More Changes

A little less than two weeks ago, we spent our first night in our new home. Moving from the city to a small town (population less than 400) would mean lots of changes and we knew it when we made the decision. But I was totally unprepared for such a disruption in the way we eat! Ironically, this area is full of farmers but doesn't sell any locally produced food! To get locally produced food, I will have to drive into the city, which is half an hour down the highway, too far to go more than once or twice a week. 

After several trips to the only local grocery store, a very small IGA, it became apparent that not only was I not going to see any local food, but there isn't any organic either! With the exception of Horizon Organic Skim Milk. I don't want skim milk! If I'm not buying raw milk, I prefer whole milk. Their egg choices are store brand or Egg and I Farm (which is local but is also your typical inhumane egg farm with miserable birds in tiny cages). If I can't have fresh eggs, I'd at least like to be able to buy free range organic eggs. 

No thank you! 

They also do not sell any natural cat food or any cat food with greens in it (I have an elderly, long-haired, indoor kitty). If you have a recipe for homemade cat food with greens that won't be hard to chew, please share!  



I just find it incredible that moving to farm country could make it more difficult to get fresh produce, meat, eggs, and dairy! I even checked MMC's most recommended website, localharvest.org and found nothing in my area!

My plan, for now, is to go to the small organic farmer's market in the city on Thursdays during my lunch and to make a list of things we need so that if I find myself there on Wednesday or Saturday I can pick up what we need without making a special trip on another day. I will have to pick up cat food in larger quantities, too, until I come up with a better solution. 

My plan in the long run is to build a coop and buy some laying hens, plant a nice garden, buy a deep freezer, and buy meat in bulk from the farmer I was using before the move. 

Do you live in a rural area or tiny town? Have you encountered similar obstacles? What did you do?

Photos in this post are courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net. 

Easy Frittata Recipe

For the second evening of the 7 Day Real Food Challenge, my sister and I got into the kitchen together and we were having so much fun that we cooked way more than just dinner! 

Since I got home first, I washed the free range chicken that I got from a local farm and started chopping vegetables. When she got here, she seasoned and dressed the chicken while I worked on the sides. We had some broccoli and some tomatoes and okra in the freezer still from last summer, so we had those with quinoa. The roasted chicken came out beautifully and it was so tasty!  All of it was tasty!  

While I was chopping the onions, garlic, and celery for the chicken, I chopped some extra onions and garlic for a frittata. After skipping breakfast yesterday and eating only fruit today, I am ready for a hot breakfast tomorrow. I am not, however, a morning person. Making breakfast ahead of time is the best way to ensure we get breakfast! I baked the frittata in the oven with the chicken and now we can just reheat by the slice in the morning (we all four leave at different times). I proudly posted a photo of the finished product on Facebook and got several requests for the recipe, so here it is. This recipe is not an exact science and we make it differently each time depending on what we have in the kitchen, but this is what I made tonight:

• Chop two small onions very thin, including the green tops. 
• If using fresh garlic, slice the green tops of the garlic also. Seperate the cloves from a small bulb of garlic and set aside. 
• Heat about 2 tbsp salted butter in a skillet and add the onions and the garlic greens. Using a garlic press, add several cloves of garlic quickly (I used four). 
• As soon as the onions are done and the greens are wilted, add about 10 oz of fresh spinach and cover, turning heat to the lowest possible setting. Uncover occassionally to toss. Cook just until spinach wilts. 
• While spinach cooks, beat a dozen eggs and season with sea salt and black pepper.
• Rub butter onto a 13x9 pan and spread spinach mixture across the bottom of the pan.
• Pour eggs over the top and bake in a 350 degree oven, approximately 30 minutes. 

Possibilities for this recipe are endless! Use whatever veggies you have and adjust the amount of veggies and eggs according to how many people are eating. This doesn't have to be a certain thickness, either. If you make less, it will not be very deep in the pan so you will not cook as long. 

If you make this recipe slightly smaller, with 6 or 8 eggs, you can  cook the veggies till tender in a cast iron skillet, pour the eggs in, and put the skillet straight into the oven! Less mess! 

Things I have put into a frittata: 

• sweet potatoes
• broccoli
• zucchini
• tomatoes
• bacon
• sausage
• kale
• collards
• chives
• bell pepper

You see?!

Let me just add...we didn't stop after making dinner and breakfast...

We made a pan of these amazing flax and nut bars topped with dark chocolate! These should take care of our sweet tooth for a few days and they will be a filling, healthy snack!

Clean up time included the kids. We had some chicken left over and my daughter picked all of it from the bones. We'll make something with it tomorrow night. Maybe the Easy Chicken Curry in the challenge guide? The chicken carcass and the veggies we used to season it are in the crock pot overnight to make chicken stock for another day. 

Have you joined the 7 Day Real Food Challenge? What real foods did you prepare today?

Day One of the Real Food Challenge

Today was the first day of the 7 Day Real Food Challenge and we got off to a great start! Unfortunately, we were a little slow to get moving this morning so breakfast just didn't happen at all. By the time we finished church, we were all famished! We enjoyed a lunch of raw fruits and veggies with natural organic peanut butter. 

For dinner, I decided to use some of the ingredients we already had so that nothing would go bad and be wasted, which meant coming up with my own recipe instead of using a recipe from the challenge guide. I had some beautiful asparagus from the local Ovis Hill Farm. I put it in the steamer, topped it with a few pats of butter and some sea salt, and left it to cook. I also have a ton of onions and garlic from another local farm, Dickson's Organics. I chopped the greens and bulbs from two small onions, as well as the greens from a garlic. After pan frying some natural pork chops with butter, I sauteed the greens, onions, and 3 crushed garlic cloves in the pan juices and used this to top the pork chops. The end result was absolutely delicious! 

How did your first day on the challenge go? If you're just hearing about it, you aren't too late. Your Day One doesn't necessarily have to be today! Find out more about the 7 Day Real Food Challenge and giveaways by clicking here or on the tab at the top of the page. 

7 Day Real Food Challenge

Do you think you can eat only real food for 7 days straight?

To some of you this might sound nearly impossible and some of you may be thinking – I already do. This challenge is designed to help those of you who really want to live the real food lifestyle but might need a little guidance to get started. This challenge is also for all of you who have already figured it out, but you have fallen off the bandwagon. Sometimes life gets hectic and our diets seem to suffer. It's never too late to get back into the healthy food routine!

So, What is the 7 Day Real Food Challenge?

There is a big group of us following this challenge. Everyone who joins this challenge is making a pact to eat only real food for 7 days – specifically on April 21st - 27th. Already there are 28 bloggers who have committed to this challenge and are here as a support team for everyone who joins us. Here is your support team:

Todd Dosenberry from Primal Toad
Amanda from Natural Living Mama
Erin Odom from The Humbled Homemaker
Janey McKeever from Consistantly Sporadic
Jaime Reid from Jaime Reids Kitchen
Anne Simpson from Authentic Simplicity
Laura Broach from Mama Making Changes
Mike Lamitola from MikeLamitola.com
Alix from Blessed in Homemaking
Stacy Karen from A Delightful Home
Nina Nelson from Shalom Mama
Melissa Joulwan from Well Fed
Kimball Young from Heavy on Wholesome
Laura Prevost from Head over heels in Health
Victoria Moore from Yogi Mami
Carol Lovett from Ditch the Wheat
Katie Stanley from Nourishing Simplicity
Jami Leigh from Young Wifes Guide
Andrea from Homemade for Elle
Sara Warren from Unorthadox Momma
Amanda Anderson from Chef Amanda Anderson.com
Sara Roylance from Sara Roylance.com
Sara Shay from Your Thriving family
Jennifer from Hybrid Rasta Mama
Marillyn Beard from Just Making Noise
Nichi from My Healthy Beginning
Michelle Elnycky from The Crooked House Blog

So... for those of you who think this might be way too hard to do – you have all these experts here to back you up and help you meet the challenge. It’s not only these bloggers that will be doing the challenge but many of our readers will be following along. We will have a special Facebook group for discussions about the challenge and a place to reach out to everyone for help and support. There are two ways you can participate in the challenge:

Option # 1 (Free)

Join us and make the commitment to eat only real food for 7 days starting on April 21 – April 27, 2013. You will receive:

• An e-guidebook on “What is Real Food?”
• A chance to win one of our fabulous real food prizes

To enter this challenge for free click here

Option # 2 ($29)

If you want to get really serious about this challenge and take full advantage of the support you can get from this group – this is for you. Making a big lifestyle change can be difficult on your own but with a huge group of people doing it along with you it is a lot easier – and a lot more fun! As a member of this challenge you will receive:

• An e-guidebook on “What is Real Food?”
• A full real food Paleo meal plan for 7 days – three meals a day and snacks
• Recipes for all of the items in the meal plan (37 Delicious recipes!!)
• A shopping list to help you prepare for the challenge
• Tips on how to prepare your kitchen for this event
• Membership to our private Facebook group which is a place to reach out for help and ask questions
• A chance to win one of our fabulous real food prizes - worth over $600+

PLUS these fabulous Bonuses (worth over $40+) for everyone who buys this package...

• A copy of "Your Grocery Budget Toolbox eBook" ($7.99 value). This eBook is the perfect guide for anyone new to eating healthy, learn how to save time and money with a few simple strategies. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
• A copy of Health Coach, Mike Lamitola's music album, "Fitting Out," ($7.00 value). Mike's music is inspired by real life experiences, dreams and some very random thoughts. Follow Mike on Facebook
• A 20% discount to Natural Living Mama's Product shop. Natural Living Mamma offers herbal body and skin care, salves, and teas made from only natural ingredients. Click here to visit her shop or follow her on Facebook
• A copy of The Holistic Mama's Audio Class,"How to Eat Real Food on a Budget" ($29.00 value) Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
• A 15% discount to Blessed in Homemaking Etsy shop. Blessed In Homemaking offers organic and all natural body care products, gentle baby care products, herbal products, crocheted items, and more, for your healthy lifestyle. Follow on Facebook

The meal plan for this challenge is a Paleo menu! This means that all the recipes are grain-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. If you have ever thought about trying the Paleo / Primal diet and thought it was too hard this is the perfect chance to try it out. All of these done for you planning items and the built in support are designed to make this challenge much less of a challenge to complete. What do you think – are you ready to take the 7 Day Real Food Challenge?

Click here to join us and get the plan, recipes, and support now!

The plan and recipes require basic kitchen tools. A good set of knives is the best thing you can splurge on in my opinion - even better you may win some in the giveaways that go along with this challenge! Speaking of giveaways...Don’t forget about all of the fabulous prizes from our amazing sponsors!! We are giving away $600 worth of products! The Giveaways (over $600+ value)...


  Ergo Chef Knife Company, makers of ergonomically-designed professional chef knives, is giving one participant of our challenge their Pro-Series 7” Santoku knife, Come Apart Kitchen Shears and a 9” & 12” Duo Tongs (Retail value $132) Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

  Taza Chocolate company, makers of traditional stone ground Mexican Chocolate, is giving one of our participants a package of their salted almond discs, their chipotle chili discs, a jar of chocolate covered hazelnuts and their 87% chocolate bar. Taza chocolate has a direct trade cacao program that cultivates face-to-face relationships with farmers. (Retail value $ 30.47) Follow them on Facebook and Twitter


  Kaya Foods, superfoods for delicious living, is giving one participant 5 bags of their delicious Kale and Veggie Chips, great for healthy snacking and a few $1.00 coupons (Retail value $ 10) Follow them on Facebook






   Yogi Tea, products inspired by Ayurveda is giving one participant of our challenge 4 boxes of a variety of our top selling teas and a Yogi tea mug. (Retail value $40)Yogi tea is committed to providing healthy, natural teas that are accessible to as many people as possible. Follow them on Facebook.





   Applegate, Organic & Natural Meats, is giving away a gift pack of products. (Retail value $ 25) Applegate meats are free of anti-biotics, growth hormones, nitrates, artificial ingredients and fillers which makes them far surpass the quality of conventional sliced sandwich meats. When buying Applegate products you can be confident you are eating a high quality product. Follow them on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter



  Trilight Health, makers of fast-acting, great tasting liquid herbal supplements, is giving one participant a $50 gift certificate to order products on their website! For over 20 years now, TriLight Health have supplied their customers nationwide with their high quality line of liquid herbal products. They specialize in great tasting, alcohol and sugar free, liquid herbal formulas for pregnancy, children, and the family. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter



  Eco Lunch Gear, eco friendly reusable lunch gear, is giving one participant a a reusable sandwich wrap (Retail value $10.50). Eco Lunch Gear was started by a Mom who saw a need for an alternative to plastic and aluminum foil, her products can be washed and reused over and over to save money and our environment. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  

Erin Odom from The Humbled Homemaker and creator of Real Food, Real Easy the eBook is giving one participant a copy of her eBook to help you continue with your Real Food journey (Retail value $$9.95) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Health Coach, Mike Lamitola, is giving one participant free entry to his Tele-seminar on Cravings. Do you have a sugar habit you've been trying to beat? In this tele-seminar, Mike will explain how. (Retail value $25.00) Follow Mike on Facebook and Twitter    

Alix from Blessed In Homemaking offers organic and all natural body care products, gentle baby care products, herbal products, crocheted items, and more, for your healthy lifestyle in her Etsy Shop. She is giving two participants a one ounce bag of loose chamomile tea (Retail value $8.00) Follow her on Facebook

Stacy Karen from A Delightful Home is giving one participant of this challenge a copy of her eBook, Simple Scrubs to Make and Give. Start making your own scrubs at home for yourself and others (Retail value $3.99) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Nina Nelson of Shalom Mama, is giving one participant of the challenge a healing balm and lavender mint lip balm from her etsy shop (Retail value $19.50) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

 

Melissa Joulwan from The Clothes Make the Girl, is giving one participant a copy of her Paleo eBook called Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Like to Eat (Retail value $14.95). This is a great resource for anyone interested in Paleo diet, whether you are just getting started or you are just looking for some new recipes to try. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter

Health Coach, Laura Prevost is giving 10 lucky participants one of her Dynamite Coaching sessions. If you are looking for some support around breaking a bad habit, or getting yourself motivated, Laura will work through it with you in this session (Retail value $20.00/session) Follow Laura on Facebook or Twitter

Jami from Young Wife's Guide, is giving one participant a copy of her eBook, Apartment Gardening, which is a great resource for getting started growing food in small spaces (Retail value $2.99) Follow Jami on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

 

Jennifer from Hybrid Rasta Mama has also offered to give away two copies of her eBook, Cooking with Coconut Oil (Retail value $19.95). The 68 recipes in this eBook are all simple to make and the ingredients in the recipes are all readily available. This eBook is a great way to start getting more coconut oil in your diet to get all the amazing health benefits. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

You will have the chance to win all of these prizes by joining is the challenge with either Option # 1 or Option # 2 detailed above!

Do you have questions about this event? Please feel free to comment on this post with any questions or concerns.

F is for Food

Food...BIG subject. I could write a book I feel so strongly about many issues involving food. Don't worry! Not tonight and not here! This will be brief!

About a year ago, I started making more effort to eat healthier and to know more about what I eat, not just me but my family too. I've made a ton of changes since then and learned so much. I've also lost about thirty pounds in that time without being hungry! We rarely eat corn now, we buy locally grown, organic vegetables and free-range natural meat. I have given up pasta and rice. I buy local raw milk from grass fed cows. I could go on. I won't go into all of the whys in this post - after all I promised not to write a book tonight. I'll list a few links at the bottom of this post if you want to learn more.

I think we can all agree, however, that a diet of "real food" only is healthier than a diet of highly processed foods like potato chips, crackers, frozen dinners and the like. In January, I participated in the 7 Day Real Food Challenge from Holistic Mama. I got a 7 day menu plan, complete with recipes for everything on the menu and shopping list. My family and I agreed to do the Challenge together and it was a great experience! We were able to give up some of those highly processed foods that were remaining in our diet. In fact, separating our food into what was allowed and not allowed during the challenge, we realized how many unhealthy foods were still in our kitchen.


Holistic Mama is bringing back the 7 Day Real Food Challenge at the end of April! I'm so excited! I will be posting details since this time I am a contributing blogger, but you can head over to read about the challenge now by clicking here. Hope you'll join us when sign-ups open soon!

For more info on why we've made so many changes to our diet, try some of these links:

http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/
http://www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp
http://www.fixfood.org/
http://www.mamamakingchanges.com/2012/04/new-facts-draw-your-own-conclusions.html
http://robertkennerfilms.com/food_inc_return.html
http://www.transferofhealth.com/healthy-eating/why-eat-healthy/corn-facts/
http://www.mamamakingchanges.com/2012/07/summer-blog-challenge-day-49.html
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/resources/grass-fed-beef-grain-fed-beef-00412000070712/
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2007/05/the-difficult-lives-and-deaths-of-factory-farmed-chickens/
http://worldtruth.tv/how-monsanto-big-ag-are-killing-us-planet-earth/
http://theholisticmama.com/store-7/?ap_id=lrbroach1973




Click here for a full list of my posts and a list of participating blogs in the 2013 A to Z Challenge!

Wordless Wednesday

Homemade Truffles!!!!!

Short, Fat, and Proud to be an American

Did you know that in 2010, America was the world's fattest country? Our people are ranked 9th in the world in height. So we are all getting to be short and fat. Great. 

I watched the United Stats of America tonight on the History Channel. (I happen to love this show. I rarely turn on a TV, and when I do there are only a few shows that I will sit and watch. This is one of them.) Tonight's numbers really hit home hard. Tonight's episode focused on obesity in America, which I have blogged about previously. Not only am I personally working to change the fact that I fit into the obese category, but more than 30% of Americans are right there with me.

In the United States, unhealthy food is easier to get and often less expensive that healthy food. The government subsidizes major factories that produce processed foods and corn growers who sell to major factories for over-processing. It isn't natural! 

The most popoular food in America is french fries! And the average American eats more than 4 pounds of potato chips per year! Many Americans don't even know how to cook a potato at home! Fast food burgers often contain enough calories meet a persons caloric needs for an entire day! A wide variety of foods eaten in their basic form made early Americans the tallest and healthiest people in the world. A diet of fast food and overly processed food has made modern Americans the fattest people in the world!

The average male waist was 33" in the early 1900s, but today it's 39.7"! But we changed the way we eat starting in the 1950s with the advent of fast food restaurants. Also,  people started working less actively. Technology has reduced the number of farmers to 2% of the American population and 80% of Americans now work in offices. In 1790, more than 90% of Americans were farmers! They ate healthy food and got tons of exercise. 

America has adapted, though. Instead of calling attention to the problem, since the 1980s furniture has gotten wider, movie theater seats have gotten wider, dinner plates have gotten bigger, and even standard coffin size is now wider!

I am learning to eat fresh, made from scratch, and homemade. When I do all of this, I eat healthier! And guess what? I've started losing weight! I have a long way to go, but I am finally learning that when I make healthier choices I can eat more food without gaining more weight. When I get more exercise, I work up more of an appetite. But I can eat more because I burned more calories. 

Sounds simple but it's harder than you think to put into practice. Why? Because unhealthy food is easier to get and less expensive! You can't get steamed spinach at a drive-thru. But you can get potatoes dipped in sugar then deep fried in oil and tossed with salt for only $1.19. No wonder our nation is short and fat.

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