The Garden

The garden is coming along well. We have tried twice at each of our plants and the second time seems to be the charm. Our garden consists of:

 - Beets

 - Corn 

- Carrots 

- Strawberries 

- Peppers 

- Pole Beans 

- Cucumbers

 - Tomatoes 

- Onions

 - Watermelon 

The anticipation of seeing the plants grow and mature is exciting. And, we have found the garden to be a stress reliever. We are more than excited to eat the fruits of our labor.

 We have put up a large fence to keep deer, neighborhood cats, and critters out of our garden. Our neighbors have said that the only vegetables they grow are peppers and onions because the deer do not touch those. We wanted a larger variety than that so we opted for a "compound like" feel.

It was a quiet winter

It appears by the lack of posting that it may have been a busy winter. On the contrar, it was quiet in the way that we continued with our normal schedule but busy in the sense that our normal schedule includes mpre than two jobs and family time. Here is a brief recap of what has happened over the winter: - Halley continues to work at Younker's - Dale and Halley traveled to Florida to celebrate Dake's Birthday - Halley completed 3 more credits toward her masters - Dale bought a few more fun parts for his cars - We found a great recipe for Sweet Potato bread - Homemad ravioli is deliscious and easy Our next post will talk about our new spring project!

Convient and Best...Antonyms?

It amazes me that a discussion on Maynonnaise can bring about such an avalanche of thoughts. Mayo is a spread that goes on most sandwhiches, is a filler for salads, and can add alot of body or texture to most dishes. In it's most simple form it is made with eggs, oil, and lemon with a few spices. But, if you look at it's label now it includes, about, 15 other ingredients. WHY?

And the answer is....convience. Purchasing a jar of mayo from the shelves of the market takes 3.6 seconds, unless you are comparing prices. It is easy, cheap, and requires little thought. However, are the extra ingredients truly what is best?

It would be my conclusion that our choices in life, (which includes food, exercise, mental health, social health, etc), could be divided between what is Best and what is Convient. On a venn diagram, where is the intersection? When does best become convient and convient become what is best?

That is where I am at today. Looking at each decision (food choice and all) to begin the discernment for what is best and what is just convient.

Menu For Valentine's Week

Although Tuesday is the day of St. Valentines. This weeks food is romantic but also nutritionally sound.

Monday

Ham and Potato Soup + Bread

(locally purchased pig, whole ingredients, and homemade wheat bread)

Tuesday

Italian Sausage + Salad

(sadly, nothing in this meal is local/organic except the lettuce)

Wednesday

Meat loaf + Sweet Potato + Salad

(venison, local potato, organic lettuce)

Thursday

BLT + Potato Salad

(locally grown pork, whole ingredient salad, homemade bread)

Friday

Pork Chops + Corn + Salad

(local pork, organic corn, and lettuce)

Sad to say, I get enjoyment from reading nutritional labels. And, when I am able to pull pork out of my fridge and not be able to read a nutritional label becuase it is to fresh....I get a sense of satisfaction. The pig was raised by a local menonite family who also butchered it and prepared the cuts of meet.

While this pig was in its last days of glory, it vegged or fruited on lots of apples. As the meat is a little sweet and oh so deliscious.

Are Burssel Sprouts Part of the Answer?

On this road to discovery about nutrition, I recently read The Omnivores Dilema, another book by Michael Pollan. This particular text focuses on the origins of American food and is the precurser to In Defense of Food.

In response to this new information, we are cooking much of our food from scratch. For example we bake our own bread, potatoe chips, and make our own ice cream. We have noticed a change to our taste buds and are more aware of the ingredients all the food we put into our bodies.

Additionally, we are going to start planing a garden for this summer. This step will, hopefully, make us more self-sufficient in terms of food. And, self-sufficiency will take the form of beets and brussel sprouts.

New Year New Food

It is easy for me to get sucked into ideas. For example, vegan eating. I learned much from researching Veganism; their viewpoints on treating all creatures with respect in additon to the health impacts of cutting certain foods from your diet. To add to this bender of nutition obsession, I recieved the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

This author has also written the books, The Omnivores Dillema and The Botany of Desire. Each of these books focuses on food, where it comes from, and how it affects our bodies. In particular, In Defense of Food researches the products that are put into most foods found on the shelves at our grocery stores and how these foods detract from what was already a good thing or a whole food.

He uses the example of bread, if you were to make a loaf of bread at home it would require yeast, flour, and water. Depending on the type maybe eggs or some sugar. But, you as a person are able to pronounce eat item and know where it comes from. Now, for instance, take a loaf of Sara Lee's Smooth and Soft White Bread:
     "Enriched Bleached Flour [Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin 
      Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Water, Whole Grain      
      Whole Wheat Flour, Brown Rice Flour (Rice Flour, Rice Bran)], Wheat Gluten, Skim Milk, 
      High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Yeast, Butter (Cream, Salt), Contains 2% or Less of 
     Each of the Following: Calcium Sulfate, Salt, Dough Conditioners (May Contain One or 
    More of the Following: Mono- and Diglycerides, Ethoxylated Mono- and Diglycerides, 
    Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Calcium Peroxide, Datem, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, 
    Enzymes), Guar Gum, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Distilled Vinegar, Yeast 
    Nutrients (Monocalcium Phosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate and /or Calcium 
    Carbonate), Corn Starch, Vitamin D3, Soy Lecithin, Soy Flour."

I can name a few of these ingredients but I have to wonder why bread needs such a list of ingredients.

I understand that food is shipped from the factory to our stores and many of these ingredients help with shelf life, appearance, texture, and smell. But, if we examine how these extra ingrdients are affecting our bodies, we may find it worthwhile to spend more time in our kitchens cooking food from scratch or from food with names that we can pronounce.