Simple Steps Forward

I know I've been M.I.A. from this blog recently, but my search as well as struggles have continued in full force. Below are some of the changes my family and I have made as part of our journey to a healthier lifestyle including financial, emotional and environmental health. 

1. Using organic kernels and coconut oil to make popcorn in a simple hand-cranked stove top popcorn popper. Stopped buying microwave popcorn (to avoid the chemicals that line the inside of the popcorn bags). The difference is amazing. We have no plans to ever go back to microwave popcorn.

2. Making our own bread to avoid the preservatives and unidentifiable ingredients in store-bought bread. We also wanted to stop spending $5 or more on bakery bread. I've found a honey whole wheat bread recipe along with recipes for pita pockets and buns that all work well for my family.

3. Moving away from cooking with canned beans (unless the cans are BPA-free). I've started cooking with dried beans and we're impressed by the freshness they bring to recipes. Planning ahead to give the beans enough time to soak isn't always easy, but well worth it.

4. Joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for 2012 to ensure our family has a variety of fresh, organic produce this spring and summer.

5. Replacing individually packaged oatmeal and boxed cereal with homemade versions. This is a very new change. Our pantry still has some of these packages in it but my hope is that we will not buy new ones after these are used up.

What to eat or not to eat?

Local Food from Area MN Farmers' Markets

Did you know that there is wood pulp in many of the food products in the grocery store? I didn't, until today. It is disguised in the ingredients as "cellulose." It is often used as a filler and as added fiber. If you search "cellulose in food" on google, there is not a shortage of articles revealing this "hidden" ingredient. Yet once again, I feel like I'm in the dark. All summer (and now fall) I've been educating myself on food which is not a comforting subject to study. After watching documentaries such as "Food Inc." and "Super Size Me" and reading books such as "Food Rules" and "In the Defense of Food" it becomes difficult not to want to make a change, but what can I eat that is safe and good for my body? That's more difficult. I've found myself making change upon change in my search for what food is healthy and what is not and I'm still searching.

During the last 10 years, I went from eating white bread to whole wheat bread then multigrain bread then artisan bakery bread (not processed and without preservatives) to now making my own bread (to save on cost). Similarly, I went from eating pasta made from bleached white flour to partially whole wheat pasta to 100% organic whole wheat pasta. The pasta I buy now contains only one ingredient. The macaroni has organic whole wheat semolina and the penne and spaghetti both have organic whole wheat durum flour. 

Now beef and chicken are a whole other story. Until this summer, I was blissfully ignorant as to what was actually happening to the meat before I bought it and fed it to my family. I was so disgusted as to what I learned that I quickly changed my buying and eating habits from lean beef, chicken breasts and standard eggs to 100% grass fed beef, organic free-range chicken and organic cage-free eggs. 

For fruits and vegetables, I've switched to organic (pesticide/chemical free).  I've started buying whatever I can at local farmers' markets. There is something comforting about knowing where your food is coming from, even if it is just the face of the farmer or of someone who works on the farm. This year my husband and I also started taking advantage of our backyard. We built a raised garden and planted blueberry bushes and apple trees. The kids love going into the backyard and eating strawberries and tomatoes directly from the garden.

 Raised Garden

Apple Trees and Blueberry Bushes

Ingredients such as cellulose creep me out. Is the food industry really trying to fill us up by feeding us wood? I was starting to think that going "organic" was a safe way to go, but cellulose can even be found in organic food because after all wood is found in nature. All I want is for my family to eat clean, healthy food with no pesticides, chemicals, hormones, fake sugars or "fillers." It would also be nice if the food wasn't over-processed and made from artificial ingredients as well. Is that so much to ask? Some days it seems like it.

Ready or Not

Tim, Natalie, Laura and Brian, 2006

The last time we went camping was five years ago. It was before kids, but not too far. In fact, it was during that trip we (my husband, Brian, and I) revealed to two of our closest friends (Tim and Natalie) we were "ready." Now being "ready" didn't really mean more than a simple decision to start trying to have a baby. I certainly didn't know that five years later on our next camping trip we would be setting up camp with a pair of two year olds, a three year old and a four year old -- and no, not all four are mine and Brian's; Tim and Natalie had also decided that they were "ready." I now know that no one can truly be "ready" for what lies ahead once that decision to become a parent is no longer an idea but a reality, especially once you become a parent of two or more children. Not only are you always concerned for their well-being but you also need to find a way to keep yourself and your partner sane from the sibling rivalry and the constant balancing now present in your everyday lives.

Colin with a Walking Stick

Making the decision to bring the kids on their first camping trip wasn't an easy one, but after bringing up the topic with Tim and Natalie, we were happy to find out that they were also "ready" to bring their kids camping for the first time. When we arrived at our campsite within a beautiful Wisconsin State Park, Brian and I were feeling worn out from our drive. The kids (Colin, 4, and Isabel, 2) were ready to be done with the traveling. They quickly ran around the site and then started happily playing in the dirt. When Tim and Natalie arrived, their kids (Angela, 3, and Matthew, 2) did the same thing. The notion of getting in touch with nature didn't escape them. They touched the rocks, the trees, the nearby plants and even bugs including a Walking Stick, caterpillars and worms. They were instantly at home. There was no talk of wanting to watch television or go indoors. We made all our meals outside, washed dishes outside and explored outside. I felt at peace.

Isabel with Her First Campfire S'more

Once it started getting dark the first night, Brian and I brought the kids into our tent and Tim and Natalie brought their kids into their tent. Our mutual plan was to get the kids to bed and then go back out and enjoy sitting and talking around the campfire sans kids. What we didn't know was that we were being watched. As soon as we disappeared into the tents, our campsite was overtaken by a family of masked critters. Yes, the raccoons had come. While the campsite was unguarded they stole a box of cookies and dug around in a bag of chips that I had left on a camp chair. The raccoons also noisily dug in our garbage bag which is when Tim first spotted them with his flashlight. Since Colin and Isabel weren't yet asleep (in fact, they were running around the tent giggling and crashing into each other), we decided to bring them back out so that they could see raccoons (not in a zoo) for the first time. It was a magical experience for them to see animals in the wild (not contained). After showing the kids the box of cookies discarded along an animal made path in the woods. Isabel started to say "The raccoons took my cookies," which is adorable coming from the mouth of a big brown eyed, petite, two year old little girl. It was even cuter the next day when she marched around the perimeter of the campsite with a gigantic flashlight in hand saying, with a serious look on her face, "Don't take my cookies again, raccoons."

And even though the camping trip was two weeks ago, last night when I was reading Isabel a book that just happened to have a picture of a raccoon in it, she got all excited and started talking about how the raccoons took her cookies and she played with the kids in the dirt. It was almost as difficult to get her to go to sleep last night as it was that first night of camping.

All of Us, 2011

Needless to say, we were better prepared for the raccoon invasion the next two nights, but it was amazing how close these mischievous, intelligent animals would get to us. Campers were definitely not strangers to these raccoons. In the daylight hours, we spent some of our time at camp hiking to a nearby waterfall, taking the kids fishing, playing at the playground and during the two-year-olds' naps one day, the guys even took the older two to the beach to go swimming. The rest of the time was spent preparing meals, eating and cleaning up, which normally might be taxing but out in the sunshine and with friends, it was simply peaceful. I can honestly say that I think we were "ready" to bring the kids camping this year, even though next summer will certainly be easier when the younger two are three and not quite as rambunctious and tantrum prone -- and hopefully out of diapers.

My Family

The weekend connection to nature without television and Internet was just what I needed to get re-energized before the start of another school year (both with Brian returning to campus as an instructor and Colin returning to preschool as a student). The trip also renewed my commitment to feeding my family more natural, healthier foods (as Natalie and I had a chance to talk a lot about this, mommy to mommy) and to discover other ways to get them in touch with nature. It also reassured me that camping was going to become a regular and fun family event.

Going for a Walk

Back in college, I used to say “Let's go for a walk” when I knew a friend was silently facing something painful or difficult. We would walk outside, usually in the dark, and naturally walk toward the small town's big lake. Our steps would move us forward but it wasn't until the moment felt right did the talking begin. Many dark thoughts, confessions and even anger came out into the light of the night. The walks often led us to “my swing” by the side of the lake. Often unseen, but always felt by me, was the enormity of the bluffs standing nearby and the brightness of the stars overhead. Almost always, the walks ended with some kind of epiphany or understanding. We walked home with a feeling of hope.

Now, as a mother of two small children, I once again want to capture a little of that clarity my younger self was treated to. The “something” I am facing now is that I don't want to be in the dark anymore. Maybe it is the parent in me that makes me question more than I used to. I don't know. But, why do illnesses such as cancer and autism seem to be everywhere? What is really in the food and does it have to be there? Are the harsh chemicals in cleaning supplies causing more damage than good? I honestly don't have the answers, but I do find myself once again turning to nature to find them. This blog is simply my new way of “going for a walk.”