Welcome to my Blog! This is a first for me as i am generally computer illiterate. But with a little persuasion from friends and family and some help from a more computer savy comrade, i am well on my way to becoming part of the 21st century.
I lean a little towards the side of "hippy" when it comes to my lifestyle. People often raise their eyebrows when my husband Jonathan and I say we don't have cable television, iphones, or internet. Mind you we did have to cave and get an internet stick for Jonathan's business and this does seem to make more sense when one wants to start a Blog.
Fresh food has always been an issue for me. I'm sure it drove my mother crazy when i would constantly check expiry dates and refuse leftovers as a kid. My first five years were spent on a farm in Saskatchewan. My biggest memories seem to be of time spent raiding the crisp carrots and sweet peas from mom's garden. The smell of fresh buns filling our house. And of course, riding my horse in the wheat fields.
Warp ahead 26 years and i find myself wanting these very things for our three children. I find it crazy that I buy Canadian beef from a very American COSTCO. How many miles has that beef travelled to get on to our plates. Eating local seems to solve many problems occurring today. Of course environmental; the fewer miles travelled=smaller eco-footprint. It also supports producers who could be our friends, family or neighbors. And most importantly, for me, i know what I am putting into our children's mouths. Growth hormones, chemicals to promote longevity in food, and god knows what else is "added" for travel/taste. These things actually scare me. It was a little different when we didn't have kids. But now? now i am hypersensitive to what is in our food and how it affects their health, growth and behavior.
Having a background in Disability Studies, I worked with children of varying disabilities within their home and school environments. I really found that the parents who did their research and promoted healthy eating habits had better results with their child's behavior and overall health. This sometimes included limiting processed foods, removing sugars, and being generally more aware of food allergies occurring. I was able to SEE the difference with the children whose parents did the above and those who did not. This was one tidbit( along with many others) i chose to store for when i had my own children.
This will be an exciting journey for me. I look forward to all the ups and downs as well as the learning curve that is bound to happen.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Day 1

Today we started our day with oatmeal. Highwood Crossing out of Aldersyde, Alberta is a locally run, certified organic, family based company. They have a huge range of grain products including white and whole grain milled wheat flour, rolled oats, pancake/ muffin mix and more. They also make flax and sunflower oil as well as a hot cereal mix. We ate the Organic rolled oats with honey and milk, with a spoonful of yogurt. Vital Greens is a certified organic company that believes in non homogenized dairy products. When speaking with the owner, Joe. I was so impressed with the passion he and his family had for delivering wholesome product. He briefly taught me the process of making butter if need be and also a little about the reason for not homogenizing his milk. He believes that the process absolutely strips the dairy of vital nutrients as well as changes the product and does not allow for the natural separation that occurs in the milk. We bought the 1% milk from Community Natural Food in Calgary SW. It tastes more grainy, but way more creamy. The honey is available at many different local growers. The girls have been snacking on raspberries and a few strawberries out of the garden, the problem solely being they cannot (or will not) keep clothes on. They run naked amongst the vegetables. Our peas are ready for picking, and they hardly make into the bin, the kids are devouring them! For lunch we ate eggs, with cream, cheese and green onion. With a biscuit on the side...I replaced the baking powder with 3 eggs and used no salt and honey for sweetener...they ate it, sort of...So for dinner I have planned to make a honey/garlic baste to put on chicken breasts BBQ'ed with potatoes out of our garden and salad...Yogurt for dessert. So the children seem really hungry, they don't really understand what is going on and why they can not have a granola bar. They are eating what we give them (except Bur would NOT eat the oatmeal!) It's just they want ketchup with their eggs, pancakes with syrup and the list goes on and on and on...not sure if this was the best thing to do for them. Feeling guilty about it all...We will try a bread recipe this afternoon and see how that goes. Also, for butter we are using Foothills Creamery and eggs are local bought at the Farmers Market in Calgary. Have to find a local egg producer, but this shouldn't be too hard. All and all, i am feeling o.k. a little stressed with everything else going on in our life. But the adventure has started and there is no turning back now!!!
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