan all my grocery shopping in the same trip in the same direction then we may make an effort to get fresh milk. I am also looking to simulate green tea with honey from the grocery store. My husband downs it quickly and I want to be able to give it to him, but in a healthy way. Any recipes out there?
I also started making kefir (DELICIOUS!), which is an effervescent, yogurt like, fermented milk. It is great in smoothies and for soaking grains and for using instead of oil/butter/sour cream in bread recipes. I eventually want to make some homemade yogurt too.
Anyway, this is our health journey so far. I want to be a frugal and health seeking wife so my family can have healthy, long lives, (God-willing) so that we can serve God in many ways and not be held back by anything like bad health or disease. However, I know our Sovereign God will always provide for us and care for us, organic or not, in sickness and in health. I am so glad He is so good to us! To Him be the glory always!
If anyone has any other adventures, tips, recipes, etc. that can help a family make healthy choices, I welcome comments!
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