Onions for Lunch

Remember those sensors that would tell how much like was left in a battery?  I wish food had this same sensor, or some sort of scale, saying least pesticides, most pesticides, definitely gonna kill ya!  This week was a bad week for grocery shopping.  My wallet was LEAN (like ghetto poor lean) and I'm in the store trying to decide what warrants the gazillion extra dollars.  Do I buy the organic cheese sticks (6 for $3.75) or the non-organic (12 for $2.50)?? Is a cheese stick really going to affect my kids' lives?

I always try to buy grass-fed organic meats because of hormones and antibiotics that are given to mass-produced meats.  Plus the guilt factor gets me almost every time - images of videos I've seen of cows, pigs and chicken being raised for public consumption haunt me while I'm in the meat department.  I also always buy organic milk, but it really kills me to buy organic cheeses and butter.  Is that pat of cream cheese on my bagel going to make difference?  Even that $1.00 off coupon isn't really going to make a dent in the price difference.

Here's the list commonly referred to as "The Dirty Dozen" - 12 foods that you should buy organic if at all possible.  Of course most of my favorites are on the list...Why can't it have stuff like rutabaga, or beets?

• Beef, chicken and pork
• Dairy products: Milk, cheese and butter
• Strawberries, raspberries and cherries
• Apples and pears
• Tomatoes
• Spinach and salad greens
• Coffee
• Potatoes
• Stone fruits: Peaches, nectarines and apricots
• Grapes
• Celery
• Peppers (capsicums), green and red

Most of these items fall on this list because of their thin skins that don't offer protection from the pesticides.

Some items that we don't need to worry about are avocados (big whoop!), onions, watermelon, pineapple.  Think items with thick skins that will get cut away, or produce that wouldn't have many insects nibbling on them, like cabbage or broccoli.

It drives me nuts that we even have to make these decisions.  Why does a grocery store offer 20 aisles of garbage and 2 aisles of real food??  Why can't all foods just be safe, healthy, and free of GMOs??  Until it is, I guess my kids will be getting onions and cabbage in their lunches!

Tomatoes Out the Ears

Did you plant a garden this year?  If you did, and yours is anything like ours, we have a surplus of tomatoes.  Of all the veggies to have an abundance of, tomatoes are a great one - there are so many recipes you can create with tomatoes.  If you're overwhelmed with what to do with them, why not try your hand at canning them for use throughout the year?

I'm a canning geek.  Although I complain every time I can something, I really love the process.  This sounds so hokey, but I really feel like it brings me closer to my roots.  My great-grandmother "put up" beets, tomatoes, pickles, you name it, she canned it.  My mother taught me the love of canning, and every time I do it memories of our time in the kitchen come rushing back.  The taste of homemade grape juice takes back to being 8 years old. 

The process can seem overwhelming, but it truly is quite simple.  It can be time consuming, but if I can do it, anyone can!  And you really will save money.   For example, this week I bought a box of organic tomatoes from a local produce stand.  The box cost $8.00.  From this box I made a huge batch of salsa (I'm talking one of those big Tupperware bowls) and still had enough to can 7 quart jars of whole tomatoes.  A bushel of apples cost around $12.00 and will make several jars of delicious apple sauce, apple butter and you'll probably still have enough to freeze for apple pies!

Now is a great time to preserve all those fruits and veggies that you are sick of cooking.  If you don't have the gumption for canning, freezing takes a fraction of the time.  Most veggies just need blanched before sticking into a freezer bag.  Same with fruits.   

You can find step-by-step preserving instructions at Ball's website.   And don't feel like you have to buy any special equipment.  All you really need are the mason jars, a stock pot and a pair of tongs.  The kits you can buy do make it a bit easier, but if you're not ready to commit (or are just a cheapo like me) you can use what you have on hand. 

 There are many other great reasons to can, as found on Balls' website:

Home canning supports sustainable lifestyles.  Canning locally-grown produce reduces the carbon footprint created by transporting vegetables around the world in off-seasons.  A study by Carnegie Mellon found that 11% of the average American’s household food-related greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation of foods.  You can reduce that by growing your own produce or purchasing it locally, and then fresh preserving the harvest and re-using Ball® Jars year after year.

Good luck and Happy Canning!!

Breakfast for Champions

We've all heard the saying a million times - "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."  I've always been a big fan of breakfast (okay, any meal, really, but breakfast is tops...)  Cereal is a favorite in our house, but I have to admit, the price for an organic box of cereal can kill me, especially knowing that between the six of us, it won't last long.  My kids also love frozen waffles and pancakes, and these are convenient breakfasts items for starting the school day.

I've found that making these items from scratch, with organic ingredients, costs a fraction of the cost of premade items.  Although I'm bummed to say I don't have a great recipe for organic Lucky Charms, here a few ideas:

Pancakes
1 cup flour (you can use half whole wheat/half white if you prefer)
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 Tbl oil
1 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients.  Create well in the middle, add wet.  Stir - some remaining lumps are okay.  Drop onto hot griddle.  When you begin to bubbles, flip.  Serve warm with maple syrup!
You can mix the dry together ahead of time to have pancake mix on hand.  And these freeze great.  I make a double batch and freeze them for breakfast all week! 

Waffles
1 3/4 cups flour
1 Tbl baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil

Combine all ingredients.  Stir until combined (might be a little lumpy).  Pour a cup of batter onto a preheated waffle baker.  Close lid quickly, and don't open during baking.  Bake according to your waffle iron directions.  When done, use a fork to life waffle off griddle. 
These also freeze great!

Oatmeal is an quick, easy (and cheap) recipe, too! 
1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup water

Microwave for 1 minute/30 seconds.  Add you favorite fruits!
Dice half an apple - add before cooking with 1/2 tsp cinnamon. 
Top with fresh peaches and 1 Tbl brown sugar.
Top with raspberries and 1 Tbl. honey.
This is much healthier than the oatmeal packets!!

Don't forget about eggs.  They take only minutes to make are an excellent source of protein.

Cleaning - Again!

With four children, there are days that I swear, all I do is clean.  I do have those moments when I decide to go on strike.  I'll look around at the clutter and think, "I'm done!  No more!  I just cleaned yesterday, I'm not doing it today, or tomorrow, or EVER!"  Eventually the clutter becomes chaos and I silently end my strike, picking up toys and washing the hand prints off the glass. 

While I was washing my floor (for what seems the gazillionth time this week) I started thinking about the chemicals I use around the house.  I recently read a great book regarding chemical build up in our bodies ("Body Toxic" by Nena Baker).  You might be stunned to learn that some of the chemicals our mothers have been exposed to have been transferred to us, and from us into our children.  There are chemicals we are exposed to that do not break down in our bodies (or in the environment) and then build up with each generation. 

Removing some of the toxic chemicals from our cleaning is a great way to reduce some of this exposure.  But it can be hard.  I've tried some made-from-nature cleaning products, like vinegar.  Ugh.  I'm sorry, but when you use vinegar to clean your home, it can smell like a stinky foot.  I know that clean doesn't have a smell, but I've become so accustomed to clean = lemony fresh (or something like that), that want my clothes and house to smell "good." 

I'm trying to break the addiction.  I've gotten rid of air fresheners (they contain cancer-causing naphthalene and formaldehyde).  And I recently realized that the ammonia I use to wash my floor is actually a derivative of gas!!  Some of you may be saying "Duh!" but I thought ammonia was "natural."  Recently, a natural cleaning company, Seventh Generation, has started cropping up in nearby stores, including Target, Walmart and local grocers.  The company offers a plethora of great cleaning supplies for a reasonable price - and most of them smell great!  The website also offers some great reading, as well as coupons.  Cheaper yet are household items like baking soda, vinegar, and borax - all in some way can be used to clean counters, floors and more.  A quick search on the web provides easy ideas.

Okay, have to get back to cleaning!!