Recently I was pleased to see the latest copy of Wise Traditions appear in our mailbox. Wise Traditions is the quarterly periodical that is distributed by The Weston A. Price Foundation. At the front of the publication are several letters sent in by readers. One of the letters was from a lady in Canada. In her letter she explained that in the last three years her family has switched over to a diet consisting of whole, unprocessed foods. Prior to making this dietary change, the family ate processed foods on a daily basis with no ill effects. However, since improving their diet three years ago, her family can no longer consume processed foods without having adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, flu-like illnesses, and behavioral issues. The letter's author then goes on to explain why she believes that her family is now having these reactions.
This letter got my brain churning and I've been hashing out a post for several days now. Shawn and I have noticed that we now have reactions to processed foods similiar to the author of the letter. We've often wondered why this occurs now when it did not when we were eating the Standard American Diet, so it was interesting to read the letter in Wise Traditions and see her ideas.
Here's our belief as to why we're now sensitive to processed foods:
We believe that processed foods are loaded full of poisons that God never intended for us to consume. We believe that Americans have done a superb job of training their bodies to accept these poisons, even to the point that our bodies now crave the substances that ultimately harm them. Just as an alcoholic can train their body to accept poisonous levels of alcohol, the average American has trained their body to accept poisonous levels of food additives and chemicals. A couple of years ago when our diet was almost 100% processed food, our bodies were so used to accepting poisons on a daily basis that they no longer sent out warnings that we were doing something harmful. Now that we've changed our eating habits and allowed our bodies to heal, they are now capable of sending out distress calls when we put a poison into them. For us, those distress calls include nausea, eczema, fatigue, weakness, and dehydration. I think that when we consume foods that God put on Earth for us to consume, then our body works the way He designed it. Likewise, when we misuse God's creation, our bodies cease to work in the way He intended.
Some may say, "Well, when you break everything down, EVERYTHING is created from something that God created, so how can it be bad?" I agree that everything in existence ultimately came from something God created. However, just because God allows something to exist doesn't mean that He approves of it. Man was able to discover a process to murder unborn children. Everything involved in that process is derived from something that God created. I would argue that abortion is a misuse of God's creation. Likewise, I would argue that the chemicals put in processed food are perversions of God's creation. The easiest example is artificial food coloring. Did you know that artificial food dyes are made from petroleum? Yes, petroleum that God placed deep within the earth. The same stuff that was floating all over the ocean in the Gulf Oil Spill. Would you allow your child to jump into the Gulf of Mexico and swallow up some of that crude oil or drink a spoonful of gasoline? Of course not! Why is it ok for us to give our children petroleum in processed food, but it's not ok to give them a spoonful of gasoline? I cannot come up with a reason as to why gasoline is harmful to drink, but petroleum-based food additives are perfectly safe.
Some others may be saying, "But there have been studies that have shown that these products are safe to use in food, so they must be safe." I would say that just because "they" say that something is safe doesn't mean that it is. Look back at all the pregnant women that took thalidomide to help alleviate their morning sickness. We now know that thalidomide caused those women's babies to be born with serious physical birth defects. That drug was once deemed safe for use and we were shown that that position was wrong, wrong, wrong. Man has been proven wrong time and time again. I believe that God has always been right and will always be right. I am not willing to let my children consume petroleum-based food colorings and thereby allow them to be guinea pigs in the next thalidomide science experiment. We will stick to eating God's food because I trust that God knew what He was doing when He created all.
I want to close by saying that, if any of this makes sense to you and you desire to rid your body of the poisons that man tells you are safe...please don't be discouraged if it takes you a while to achieve it. In today's society, having the desire to make that change is a big deal in and of itself. Baby steps have helped our family achieve so much and I highly recommend the effectiveness of taking those baby steps. It's unfortunate that training our bodies to live without daily poisons is such a difficult process, however I believe that it will be worth it in the end. Just take the baby steps to get there and see how much better you feel once you've rid your body of the man-made poisons that are in it.
Showing posts with label Feingold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Feingold. Show all posts
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Why You Should Avoid Artificial Food
PLEASE open up the link below.
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/09/got-petroleum.html
It's a link to a blog that I view on a regular basis. The post goes over a science experiment that a teenager did. The teen took wheat berries and soaked them in different mixtures before planting them. She used different food colorings, aspartame, and finally a control group in water. Then she planted the wheat and monitored the growth progress of each. It's amazing to see in the photograghs how food colorings and aspartame effected the growth of the wheat.
So, my question is...if simple wheat berries are effected this negatively by artificial dyes and sweeteners, what does that mean it is currently doing to your body?
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/09/got-petroleum.html
It's a link to a blog that I view on a regular basis. The post goes over a science experiment that a teenager did. The teen took wheat berries and soaked them in different mixtures before planting them. She used different food colorings, aspartame, and finally a control group in water. Then she planted the wheat and monitored the growth progress of each. It's amazing to see in the photograghs how food colorings and aspartame effected the growth of the wheat.
So, my question is...if simple wheat berries are effected this negatively by artificial dyes and sweeteners, what does that mean it is currently doing to your body?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Gradual Change
Rhyah's comment in my last post got me to thinking..."How did we get to the point that we're at now?" I know that our changes in eating habits didn't happen overnight and Shawn certainly wasn't turning down Doritos at the beginning of this food conversion. So, I've been trying to think back...
I would have to say that our food conversion officially started on Christmas 2007. From my parents, I received the NutriMill grain mill, hard white wheat, hard red wheat, soft white wheat, Sucanat (to replace brown sugar), Sucanat with Honey (to replace white sugar), and some raw honey. Prior to receiving the grain mill, I would bake cakes, brownies, and waffles from scratch on occasion, but I was using bleached flour and white refined sugar. If I made pancakes it would've been from a box of mix bought from Aldi. I started playing around with my recipes and converting them over. After much trial and error, I eventually found a bread recipe using freshly ground hard white wheat that we all really enjoyed.
Shortly after that, I stopped purchasing artificially flavored pancake syrup and we started only using real maple syrup. Also, around this time (early 2008) I stopped purchasing margarine and switched over to plain ol' butter. At this point we were still eating boxed scalloped potatoes, boxed breakfast cereals, Hamburger Helper, canned beans, canned cream of mushroom/chicken soups, canned chili, Velveeta... There was still a lot of processed foods in our diet, most were bought from Aldi because I was trying to keep our food budget down. Later that year, I stopped purchasing microwave popcorn. Instead, we purchased a big bag of popcorn from Sam's Club and borrowed an old popcorn popper from my mom. The baby steps happened little by little.
We kept this pattern of eating for quite a while. I continued to bake a lot and alter my recipes to use freshly ground flour, Sucanat, and Sucanat with honey. I would make small changes..like making my own spaghetti sauce instead of buying it ready-made in a jar or finding a local source of raw honey instead of purchasing it online from another state.
When Andrew developed eczema around three months of age (around February 2009) I started researching how my diet could be effecting him. I was exclusively nursing at the time. Up until this point, I had never really thought about how the food we ate effected more than just our waistlines. I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could find on food allergies and food sensitivities. I started omitting certain foods from my diet in order to try to give my baby some relief from the itchy rash. First I gave up wheat, then I gave up wheat and dairy. I was willing to do anything to keep my baby from scratching himself until he bled.
So, while I was doing this trial and error change in my diet, the rest of the family kept on eating as normal. One day a friend of mine (Hi Amanda!) witnessed one of Sam's awful meltdowns. She knew that we had issues with Sam exhibiting autistic-like behaviors, one of which was the "meltdown over nothing" behavior that came on a daily basis. She recommended that we look into the Feingold Diet. I did, and when I read about the symptoms that could be helped, I cried. This diet gave me hope that I could help Sam through changing our eating habits.
So, in July 2009 the whole family switched over to the Feingold Diet. The Feingold Diet eliminated all artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives from our diet. In the beginning stages, it also eliminated salicylates. The changes we saw were amazing! We saw an immediate improvement in Sam. He no longer would wake up screaming from his naps and he was finally able to be fully potty-trained. The autistic-behaviors did not go away entirely, but they did noticably improve. Drew's eczema, however, went away totally and completely! We were only on the diet for a week before his skin was beautiful and clear. This was my turning point. It was easy for me to see how the food we eat can drastically effect so many aspects of our lives.
I became a woman on a mission. In the week before beginning the Feingold Diet, I was serving the kids Froot Loops and Sunny D Smoothies for breakfast. I'm not exaggerating at all here. I remember serving it to them and being proud that I had gotten the Froot Loops for free with coupons and I actually made money, using coupons, by buying the Sunny D Smoothies. This is when our family's eating went through drastic changes. I had made a lot of food from scratch before, but I did even MORE now. I started trying out recipes for homemade granola instead of purchasing boxed cereals. I started making our own lemonade instead of using the CountryTime drink mix. I stopped using the cream of whatever soups and started making my own. I stopped purchasing cans of chicken broth and made my own. I tried and succeeded in making homemade marshmallows so the kids would fit in at Vacation Bible School. I found organic lollipops online to have on hand for spur-of-the-moment treats. We ate out so much less since there were very few restaurants that offered food without artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. Home-cooked meals that were made from scratch became our new normal.
After being on the Feingold Diet for a month or two, I also decided to remove MSG, corn syrup, and sodium benzoates from our diet. In my mind, it just started to make more sense to eat foods that had been messed with as little as possible. I could see that, when our family ate foods that were closest to God's design, we felt better and were healthier.
Around September 2009 I found a farm two hours away that offered raw milk. We started making the trip there and began purchasing raw milk, farm fresh eggs, and free-range antibiotic/hormone free chickens.
In October we purchased our first grass-fed beef.
In November I started purchasing things with the organic label...organic fruits and vegetables, organic coconut flakes and I made my first purchase of unrefined coconut oil. Up until this point I still considered and regularly used canola oil as a healthy oil. I also purchased some cod liver oil at this time.
In January 2010 I started trying to switch over my recipes from using white/brown refined sugar and instead using only raw honey or real maple syrup as my sweeteners. This is still an ongoing process. I also began researching and experimenting with culturing dairy.
In February 2010 I joined the Weston A. Price Foundation. I succeeded in making my own butter, buttermilk, cream cheese, and whey from the raw milk that we purchase from the farm.
Now we're at March 2010 and my goal for this month is to work at soaking grains before preparing them. I've already made soaked bread, muffins, and oats. Tonight I'll be trying to make soaked tortillas for the first time.
When I look and compare our family's current way of eating to the way we ate prior to December 2007, there's a drastic change. If I had made that change overnight, Shawn would probably be in a fetal position in the corner. However, by making this change gradually (it's been over two years!) it's easier to accept. The biggest issue for us is becoming accustomed to a new normal. I remember when I first started making bread from scratch..Shawn missed WonderBread terribly. Now, when I mention trying out a new bread recipe so I can make bread from soaked grains the first thing Shawn said was, "So, are we not going to be able to have your bread anymore? It's really good bread."
I try to imagine what our new normal will be a year from now.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday over at http://www.cheeseslave.com/2010/03/03/real-food-wednesday-march-3-2010/
I would have to say that our food conversion officially started on Christmas 2007. From my parents, I received the NutriMill grain mill, hard white wheat, hard red wheat, soft white wheat, Sucanat (to replace brown sugar), Sucanat with Honey (to replace white sugar), and some raw honey. Prior to receiving the grain mill, I would bake cakes, brownies, and waffles from scratch on occasion, but I was using bleached flour and white refined sugar. If I made pancakes it would've been from a box of mix bought from Aldi. I started playing around with my recipes and converting them over. After much trial and error, I eventually found a bread recipe using freshly ground hard white wheat that we all really enjoyed.
Shortly after that, I stopped purchasing artificially flavored pancake syrup and we started only using real maple syrup. Also, around this time (early 2008) I stopped purchasing margarine and switched over to plain ol' butter. At this point we were still eating boxed scalloped potatoes, boxed breakfast cereals, Hamburger Helper, canned beans, canned cream of mushroom/chicken soups, canned chili, Velveeta... There was still a lot of processed foods in our diet, most were bought from Aldi because I was trying to keep our food budget down. Later that year, I stopped purchasing microwave popcorn. Instead, we purchased a big bag of popcorn from Sam's Club and borrowed an old popcorn popper from my mom. The baby steps happened little by little.
We kept this pattern of eating for quite a while. I continued to bake a lot and alter my recipes to use freshly ground flour, Sucanat, and Sucanat with honey. I would make small changes..like making my own spaghetti sauce instead of buying it ready-made in a jar or finding a local source of raw honey instead of purchasing it online from another state.
When Andrew developed eczema around three months of age (around February 2009) I started researching how my diet could be effecting him. I was exclusively nursing at the time. Up until this point, I had never really thought about how the food we ate effected more than just our waistlines. I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could find on food allergies and food sensitivities. I started omitting certain foods from my diet in order to try to give my baby some relief from the itchy rash. First I gave up wheat, then I gave up wheat and dairy. I was willing to do anything to keep my baby from scratching himself until he bled.
So, while I was doing this trial and error change in my diet, the rest of the family kept on eating as normal. One day a friend of mine (Hi Amanda!) witnessed one of Sam's awful meltdowns. She knew that we had issues with Sam exhibiting autistic-like behaviors, one of which was the "meltdown over nothing" behavior that came on a daily basis. She recommended that we look into the Feingold Diet. I did, and when I read about the symptoms that could be helped, I cried. This diet gave me hope that I could help Sam through changing our eating habits.
So, in July 2009 the whole family switched over to the Feingold Diet. The Feingold Diet eliminated all artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives from our diet. In the beginning stages, it also eliminated salicylates. The changes we saw were amazing! We saw an immediate improvement in Sam. He no longer would wake up screaming from his naps and he was finally able to be fully potty-trained. The autistic-behaviors did not go away entirely, but they did noticably improve. Drew's eczema, however, went away totally and completely! We were only on the diet for a week before his skin was beautiful and clear. This was my turning point. It was easy for me to see how the food we eat can drastically effect so many aspects of our lives.
I became a woman on a mission. In the week before beginning the Feingold Diet, I was serving the kids Froot Loops and Sunny D Smoothies for breakfast. I'm not exaggerating at all here. I remember serving it to them and being proud that I had gotten the Froot Loops for free with coupons and I actually made money, using coupons, by buying the Sunny D Smoothies. This is when our family's eating went through drastic changes. I had made a lot of food from scratch before, but I did even MORE now. I started trying out recipes for homemade granola instead of purchasing boxed cereals. I started making our own lemonade instead of using the CountryTime drink mix. I stopped using the cream of whatever soups and started making my own. I stopped purchasing cans of chicken broth and made my own. I tried and succeeded in making homemade marshmallows so the kids would fit in at Vacation Bible School. I found organic lollipops online to have on hand for spur-of-the-moment treats. We ate out so much less since there were very few restaurants that offered food without artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. Home-cooked meals that were made from scratch became our new normal.
After being on the Feingold Diet for a month or two, I also decided to remove MSG, corn syrup, and sodium benzoates from our diet. In my mind, it just started to make more sense to eat foods that had been messed with as little as possible. I could see that, when our family ate foods that were closest to God's design, we felt better and were healthier.
Around September 2009 I found a farm two hours away that offered raw milk. We started making the trip there and began purchasing raw milk, farm fresh eggs, and free-range antibiotic/hormone free chickens.
In October we purchased our first grass-fed beef.
In November I started purchasing things with the organic label...organic fruits and vegetables, organic coconut flakes and I made my first purchase of unrefined coconut oil. Up until this point I still considered and regularly used canola oil as a healthy oil. I also purchased some cod liver oil at this time.
In January 2010 I started trying to switch over my recipes from using white/brown refined sugar and instead using only raw honey or real maple syrup as my sweeteners. This is still an ongoing process. I also began researching and experimenting with culturing dairy.
In February 2010 I joined the Weston A. Price Foundation. I succeeded in making my own butter, buttermilk, cream cheese, and whey from the raw milk that we purchase from the farm.
Now we're at March 2010 and my goal for this month is to work at soaking grains before preparing them. I've already made soaked bread, muffins, and oats. Tonight I'll be trying to make soaked tortillas for the first time.
When I look and compare our family's current way of eating to the way we ate prior to December 2007, there's a drastic change. If I had made that change overnight, Shawn would probably be in a fetal position in the corner. However, by making this change gradually (it's been over two years!) it's easier to accept. The biggest issue for us is becoming accustomed to a new normal. I remember when I first started making bread from scratch..Shawn missed WonderBread terribly. Now, when I mention trying out a new bread recipe so I can make bread from soaked grains the first thing Shawn said was, "So, are we not going to be able to have your bread anymore? It's really good bread."
I try to imagine what our new normal will be a year from now.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday over at http://www.cheeseslave.com/2010/03/03/real-food-wednesday-march-3-2010/
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Homemade Toothpaste
I know I said that I meant to have this up yesterday, but yesterday ended up being busier than anticipated. We went to the Ag Expo in the morning. The kids enjoyed petting the rabbits and calves and goats. Then we ran some errands around town before heading home. Once we got home we found a message from the meat processor that our 1/2 beef was ready to be picked up, so we turned around and headed out again. The drive to the meat processors took more than an hour on curvy, hilly roads. Andrew spent the drive throwing up. Apparently he's one to get car sick. Sam went through this same kind of phase. Not fun at all. So, after getting home at 7:30, cleaning up a vomit-covered child, bathtime, and bedtime...Shawn and I were ready to relax. We put in a movie that we got from the library, "Super Size Me," and we just sat and relaxed and enjoyed the movie.
So...here's the post I promised, Homemade Toothpaste.
Before our big food conversion, we used the toothpaste that I got for free using coupons at Walgreens. We had a huge supply of toothpaste. I did purchase the fluoride-free flavored toothpastes for the kids. When we started the Feingold diet, I had to find toothpastes without artificial colors or flavors. Before that time, I had never even thought about the ingredients in toothpastes. The fact that they were neon blue or tasted like a piece of bubble gum never even crossed my mind. So, I started searching for non-artificial alternatives. I ended up purchasing some Tom's of Maine toothpaste. After all this time of getting toothpaste for free with coupons, it was really difficult to pay full price for the expensive toothpaste. I bought two tubes of the Tom's paste before I started researching homemade alternatives. I tried a couple different recipes, but chose this one as my favorite.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp. baking soda
1/2 to 1 small packet of stevia powder
20-25 drops peppermint or spearmint oil** (Personally, I prefer 25 drops of spearmint oil)
Mix together in small bowl using fork.
**Start by using 1/2 the amount, then add more as desired.
Before mixing:
After mixing:
The first time I made this, I made the mistake of using expeller-pressed (not virgin) coconut oil. It was not very good at all. The virgin coconut oil has a little bit of a coconut taste that helps to make the taste of the toothpaste more pleasing. Virgin coconut oil also has anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties which aids in maintaining the overall health of your mouth.
I haven't done it, but you can experiment with this by using cinnamon oil instead of spearmint or peppermint.
If you do decide to try homemade toothpaste, I'd be interested in hearing your experience. I've been thoroughly pleased and do not intend on switching back to the store-bought stuff.
So...here's the post I promised, Homemade Toothpaste.
Before our big food conversion, we used the toothpaste that I got for free using coupons at Walgreens. We had a huge supply of toothpaste. I did purchase the fluoride-free flavored toothpastes for the kids. When we started the Feingold diet, I had to find toothpastes without artificial colors or flavors. Before that time, I had never even thought about the ingredients in toothpastes. The fact that they were neon blue or tasted like a piece of bubble gum never even crossed my mind. So, I started searching for non-artificial alternatives. I ended up purchasing some Tom's of Maine toothpaste. After all this time of getting toothpaste for free with coupons, it was really difficult to pay full price for the expensive toothpaste. I bought two tubes of the Tom's paste before I started researching homemade alternatives. I tried a couple different recipes, but chose this one as my favorite.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp. baking soda
1/2 to 1 small packet of stevia powder
20-25 drops peppermint or spearmint oil** (Personally, I prefer 25 drops of spearmint oil)
Mix together in small bowl using fork.
**Start by using 1/2 the amount, then add more as desired.
Before mixing:
After mixing:
The first time I made this, I made the mistake of using expeller-pressed (not virgin) coconut oil. It was not very good at all. The virgin coconut oil has a little bit of a coconut taste that helps to make the taste of the toothpaste more pleasing. Virgin coconut oil also has anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties which aids in maintaining the overall health of your mouth.
I haven't done it, but you can experiment with this by using cinnamon oil instead of spearmint or peppermint.
If you do decide to try homemade toothpaste, I'd be interested in hearing your experience. I've been thoroughly pleased and do not intend on switching back to the store-bought stuff.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Making Homemade Laundry Soap
I made laundry soap yesterday and took pictures of the process. I know that I used to have the desire to make my own detergent, but was intimidated of the process of making it. Hopefully, if anyone reading this is apprehensive about making it, the pictures will help show you just how easy it is to do.
My sister (Hi Angie!)got me started making this detergent. She did it first and gave me a free sample to try. I love it and always use it even though I have two full bottles of the store-bought stuff still sitting in my laundry room. It is especially nice since we try to avoid artificial fragrances. Ivory soap does have some fragrance in it, but the Feingold Association has found that those with sensitivities usually tolerate it well.
First thing...make sure that you don't have any laundry that needs to be done for 24 hours. Your detergent will need to sit for an entire day, so get all necessary laundry done before you start making your detergent.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
1/2 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 cup Borax powder
1 bar Ivory soap
You will also need water and a small bucket.
First, you grate the entire bar of Ivory soap.
Add the grated soap to a saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Heat it until the soap melts. Here's a photo of the soap/water mixture right after I've put it in the pan.
And here's what it looks like after the soap has melted.
At this point, add the washing soda and Borax. Stir until everything dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.
(Honestly, the most difficult part in making my own detergent was finding an appropriate bucket to use. I ended up using an old cat litter bucket that we had around the house. I don't know what size it is because all it says is that it holds 30 pounds of cat litter! However, the detergent recipe that I use says to use a small bucket that is around 2 gallons.)
Here's my bucket. I put it next to my KitchenAid mixer so you can kind of get a visual size comparison.
After adding 4 cups hot water to your bucket, add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir some more. Your soap mixture will look like this...basically cloudy water.
Let this sit for 24 hours. During this time, the detergent will gel. It will become semi-solid. The best term I can think of to describe its consistency is "gloopy." You can see in the picture that it's solid enough to support a measuring cup on top.
After the 24 hour period, give your detergent a little stir to distribute the water better. Use a 1/2 cup per load. I tend to give my detergent a stir each time I get ready to use it.
I haven't had any trouble using this detergent. However, don't expect to see the pretty white bubbles that you get from the store-bought stuff. This is a low-sudsing soap, so you won't see suds.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Happy cleaning!
My sister (Hi Angie!)got me started making this detergent. She did it first and gave me a free sample to try. I love it and always use it even though I have two full bottles of the store-bought stuff still sitting in my laundry room. It is especially nice since we try to avoid artificial fragrances. Ivory soap does have some fragrance in it, but the Feingold Association has found that those with sensitivities usually tolerate it well.
First thing...make sure that you don't have any laundry that needs to be done for 24 hours. Your detergent will need to sit for an entire day, so get all necessary laundry done before you start making your detergent.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
1/2 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 cup Borax powder
1 bar Ivory soap
You will also need water and a small bucket.
First, you grate the entire bar of Ivory soap.
Add the grated soap to a saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Heat it until the soap melts. Here's a photo of the soap/water mixture right after I've put it in the pan.
And here's what it looks like after the soap has melted.
At this point, add the washing soda and Borax. Stir until everything dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.
(Honestly, the most difficult part in making my own detergent was finding an appropriate bucket to use. I ended up using an old cat litter bucket that we had around the house. I don't know what size it is because all it says is that it holds 30 pounds of cat litter! However, the detergent recipe that I use says to use a small bucket that is around 2 gallons.)
Here's my bucket. I put it next to my KitchenAid mixer so you can kind of get a visual size comparison.
After adding 4 cups hot water to your bucket, add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir some more. Your soap mixture will look like this...basically cloudy water.
Let this sit for 24 hours. During this time, the detergent will gel. It will become semi-solid. The best term I can think of to describe its consistency is "gloopy." You can see in the picture that it's solid enough to support a measuring cup on top.
After the 24 hour period, give your detergent a little stir to distribute the water better. Use a 1/2 cup per load. I tend to give my detergent a stir each time I get ready to use it.
I haven't had any trouble using this detergent. However, don't expect to see the pretty white bubbles that you get from the store-bought stuff. This is a low-sudsing soap, so you won't see suds.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Happy cleaning!
Monday, December 28, 2009
45 pounds lost!!
Shawn discovered the bathroom scale yesterday. We're still sorting through boxes and this was yesterday's big discovery. So, this morning I weighed myself for the first time in several weeks. I'm pleased to announce that I've finally hit 45 pounds lost! It's been coming off slowly..averaging about 4 to 5 pounds a month. I'm certain that I'm now smaller than what I was when Shawn and I married 6-1/2 years ago.
What's ironic about this though is that I'm not really, truly trying to lose weight. (Yesterday I had dessert of homemade cupcakes with homemade icing and this morning's breakfast was homemade pumpkin muffins with Ghirardelli chocolate baking chips in them....mmmm, good diet food!) The weight loss is just an added benefit to changing our family's eating habits. I am overweight and I do need to lose the weight, but I'm not keeping a food diary, or counting points, or starving myself. I did really well using the Weight Watcher's points system after Sam was born. I lost a decent amound of weight then, but still ended 10 pounds heavier than what I am now...and I gained a considerable amount of it back when I stopped keeping a food diary.
My personal opinion (lacking any formal education on nutrition or physiology) is that my body now knows what to do with the food I'm eating. Before, I would consume margarine, cream of chicken soup, and boxed breakfast cereals. My body would get the monosodium glutamate or blue dye #2 and go, "Whoa, what's this and what do I do with it?" Then my body would store the questionable product somewhere (usually my abdomen, face, or hips) until it could figure out how to process it.
Now I like to think that my body recognizes what I put in it. When I consume butter my body recognizes the cream and salt and processes it the way it's supposed to. My homemade granola cereal includes oats, raw honey, butter, walnuts, organic coconut, and homemade vanilla extract. My homemade cream of chicken soup contains butter, freshly milled flour, whole milk, pepper, and chicken. Everything's easy to pronounce and easy to recognize. I like it that way.
I would still like to lose another 19 pounds before I would be at what I consider a healthy weight for my height. After reaching that goal and maintaining that weight, then I'll reevaluate and see if my body needs to lose more. I know at some point I'll probably have to increase my activity level or cut back on the homemade cupcakes to continue to lose weight, but for right now this is what's working...and I'm liking it.
Editing to add: Shawn came home and weighed himself this evening too. He's now lost 15 pounds since we changed our eating habits. There's such a noticable difference in his waist that I knew he must have lost a decent amount too.
What's ironic about this though is that I'm not really, truly trying to lose weight. (Yesterday I had dessert of homemade cupcakes with homemade icing and this morning's breakfast was homemade pumpkin muffins with Ghirardelli chocolate baking chips in them....mmmm, good diet food!) The weight loss is just an added benefit to changing our family's eating habits. I am overweight and I do need to lose the weight, but I'm not keeping a food diary, or counting points, or starving myself. I did really well using the Weight Watcher's points system after Sam was born. I lost a decent amound of weight then, but still ended 10 pounds heavier than what I am now...and I gained a considerable amount of it back when I stopped keeping a food diary.
My personal opinion (lacking any formal education on nutrition or physiology) is that my body now knows what to do with the food I'm eating. Before, I would consume margarine, cream of chicken soup, and boxed breakfast cereals. My body would get the monosodium glutamate or blue dye #2 and go, "Whoa, what's this and what do I do with it?" Then my body would store the questionable product somewhere (usually my abdomen, face, or hips) until it could figure out how to process it.
Now I like to think that my body recognizes what I put in it. When I consume butter my body recognizes the cream and salt and processes it the way it's supposed to. My homemade granola cereal includes oats, raw honey, butter, walnuts, organic coconut, and homemade vanilla extract. My homemade cream of chicken soup contains butter, freshly milled flour, whole milk, pepper, and chicken. Everything's easy to pronounce and easy to recognize. I like it that way.
I would still like to lose another 19 pounds before I would be at what I consider a healthy weight for my height. After reaching that goal and maintaining that weight, then I'll reevaluate and see if my body needs to lose more. I know at some point I'll probably have to increase my activity level or cut back on the homemade cupcakes to continue to lose weight, but for right now this is what's working...and I'm liking it.
Editing to add: Shawn came home and weighed himself this evening too. He's now lost 15 pounds since we changed our eating habits. There's such a noticable difference in his waist that I knew he must have lost a decent amount too.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Decorating Cakes
As promised, here's the post about my first experience using natural food coloring.
I've always made the kids' birthday cakes. We don't do big birthday parties or buy elaborate gifts, so this is the little "thing" I do to make each child's birthday special. I used to use the Wilton food colors, which include artificial dyes. Last week we had the first birthday celebration since our food conversion and I was able to make birthday cakes for the first time using decorating colors made from vegetable colorants.
I purchased India Tree Natural Decorating Colors online. It included three small bottles of color: red, yellow, and blue. The back of the package gave hints on how to combine the colors to achieve other colors.
I think that if I had never used Wilton colors, I would have been extremely pleased with the natural colors. However, since I already had previous experience with the rich, vibrant Wilton colors, the softer, more pastel colors from the natural dye were less exciting.
This was Sarah's cake. She specifically asked for a butterfly cake, which worked out nicely since my mother-in-law had already purchased a butterfly cake pan to be part of my Christmas gift! Fortunately, pastel colors work out great for a 3 year old girl's birthday cake.
I've always made the kids' birthday cakes. We don't do big birthday parties or buy elaborate gifts, so this is the little "thing" I do to make each child's birthday special. I used to use the Wilton food colors, which include artificial dyes. Last week we had the first birthday celebration since our food conversion and I was able to make birthday cakes for the first time using decorating colors made from vegetable colorants.
I purchased India Tree Natural Decorating Colors online. It included three small bottles of color: red, yellow, and blue. The back of the package gave hints on how to combine the colors to achieve other colors.
I think that if I had never used Wilton colors, I would have been extremely pleased with the natural colors. However, since I already had previous experience with the rich, vibrant Wilton colors, the softer, more pastel colors from the natural dye were less exciting.
This was Sarah's cake. She specifically asked for a butterfly cake, which worked out nicely since my mother-in-law had already purchased a butterfly cake pan to be part of my Christmas gift! Fortunately, pastel colors work out great for a 3 year old girl's birthday cake.
For Andrew's cake, I went for the simple and easy to transport approach. We celebrated the birthdays at the same time, so I had to make and decorate two birthday cakes in one day. It was my first experience doing that, so this simple cake is what he ended up with. We also had the party at my parent's home instead of our home, so having cakes that could travel easily was important to me this time around.
That number one is supposed to be blue. I kept adding more and more and more of the natural blue food coloring, but this bluish-purple color is the best I could come up with. With the Wilton colors, I could've created 1,000 different shades of blue, but I guess there's got to be some trade-offs when you go from artificial to natural.
Anyhow, I guess the most important thing is that they did taste good and the kids seemed pleased with them.
Here's a picture of Sam's birthday cake that I made before we removed artificial dyes. See how much more bright and vivid the Wilton colors are?!? 
When I start getting all nostalic about Wilton colors, I have to remind myself: The dyes cause your 4 year old to act autistic and your baby to scratch his neck until he bleeds. It's not worth it, it's not worth it, it's not worth it.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Today is trash day.
Last night we were getting ready for trash day. I emptied the trash cans in the bathrooms, added them to the kitchen trash, and took the bag out to the big can in the garage. When I opened the big can I noticed that there was only one other bag of trash in there. We only have two kitchen-size bags of trash for the week. This isn't the first time that's happened recently either. Now, I know that there are others out there that have much less trash than us, but for us this is an awesome amount. Not too long ago, it was not unusual for us to consistently have six bags of trash per week. However, for the past month or so, less trash has been a regular occurrence and there are several reasons for it:
1.) We changed our eating habits. In July we started the Feingold program. As part of that program, we cut out all artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives. While there are still packaged foods that are free of these additives, it was just easier for us to not use the packaged foods. Instead, we switched gears and I started making things instead of just buying them. Boxed cereal, for instance...I now make a homemade granola that we use for cold cereal instead of buying the boxed stuff. So, our change in diet resulted in less packaged foods and, therefore, less trash.
2.) We started recycling. A month or so ago, I started setting things aside to take to the recycling boxes at K-Mart and Wal-Mart. I didn't realize how quickly it would accumulate. This has also dramatically cut down on what gets put in the trash cans.
3.) Sam and Sarah are no longer in Pull-Ups. Prior to starting the Feingold diet, Sam was four years old and refused to go #2 on the potty. He would kick and scream and fight us if we tried to hold him on the potty. He would wait until we put him in a Pull-Up for bedtime and then go in it. If we didn't put a Pull-Up on him, he would hold it for days and just refuse to go. It was so frustrating to have to clean up a four year old boy like that. On Day 4 of the new diet, we put Sam on the potty. He sat there calmly and went! On Day 5 of the diet, he went to the potty all by himself, did his business and flushed all by himself. It was amazing! That's why I'm so committed to this diet. I have seen the awesome changes that have come about because of it!
Sarah was so much easier. She loves her (almost) 6 year old cousin, Lexi, and wants to be a big girl just like her. As soon as she decided that she wanted to go potty like Lexi, that was the end of the diapers/Pull-Ups. It was underwear-time 24/7!
So, now our trash is made up mostly of food scraps that can't be composted (I don't have a garbage disposal), Andrew's diapers, and a handful of other things that can't be recycled. It's a move in the right direction and I'm proud of it, so I thought I'd share.
1.) We changed our eating habits. In July we started the Feingold program. As part of that program, we cut out all artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives. While there are still packaged foods that are free of these additives, it was just easier for us to not use the packaged foods. Instead, we switched gears and I started making things instead of just buying them. Boxed cereal, for instance...I now make a homemade granola that we use for cold cereal instead of buying the boxed stuff. So, our change in diet resulted in less packaged foods and, therefore, less trash.
2.) We started recycling. A month or so ago, I started setting things aside to take to the recycling boxes at K-Mart and Wal-Mart. I didn't realize how quickly it would accumulate. This has also dramatically cut down on what gets put in the trash cans.
3.) Sam and Sarah are no longer in Pull-Ups. Prior to starting the Feingold diet, Sam was four years old and refused to go #2 on the potty. He would kick and scream and fight us if we tried to hold him on the potty. He would wait until we put him in a Pull-Up for bedtime and then go in it. If we didn't put a Pull-Up on him, he would hold it for days and just refuse to go. It was so frustrating to have to clean up a four year old boy like that. On Day 4 of the new diet, we put Sam on the potty. He sat there calmly and went! On Day 5 of the diet, he went to the potty all by himself, did his business and flushed all by himself. It was amazing! That's why I'm so committed to this diet. I have seen the awesome changes that have come about because of it!
Sarah was so much easier. She loves her (almost) 6 year old cousin, Lexi, and wants to be a big girl just like her. As soon as she decided that she wanted to go potty like Lexi, that was the end of the diapers/Pull-Ups. It was underwear-time 24/7!
So, now our trash is made up mostly of food scraps that can't be composted (I don't have a garbage disposal), Andrew's diapers, and a handful of other things that can't be recycled. It's a move in the right direction and I'm proud of it, so I thought I'd share.
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