Laptop Lunches

Instead of buying my daughter a beautiful new Princess lunch box, and my son one adorned with race cars, I invested in Laptop Lunch's Lunch box bento. These appealed to me for several reasons:

(1) They are made entirely from "safe" plastics. (Marked with recycle #5)

(2) The plastic has all been made in the USA.

(3) They're dishwasher safe plastics that can be used over and over (instead of tossed away like a plastic bag).

Here's the average lunch I pack for the family The first is for the kids, the second is a picture of my husband's lunch.


And this is of a yummy granola bar chock full of fruits and nuts for the husband.

I was expecting to use fewer plastic bags and feel good about the choices I was making for my family, but I also sort of expected my pre school to get a little annoyed with me. I'm used to being "that lady" at the grocery store with my reusable grocery and produce bags. But I have to live with the people at my fabulous pre-school. I've watched them take out individual snacks at snack time, and I worried that the compartments (instead of bags) would be an issue. On the first day we had them, I went into school and pulled my kids' teacher aside. I showed her how to open it, as some compartments don't have lids. You simply must sit it down before opening. I braced myself for an exasperated sigh, but instead I got "wow, that's SO cool!"

Huh?

Apparently, everyone at the pre-school loves them so much, that I had to give the name out to all the teachers and the owner. AND, they plan on giving out the information to other parents who may be interested.

So, long story longer, these are a huge hit for the kids, their school, and us too. We hardly even look at our plastic bags anymore. It's also nice to set out 4 boxes (one for each of the kids, and one for each of the adults) and just get lunch done for everyone all at once.

As a little note, the cooler bags and plastic thermoses in them are NOT made in the USA nor are they "chemical free." I weighed the costs and benefits, and decided that the food never touches the bag, and I need a bag capable of keeping their food cold while at school, so I purchased the lunch bag on the Laptop Lunch's website. I do not, however, use the associated thermos.

Kitchen JuJu and Essential Oils Galore.

Have you seen it? My JuJu? The quan? My Domestic Divaness? My kitchen mojo?

I spent most of my day cleaning. I've gotten behind on my 6 week rotation. Like, 3 weeks behind. Darn that end of the school year and kiddie viruses!

Anyhow, yesterday I scoured the kitchen. And when I say scour, I do mean it. Wiped down the cupboards, cleaned the floors...I even wiped down the baseboards! Today was the kids' rooms, and that included all of their toys.

A while back, I noticed that I never cleaned the kids' toys. And there's heaven-only-knows what kind of food and drink residue all over that mess. So, in this 6 week rotation, I added "cleaning toys" to the list. What an ordeal.

Now remember, I clean as organically as possible. I pretty much only break out the bleach when the stomach flu comes to town. So, as I'm looking at these wooden puzzle pieces, that are just downright nasty, I struggled with what to use. I have a can of Lysol outside, no...that wouldn't do. I grabbed my Better Basics book and looked. Ah! An antibacterial spray! And I had all the essential oils to make it!

Mix into spray bottle:
5 cups water
20 drops sweet orange oil
10 drops eucalyptus oil
10 drops lavender oil.

Spray and let sit on whatever needs disinfecting. You can wipe it off after 15 minutes if that is preferable.

I used this for all things that I couldn't stick in the wash machine with some borax, or the dishwasher on antibacterial setting. Basically, that means anything wood, paper, or electronic in nature (dolls with mechanisms that cry). I wiped everything I could down with my vinegar mixture, and then I sprayed this on for antibacterial efforts. This is actually suggested for cutting boards, so feel free to spray it there, food prep areas, and even baby's high chair. Better n' bleach!

I also made myself a new window cleaner. I noticed that the straight vinegar was leaving some streaks, so I decided to try something new. Effective, streak-free, and clean! Guess I can't argue with that:

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid soap
2 cups of water
a few drops of oil (I'm into peppermint right now, so I used that.)

Toss into a spray bottle and get to work!

Anyhow I focus on the cleaning because my side has nothing to write about today. Something went wrong in the meal planning this week. I had planned for leftovers today, but the husband ended up taking yesterday's dinner for lunch. The hubby is pretty good about eating what I serve - but he's not thrilled to eat the same thing for lunch and dinner every day. So, I decided on some quickie salads for dinner. I pulled out my bag and realized that the lettuce was starting to go bad. The husband suggested Dijorno, I called blasphemy, and took stock of my kitchen. Tomato, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, onion, basil, 1/2 loaf of French Bread...ah yes, Panini!

Epic failure, my friends. EPIC failure.

I was way excited to try this because I love paninis and I've read a bit about making them. I made sure to include enough cheese, layered throughout, so that the cheese would act like glue for the two bread pieces. I got a glass bread loaf pan, put three cans of food in it, to make a "weight" that would smoosh the bread together.

And still, when I tried to flip it, I killed it.

So I had a panini skillet type meal, where I at least tried to save the vegetables. Since this was the second meal gone wrong, I gave up and told the husband to find his own food. Clearly, my kitchen juju was used up for the day. Maybe I spent too much time in a vinegar and essential oil haze? Maybe it's the fact that my son was up every hour on the hour last night calling for "moooommmy."

Whatever, the juju magic is gone for the day.

Until tomorrow...I'll see if I have any luck with the fried rice.

Being Green: Part Three, Consumerism and Living Simply

Okay, I had this whole preamble set up to lead into this video. I just watched the video and decided that the author said things so succinctly and completely, that there really is no good reason for me to add my thoughts.

So, instead of taking 20 minutes to read my post - instead watch this.

It very accurately and truthfully shows why all of us should have a little less stuff for a LOT better life.

After the video, they have a link that sends you here. It tells you all the ways that you can contribute to a functioning society without extra stuff.

Back to food tomorrow, I promise.

Being Green: Part Two, Food

Green: relating to or being an environmentalist political movement b: concerned with or supporting environmentalism c: tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)

Environment: 1: the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded. 2 a: the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival b: the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community

When one thinks about what it means to be "green" in terms of diet, I suppose most people jump to words like organic, natural, vegetarian, and even the dreaded *GASP* vegan. While these are all components of "being green" - they do not comprise the whole. Why? Because these concepts are fundamentally individualistic. Someone who is truly green is thinking of both the part (individual) and the whole (community/world). Now, thinking about the world may be a survivalist act (i.e. I want everyone to have food so they don't come beating down my door). It's still results in a globalist approach.


So, as we contemplate how we can change our diets to be more "green" - we need to seriously consider what will benefit society as a whole, as well as what might benefit our own body.

Consider: Eating locally.

Probably the easiest thing you can do to be green is check and see where the food that you eat comes from. There are precious few items grown from outside of the country that I will eat. Most of those items are cultural or locational anomalies. For example, I will buy some Japanese candies on occasion, as those are inherent to them. I will not, however, buy the apples from Chile (which are labelled as organic, by the way). Nor will I the grapes. Why?

Lets think, for a minute, about what I am supporting if I do buy them: another country's economy (instead of my own), possible mistreatment of individuals working on the farm, farming of produce that is harder for the US to regulate, and of course the fossil fuels needed to ship the items to me.

Decidedly NOT GREEN.

Nor is it particularly green to buy apples from Washington when I live in Florida. Alas, tell that to my apple-loving children. So what to do? Buy your items as local as humanly possible. If you can grow it in your back yard - that is best. If not that, buy from a farmer's market - that produce is close enough for a farmer to drive in on a Saturday morning. Next best would be a supermarket that ships in local produce, like Publix. Preference would always be to the US over international. How do you know? Your grocer knows where they get everything from - and should tell you. At our grocery store it's on all of the labels. Now, the down side is that you end up eating produce in season rather than whenever you want. However, that produce is not only better for the Earth -- but it TASTES better too!

Consider: Avoiding packaged foods.

Okay, so you're buying local produce and want to take the "next step." Now comes the toughie: I'm going to ask you to avoid the center isles.

I know, I know, how could I?!? I mean, that's where the OREOS live!

Now, don't get me wrong. I buy the processed foods too. I have a 2 and a 3 year old. How could I possibly NOT buy goldfish? I am not a purist, but I do make a concerted effort to shop on the outside isles to get the whole-foods MOST of the time. Why? Well, packaged foods have a lot of junk in them. Look at the ingredients. How many words can you not pronounce on that package of cheese doodles? Is it even real cheese? And really, how could it be GOOD for you?

The answer is that it's not, and it's not good for the environment either. Why not the environment? Well, you're mass producing foods, pumping out whatever in pollution, instead of making the cookies in the privacy of your own home with a relatively low-output oven. Moreover, by avoiding packaged foods - you know you're safe from inadvertently supporting whatever corporate agenda the company supports. AND, you're using reusable resources, instead of finishing that bag of chips and tossing it. I mean, think about how much trash - as a community - we throw out EVERY DAY from packaging. While we are not in a place to be able to completely eliminate it, we are in a place to reduce, reduce, reduce.

Consider: Buying Naturally or Wild

If you can't give up the packaged food completely (this is me), do what I do and read the labels. I check to see if there are words I can't pronounce. I also check to see if the ingredients are what I would put into the product myself. So, for bread I expect to see words like "flour, sugar, yeast, milk, vegetable oil, and salt." If I see anything like monohydorlexicanmiosississisisisis, I know to stay away. Every time I turn around, one of these chemicals turns out to be used for rat poison or the US military's bombs, or SOMETHING equally as adverse to the human body.

One BIG turn off for me is high-fructose corn syrup. Now, I could write a whole dissertation on why we avoid it, so instead Ill stick with the fact that it's processed sugar. Anything processed is farther from the Earth, and thus something I try to avoid.

In the case of seafood, and meats where applicable, something else you can consider is wild. These animals and fish live the way God intended - and the are consumed through the natural process of the food chain. Our reasons for vegetarianism are partially ethical, but not in the sense that we believe it is unfavorable to eat animals. If we were to eat meat, this would likely be the primary method of consumption for us. Secondary would be organic.

Consider: Buying Organic

Now, where anything living is concerned - this is the grandaddy of the green.

I know people who buy everything organic. If it's made organically, they will buy it. If it's not, then they won't. Simple.

It's not so much for me.

You see, I have a finite amount of resources coming in. While I want to keep my family happy and healthy, and I want to do the Earth well, I also want some disposable income for experiences. I mean, what good is the Earth if I can't enjoy it? If I purchased all of our items organically, then I wouldn't have any money for anything else. As it is, our grocery, health care, and cleaning items run us $1000/mo. Some months I have a tough time keeping it at that. With that in mind, the questions about what I need to buy organically - and what I don't - really become important.

To answer this question, we need to know what it means to be labeled "organic." There is a quick answer to this: to be labeled you have to undergo an extensive process with the USDA in which you prove that you meet the standards. What are the standards? Well, it depends what kind of food you are producing.

Meat and animal products: Organic meat comes from animals that have been treated in a certain manner prior to slaughter. Issues of feed, living conditions, pest control, health care, and origin, are all defined in the by-laws for receiving and maintaining the label. Handling is also considered under the organic label. Since animal products come from the animal (presumably before slaughter) all of these also apply to things like milk, eggs, and milk products.

Seafood: Is not currently regulated. Anything labeled "organic" or "natural" is not done so by any official party. Buy wild, see above.

Produce: Organic produce is regulated in how land is managed, soil is conditioned, as well as how crops are rotated, managed, and harvested.

Packaged: Packaged foods are created from the above. To be considered an organic product, 95% of all ingredients must come from the above (unless it's labeled at 100%). If you see the label "made with organic ingredients" it comes down to 70%.

The similarity in organic products seems to be a limitation on the number of pesticides, hormones, and the amount of UN-natural stuff the product is exposed to. This, this limits the amount of UN-natural stuff that you - the consumer - is exposed to.

In our home, I subscribe closely to the dirty dozen, which are the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables. The easy way that I remember what is "okay" and what is "not" is the type of skin. Items with thin/non existent/edible skins are best purchased organically. Those with thick, inedible skins or husks are okay to purchase inorganically.

As far as grains are concerned, I have read in the past that it is not as important to purchase these types of foods organically, at least in terms of pesticide limitations. I cannot find a source to cite right now, but I believe that it was in Consumer Reports. It's because of this that I look for natural grain products, but I don't stress over the organic label. Now, for reasons regarding general treatment for the earth, organic is always better than inorganic. Remember that individual vs. the whole argument I was making earlier?

So, what does this mean to the "regular family"?

Unfortunately, in our area - it is difficult to eat the way we want to. Partly due to my husband's health concerns, and partly because we cannot afford to eat meat the way we want to, we are vegetarians instead. I've been enjoying inorganic berries because the organic ones just aren't good. I'm sure if I can get them farm fresh, they'd be great - but I can't. I also have trouble with "organic" apples that come from Chile. How green are they if I have to ship them from miles and miles away? Especially when there are ones available from the US. At least then you are supporting the local economy.

What I'm trying to point out is that it's not important to be perfect about your eating green. It's one of those "constantly evolving" things - acting in such a way that betters yourself, your family, and the world that we live in. In the end, being "green" where your food is concerned is more about being aware. Being aware of what you are putting into your body, where it comes from, and the process it which it gets to you.

Of course, there is one more component to being green with your food, and it deals with consumption and waste. Which, my green friends, will lead me into Part III.

Being Green: Part One, dishes, plastic, and the US.

Have you ever wondered about those dishes you serve your family's dinner in? I know I do. I started to become concerned last holiday season, when every time I turned around some other toy was being recalled for lead. All of them came from China. Suddenly, I started to realize that EVERYTHING in my house was made in China. Even the dishes. Which made me wonder - if the paint used on toys has lead in it, who is to say that the paint used on my DISHES wouldn't also be filled with lead? From that day on, I vowed to shop American whenever possible.

It occurred to me that this decision was good for me and my community in many ways. (1) I am supporting American jobs. (2) "Made in America" products travel a shorter distance to get to me, thus using less oil and energy. And (3) In my mind, fewer questionable substances.

My first block came when I tried to buy dishes for the family. I'm a fan of stoneware - good, hearty, use for everything, dishware. It TURNS OUT that it's very difficult (and very expensive) to find made-in-America stoneware. They're out there, I just can't afford them right now. It's not like I can run to any second-hand store either, as I said before, practically everything is made in China.

So, I turned away and stuck my head in the sand until I can afford them. Dejected, I ignored the dishes until I became aware of BPA and PVC. What are these? Well, substances found in certain plastics that will find their way into your food given the right circumstances. Substances that are found to bring less-than-desirable results to the human body. Basically, in my research I have found that anything besides a little recycle symbol with a 5 inside of it, means that your plastic is toxic. It's not quite that simple - or drastic, but if you do the research about it, you will find the same. If you don't know what I am talking about, look on the bottom of a plastic bowl. See a triangle made out of arrows? See that number inside? THAT'S the all-important number.

Now, here was my concern - I can't give my kids stoneware. They try to help (think Barney's "clean up, clean up!") Then they break. I need plastic for those occasions that the plate ends up the floor. So, I went to my cupboard to see what I had. Guess what I found? Lots of 7's and "made in China's. JOY. Out they went and in came a whole host of new products:

I now use PYREX glass bowls and (safe) plastic lids for food storage. Did you know that PYREX was made in the USA? I happened to get a great deal on Amazon.com over the Memorial Day Weekend.

I bought plastic plates, bowls, and cups for the kids at Publix. Arrow Plastics are made in Illinois, and sold in a few places. One being Walmart. Another being our local grocery store.

I purchased us all new water bottles from Kleen Kanteen. Made with stainless steel, I don't worry about the affects of plastic or aluminum. They also have a safe plastic sippy attachment for your kiddos.

For lunches, I am investing in the lunchbox bento for my entire family. I bought one for my husband to use this summer, and try out. So far, so good. So long cheapie lunch bags, plastic bags, and juice boxes!

Since I am doing away with excess plastic, I also went ahead and purchased some new bags for my produce. A user of reusable grocery bags, I thought it was so stupid that I brought home plastic with my produce. So, I went ahead and replaced those too. I have yet to use them (got them last week, just after I made our weekly run). They seem simple enough , and I love how the set comes with items meant to keep my produce fresh longer. Less waste is green too!

So, those are the steps we've made as of late. "Being green" is one of those things that you can't ever be "good enough" at. Recently, at my evaluation, my principal asked me what areas I could improve. I included lesson plans and parent contacts as mine - because those are two things that we can NEVER be "good enough" at. There's always some new way to teach something, and there's always a parent that could be called for a situation. Being green is the same. There's always some way that I could do with less, make more out of something already useful, or advocate for world change.

To your right, under green living, is the soft landing blog. That site taught me a great deal about how to best protect my family from unwittingly given chemicals in their food. I also wanted to give you a few more "food for thought" websites and online stores:

- Not Made In China: A blog that discusses toys that are made and not made overseas.

- Still made in the USA: Products and goods made in the USA.

- Reusablebags.com: A GREAT all-in-one store for green goods. I recently purchased my reusable produce bags, Kleen Kanteens, and Laptop Lunch Box all from this online store.

These all deal with how we store and eat our foods, as well with buying American. Tomorrow, I will "school y'all" (yes, that's a southern phrase) on the actual foods.

Wrapping up the long weekend.

What a positively lovely weekend it was!

Last night, I did make up the breakfast cookies and banana bread, as planned. Unfortunately, it was an evening of "oooops" mistakes and "darn" I don't have any of that ingredient.

Breakfast cookies: These turned out pretty well. I managed NOT to mess it up, but I didn't have the cheerios nor the rolled oats. I instead used rice crispies and quick-cooking oats. I figured this was better anyway, as the quick cooking oats are always in the oatmeal cookie recipes I find. I also topped each cookie with a simple frosting/glaze (just water and powdered sugar). I have found that my picky three year old will eat nearly anything with frosting on it. I gave her a bite last night, she told me it was good, yet tried to tell me she didn't like it this morning. I told her it was what we were having for breakfast this week, so "tough cookies..." No pun intended, of course!

Low fat banana bread: This was a HUGE oops. I added TWICE the buttermilk called for. I caught it just as I was ready to spread into the loaf pans - and added the last little bit of white flour that I had (1/4 cup) to remedy it. I then poured it into pans and hoped for the best. It WORKED! In fact, it is so good, I am hesitant to make it as written in the future. Let me add that I didn't have buttermilk, so I looked up alternatives online and found that you can "make" buttermilk by adding 1 tsp of vinegar to a scant 1 cup of milk. I put in 1 1/3 teaspoon and filled with milk up until the 1 1/3 line. The vinegar actually mixed with the baking powder in the dry ingredients to make a wonderfully spongy banana bread; an effect that I'm not sure could be mimicked with regular buttermilk. I ended up using 2% milk, but had I used the fat free, the only fat would been the small amount in the oil and the natural fat in the bananas.

Chickpeas: They are done and in my fridge. Just as I said, I boiled them with a tablespoon of thyme leaves, 1 tablespoon of rubbed sage, 2 tablespoons EVOO, and salt to taste. Now they will be ready for salads and rice for the week.

Pizza: We grilled it tonight, as scheduled. What was NOT scheduled? Running out of white flour. So, I made a "Colorado style" pizza instead, just changing the white flour out for wheat. I found that I needed slightly less flour, but it cooked up just the same. As any Coloradoan would dictate, we dipped the crusts in honey once the cheese and tomato sauce had been eaten off each piece. The kids LOVED it! I think my husband found himself right at home, too.

On top of the cooking and eating going down, my husband and I are working on some green changes as well. Amazon.com is having a Memorial Day Sale, and Pyrex dishes are part of it. If you have considered giving up on some of your plastic pieces, now would be a good time to toss some Tupperware and go with glass. Pyrex is made in the USA, and it's not plastic.

So, the oven got a break this weekend.

The fam and I have a couple of trips in the works. The first one is coming in January of 2009, when we will be taking the little ones to Disney. Once they turn three you have to pay, so I took our little girl when she was 2 and 11 months. We plan on doing the same with our little guy. Then, the following November, I turn (gasp) 30! I told the husband that I wanted nothing for my birthday - except for a short trip. I plan on sitting back and sipping on something tropical that long weekend in November. You only turn 30 once.

So, in preparation for this little jaunt, we're saving cash. The ball and chain is on this HUGE Dave Ramsey kick, which is good for the pocket book. Now, truthfully, if darling husband was as committed as the book suggests, I would have been told"no," to these little trips. Thankfully, my spouse also buys into the "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy..." philosophy.

What on EARTH does this have to do with my kitchen, you ask?

Well, I had employed a couple of lovely young ladies to come clean my home once per month. When they started with me, I was working ridiculous hours and couldn't keep up. It was either clean all weekend or hang with the kids...I chose hang with the kids. I still had to maintain the house - but the big cleaning was left to the professionals. At first, their cleans were impressive and through. As time went on, they turned to "average." I began to wonder why I was paying $85/month for something I could do myself. As I became a more experienced teacher, I found my hours weren't quite as intense. Then the Disney trip came up (5 days, I can HARDLY stand it!) and I just decided I would rather keep the money.

However, there was ONE MORE consideration: the cleaning arsenal. Bleach, Mr. Clean, Tilex...basically one big pool of chemicals. I don't mean to sound elitist; in my day I certainly used disinfectant with the best of them. It's just that, since I had my children, I've been much more observant about what (exactly) I bring into my home.

I was raised by hippies. I mean, really. Picture your vision of a 1960's hippie, and that was pretty much my parent's lives. Consequently, I lived a pretty natural life. My mom canned, made things from scratch, raised her own chickens...yadda yadda. They protested various issues, vehemently avoided anything pesticide related, and believed that living simply was what God intended.

It's no surprise that I'm coloring my own world with a little 1960's flare.

A while ago, I discovered a book that detailed how to clean your home with less crap. A germ-a-phobe, I was hesitant. However, then I decided that the chemicals were actually more frightening than the germs. I highly recommend this book in it's entirety - it is an AMAZING reference for how to live simply. However, in the short term, let me share a few things.

Hollee's NEW cleaning arsenal:

1 spray bottle of straight vinegar with Lavender oil: Vinegar is an amazing cleaning tool. It dissolves dirt, grime, and grease as well as anything out there. It's also gentle enough to use on wood, like my dining room table and anything else susceptible to my children's sticky fingers. Lavender adds a pleasant scent and acts as a natural disinfectant. The vinegar scent neutralizes when it dries.

Borax/washing soda/water/castile soap/Tea Tree Oil/Lavender Oil: I put in a bottle that I can pour onto a surface and scrub with. The spray bottle doesn't fly - the borax clogs it up. I leave out the washing soda when I don't have it on hand, and it works just fine. The bottle I made tonight was around 1/4 cup borax, 1/4 cup castile soap, 12 or so drops of oil (total), and the rest of the 64 oz bottle of HOT water. I will grow the mixture for a bucket when I'm REALLY getting down to some cleaning. Works great on my floor when it needs a good scrub, but I will use a water washcloth to rise off excess.

20 drops of Tea Tree Oil and 32 ounces of water: Good anti-mildew mister for whatever. Works like magic. It doesn't kill the mildew, but it will keep it from growing.

Lemon Juice: Amazing anti-tarnish (restoring a silver jewelry box as we speak) and microwave cleaner. Just submerge metal in lemon juice and let sit over night. Buff clean and dry. For microwave, put 1/2 cup and cook for 3-5 minutes. Wipe down microwave immediately when finished (I just use a dry rag).

Baking soda: Great little scrubber. I use with vinegar to clean tubs, showers, and even the toilet.

Borax: In addition to above, I use in laundry as a booster to whites and lights. Just do load on warm and follow directions on the box.

Product recommendations: "Oils" listed are essential oils - important in getting the antibacterial properties. Where "castile soap" is listed, I use Doctor Bronner's mild baby soap. Incidentally, I use his peppermint soap as my personal soap, in full strength. Store bought products in my home include Seventh Generations: hand washing dish soap, softener, and laundry detergent. I also use my grocer's generic non-chlorine bleach (oxyclean).

I'm not perfect, I still use Cascade dish soap (I've not yet found anything comparable) and a carpet stain cleaner that will probably make me grow a third arm. However, the bulk of my "daily" cleaning supplies are earthling friendly...which makes me feel good about cleaning.

If you want even MORE ideas about the green life, go ahead and check out this Internet forum. Great ideas about all things earth friendly.

Wouldn't you know, with all this cleaning, I got antsy to cook SOMETHING. I found some chocolate chips that were aging, and made some cookies. I thought they were okay, but the husband loved them. That's probably for the best, as I won't feel the need to eat them now!

Kitchens have feelings too.

On the subject of yesterday's rant:

I wanted to go ahead and plug this great book, Better Basics for the Home. It's a great resource for anyone wanting to make their home more chemical neutral.

It has instructions for making everything from basic cleaning supplies to creating your own beauty regimen. It sort of makes my head swim in trying to figure out what to make, but I just started with a few basics and make more as I have use for them.

Not for eating, but it IS for the kitchen!

The cost of good health.

And no, I'm not speaking of health care.

I just read a really fantastic article about the costs of food increasing and how it is changing the ways families shop. It really hit home with some of the things that we've been struggling with lately.

In our house, I am the "kitchen boss" and J is "money man." I used to do all the money, but it turns out I can't say, "no." So, now J gets this job. Have I mentioned how much he LOVES it?

One constant bone of contention is the food budget. Now, J knows that I work really hard to keep this down. I shop sales, I use coupons religiously, and I comparison shop where possible. Part of the problem is that I live in a medium sized town with small town amenities. We are a fast growing county, and developers can't keep up. I refuse to go to certain stores because the crowds are just unbearable. Still, I go cheap where possible, and I go sales in all the other places. The Internet certainly helps.

The problem comes out in the fact that we refuse to eat crap. I have this mentality that I would rather not eat anything at all, if my only choice is something that has no redeeming value. It either has to taste AMAZING or I know it has to be good for me and tastes pretty darn good. In other words, I can't remember the last time I bought ramen.

We buy organic for the dirty dozen and dairy, and natural in most other places. We have a few indulgences (mostly kid stuff), and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Mainly, I refuse to feed the kids anything that I can't pronounce. At least I refuse 90% of the time. Yes, we hit McDonald's. The kids love it, and it's a good treat no more than once a month. As are a few other terrible items that have been known to make it in our cart. So sue me for spoiling my kids a little.

But still, it kills me how much it costs to eat well. I spend insane amounts on food and household items. All because I want to raise my kids in a clean home with natural foods, the way God intended. It boggles my mind that it takes two average incomes in our house to be able to meet our dietary and chemical expectations.

Truthfully, I could write a book about my opinions on the American diet, its ramifications on our health, and how I would like to change things for the better. Alas, I have not the attention for a book. Besides, it's already been written. It's just up to us to read the information, and realize that you have one life and one body.

Here comes the weekend!

So, if there's anything a working mom looks forward to, it's the weekend. A little extra time with the hubby, playtime with the kiddos, and (in my case) a little extra time in the kitchen.

Most weekends, I have a pretty grand plan for what will be going on. The problem is, we're pretty stocked. Busting even. I have ziti, beans (garbanzo and black), lasagna, and chili in the freezer for quick meals. I have probably 5 dozen muffins left, and two different kinds of pancakes. Not to mention all the vegetable purees for my Deceptively Delicious recipes (and those inspired).

So, Now what?

Well, it's Strawberry Season. That means it's time to get on my Jam making for the year. I hate store bought jam. I was spoiled on homemade in the beautiful Pacific Northwest Berry Heaven. Smuckers is just crap when you're used to an assortment of jams made of fresh fruit.

Although Strawberries are part of the uneatable "Dirty Dozen," we simply cannot afford to buy organic for jam. Not to mention I've never been able to find a batch that is mold-free. So, I instead follow the lead of The Omnivore's Dilemma, and buy local. At least there are fewer preservatives. I always end up making Freezer Jam, as I love the TASTE. It's just berries and sugar - YUM!

I also noticed that Eggplants are on sale at Publix. So, I perused a few recipes and found a 2 that perked my interest. Truthfully, I have never LOVED Eggplant Parmesan. However, I found a nice recipe for a middle eastern eggplant dip. I also got the idea for making Curry from a web board I frequent. I have some massaman paste and coconut milk. So, we'll see what I can share come Sunday or Monday!

So, what do YOU plan to do this weekend? Why don't you take a step to de-preservative your life and make something HOMEMADE? It's really not that scary! It can be as simple as making pancakes for your family, from scratch (no Bisquick or Krustez allowed!) Then make a double batch, and freeze everything you don't eat. Or, make a double batch of muffins, and do the same. Make an extra big pot of chili, and freeze half. Then use it on a day you would otherwise go out or eat some ready-made meal. Go on. Make some plans...you DO have the whole weekend!