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Today at the kickball tournament we had some hot dogs from a little table top grill, and it reminded me that if we ever get two incomes rolling in again, a grill is a must. With no A/C, its really stinkin hot to start up the oven in the heat of summer. And even when it cools down, I’d love to make a habit of using a grill to cook (despite the winter rains even?) Anyway, on that note, I like this article from National Geographic’s Green Guide; Green Grilling.
Today I had the BEST time picking fresh organic vegetables out of the ground- like digging for gold! The kids LOVED it and I am so glad this city has a local organic farmer! Cheap, fun, and SOOOO good for you!!! See for yourself:
Well at last today I had a chance to run over to Lakeland’s “Go Natural Organics” where I found the coolest farmer/owner with his masters in nutrition watering a potted farm with living water from a pond behind the farm. He took the time to explain the membership and procedure, gave us samples and a tour of what’s growing, and even gave me a free huge head of green leaf lettuce! This place is SO cool, with even an enclosed area with a butterfly garden for kids to play while the parents pick. SA-WEET!
Also, our good friend invited us along for this trip as a dual-birthday trip for her and my Hubby. We’ve made reservations to spend Easter in the “pool house” hut!
I wish I could go more into this right now, but just thought I would share the basic happenings while I’ve got a half a sec!
Got your attention didn’t I? Seriously, though, I’m in love with lots of new things these days.
1. Lara Bars. Suggested by a friend, I checked out the site and plan to order as much as I can afford.
2. “Living Fresh” show on Discovery Home. So, okay for real, who is studying my life and coming up with a show that includes just about everything I love, from organic food, sustainable living practices, crafts, and so on. Just add a little of #3 and I will just have get paranoid.
3. Books. Not a new thing for me to love books, but some new books. Finishing up this one, moving on to:
My goal is to finish them by May. Hold me to it!!!
So, I’ve got to get to work again, but wanted to share those tidbits for any one looking for something to do. Recap- Lara Bars, Living Fresh, new books= tru luv…
1. Wednesday night, (which means LOST, duh,) was purty cool- in a “what the heck?” sorta way. I was rebuked for talking too much by the other attendees of our little Lostie get-together… something I really must work on. But, hey, it made for a dramatic and memorable night, for better or worse. Sorry guys! Only human.
2. Anna Nicole’s death was quite the ironic surprise to see on the news… and then quite the annoying “beat a dead horse” after about a day. Take the damn DNA, bury the corpe, figure out who the daddy is (if you can), and make him pay child support. (I don’t care who the heck gets the dang money so long as the baby is taken care of!) Then pray that the baby grows up with the closest things to loving parents possible. What NOT to do: keep putting this on the news when there are truly more important things going on in the world, after all.
3. Freezing temperatures outside another thing that we could say ENOUGH! to. I love the cold and don’t wish for that 9 month summer any time soon, but this FL girl is not used to it for this long. Lil’ E doesn’t even own enough pants for this.
4. We went through a scare this week, thought we would be forced to move and freaked that we aren’t ready to buy but would also hate to rent due to various reasons. I didn’t even manage to get 30 hours of work in this week due to worry and research on preparing for moving— and all for not because our current landlord is now willing to sign us into a year lease so we have some security when the place sells. (We had only monthly security since our year lease was up over 2 years ago- so when they decided to sell and some buyers might be looking to move in, we realized we only truly had through whatever month we had paid on to stay!) SO-THANK GOD! (really.) We can stay on our current plan to try to get out of debt and save for a home and buy at the “right” time, … whatever that means.
5. Hubby finishing up school this semester- all signs point to graduation this April and possible MBA aspirations soon after. My own graduate school goals are up in the air– beginning to think I should go for a degree or grad certificate in Instructional Technology rather than Creative Writing. I know. I’m one big dichotomy, I swear. And I can’t even spell.
6. We participated in a community event this weekend, (not something we think outside ourselves enough to do often). And this community event wasn’t exactly something that would earn us charitable or neighborly partipation points any time soon- it was the Kiwana’s Pancake Festival. (noooo, I didn’t eat any pancakes and forgo my dietary restrictions- but I did take some pics of my “boys”)
7. Watching the news right now and, believe it or not, I’m much happier seeing news about Bill Murry being in Tampa for some golf game than more news about Anna Nicole.
8. Church was really good this morning. That Pastor Tim packs a mean sermon. Not that he’s mean. Quite the opposite.
9. Speaking of church, I’m reading more into my book, and thought this quote a good one to share:
“…unfortunately, so much of what we’re currently fighting against (’we’ meaning the church in America for starters) isn’t the real enemy, and so much of what we’re fighting for isn’t the real prize. Largely we’re fighting to get something back — a lost status as the civil religion of the West, control (political, too often) over things that are out of our control, a priviledged position as the favoured religion of the Empire, protection of the middle class from the lower and upper classes, and so on. These are futile fights. We’re also focused on fighting symptoms like abortion, promiscuity (hetero or homosexual), divorce, and profanity. We might add terrorism to the list. But these are not the disease. These are in many ways the symptoms of the very disease that we inadvertently tend to support, aid and abet, defend, protect, baptize, and fight for — a system sick with consumerism, greed, fear, violence, and misplaced faith (in the power of the Economy and the State and its weapons).”
10. I have no idea why I counted to ten in this blog except for the sheer backdoor it created so that I can now stop.
This video is the coolest thing I have come across in awhile. Please check it out, and take it to heart.
That film is just one example of the organic and whole grains trends in supermarkets lately. Publix has its Greenwise sections, (even opened a Greenwise Store!), Wal-Mart joins the bandwagon last year with Organics. Wild Oats and Whole Foods stores are popping up every where (everywhere EXCEPT Lakeland, that is!!!), not to mention of course the many small independent or chain health food stores that have held their own when it wasn’t so popular to eat healthy.
going organic:
An article at realmama.org spells out exactly what ORGANIC means and why pesticides are so harmful for kids and adults. If you aren’t sure which foods are especially important to buy organic, use the following guide:
“Produce with most pesticide residue:
apples
bell peppers
celery
cherries
imported grapes
nectarines
peaches
pears
potatoes
red raspberries
spinach
strawberries
Buy organic produce for those fruits and vegetables most often eaten by your child.
Produce with least pesticide residue
asparagus
avocados
bananas
broccoli
cauliflower
sweet corn
kiwis
mangoes
onions
papayas
pineapples
sweet peas”
I’ve read that if the produce has a thick skin that you peel, its less necessary to buy organic. If you eat the skin, or if it is something grown in the ground like root vegetables, go organic.
coffee beans: always go organic?
Here at MamaNeedJava, all roads lead to coffee. A friend of mine read in a magazine that coffee beans can be bought non-organic because the roasting process burns away the chemicals. I would still say its best to buy at least fairly-traded grounds (farmers are paid fair market wages) and beans from environmentally friendly growing practices, such as Starbucks’ Shade Grown Serena.
unrefined foods:
Um, do the words”enriched” or “bleached” sound like nutritious adjectivesto you? What’s the point of eating empty calories and leaving your body with a 10% of the nutrients and then replacing it with additives- food dye, hormones, genetic enhancers, radiation, and so on. Take in calories that are life giving instead of life depleting!
And, for goodness sake’s, don’t follow all the marketing hype by thinking that Gold Fish and Chips Ahoy “made with whole grains” is some how a truly healthy alternative to junk food. It’s still junk food. They just through some oatmeal or something into the ingredients. What’s worse, I’ve heard several moms struggling to lose baby pounds eating these types of “healthy” snack foods rather than cutting the sugar and junk and eating REAL whole grains. Sadly, most people don’t even know what whole grains are. That’s another blog for another day, but for now I’ll insert this little thinking piece from an internet article by Bonnie Liebmann for “The Whole Grain Guide“:
“If whole grains are so healthy, why do an estimated 80 percent of us eat them less than once a day? It doesn’t help that many people don’t even know what whole grains are.
1. Which breads are usually all or mostly whole grain? (a) whole wheat, (b) multi-grain, (c) rye, (d) pumpernickel
2. Which grains are whole? (a) bulgur, (b) quinoa, (c) couscous, (d) oatmeal
3. Which cereals are whole grain? (a) Total, (b) Product 19, (c) Special K, (d) corn flakes, (e)shredded wheat, (f) cream of wheat
The answers:
1. a. In theory, multi-grain, rye, and pumpernickel breads can be all or mostly whole grain. In most of the U.S. and Canada, however, only whole wheat bread is (see “The Bread & Cracker Box”).
2. b, d. Quinoa and oatmeal are whole grains. Bulgur and couscous sometimes are and sometimes aren’t.
3. a, e. Total, Product 19, and Special K have healthy reputations. Of the three, only Total is whole grain (see “Cereal Numbers”).
It’s not easy to separate the whole wheat from the refined chaff nowadays. Shoppers may understand that a refined grain has had most of its bran and germ removed (see “Meet the Kernel”).
But they may still be stumped when it comes to guessing whether, say, pearled barley is refined (yes), or if cornmeal is whole grain (rarely), or whether unbleached wheat flour is white flour (always).
“Consumers can’t figure out what’s whole grain and what isn’t,” says University of Minnesota researcher Joanne Slavin. “The bagel store sells ‘whole grain’ bagels, but are they really whole grain? It’s a big mess.’”
I’m not any kind of expert on these subjects, but I truly think its important to consider what you are putting in your body as harmful toxins that later result in all kinds of allergies, diseases or disorders. Even more so when considering your children’s health. Say “YUCK” to MacDonald’s, Chefoyardee, Doritos, soda, candy, milk, on and on- start eating what is cultivated from good ol’ water, soil, and sun!!!
The morning cup of Cafe Noir is an integral part of the life of a Creole household. The Creoles hold as a physiological fact that this custom contributes to longevity, and point, day after day, to examples of old men and women of fourscore, and over, who attest to the powerful aid they have received through life from a good, fragrant cup of coffee in the early morning. — The Picayune Creole Cook Book (1901)
