If you look at the date and time of this post (which I never ever do on blogs) you might see that it is a Sunday morning. I am not at church, which is extremely rare, since my husband is the pastor, and it just doesn't work for us to skip very much, not that I would want to. It is a joy to be with other believers on the Lord's day. But he is at youth camp and yesterday we (me and the my three amigos along with my parents) traveled to south Alabama and back. We visited some very long-time family friends in Tallassee and before that made a very quick stop in Birmingham to pick up mom who was visiting with some of her friends. It was a long day to say the least, but fun and filled-up and now I have some very tired children who are recovering from yesterday, so we took a break from the usual today.
I am on the computer at mom's house enjoying her Mac while Andrew sleeps and Ellie and Luke are pretending various things in the other room. I have been wanting to get back to this website that LB introduced us to, and by going to that site, I began exploring this other site. And you know how it goes, on and on and on. From one to another until I am completely overwhelmed. In case you don't click on these sites, basically I was wanting to read about organic milk and is it worth it, not worth it? And I have been thinking and hoping it is(because it is the one thing I buy organic). Now it seems organic milk is not really the answer, but raw milk is best. Sigh. Will I ever get there? So I began the research on that, and there is none to get in this area (I guess). If anyone wants to share a local source, I would be much obliged. So I then moved on to whole grains. I am all about that, but it is such work. I mean, we do brown rice and whole wheat bread, but from what I'm gathering, this is not even the best. Buying, soaking, grinding them is where it's at. And again, we do not have access here in this small town to much or any of that, really. So instead of coming up with a game plan, I decided to blog and vent my frustration to you all. Any suggestions?
7 comments:
reading this--just got off the phone with you and mom:)
I hear you, and I have all of your same feelings. Kitchen Stewardship has a list of just three things to do, which will encourage you because I think you already do them. It gives you a place to start. The milk thing overwhelmed me as well. I have been looking into grass fed beef and eggs, and we do have a source for raw milk, but I don't think I can drink raw milk. So overwhelming.
I think her three things were eat eggs, real butter, and slow cooked beans. She explains the whys. Anyway...so I am starting there. I think I am supposed to find a source for real eggs from grass fed chickens, but they cost about 4.00 a carton compared to 1.00 at Kroger, so we'll see.
here is where you should start
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/12/17/give-me-3-easy-changes-that-wont-cost-too-much/
ok ok ok, i can't let this post go without commenting - but i'm hesistant - but since you asked....here goes. organic dairy!!!!!yes yes yes. from what i've read it is well worth it. from the experience i've had, girls are menstruating much sooner and could that be from soy or from hormones nobody is for sure but why risk it. my kids have been organic form beginning. as for meat - same thing. in fact we gave up on all store bought me because the organic is better route but ridicously expensive so we only eat the elk dave shoots each year - that's it. fruits do have pesticide but you can get away with forgoing organic if they have tough peels such as bananas that come off anyway. i'm committed to feeding my family well but i'm not over the top. i'm pretty sensible. we spend a bunch each month ($600) for the 4 of us but it is well worth it. ok that doesn't mean that i dont' buy oreo cookies though - and they don't sell them down the organic isle. good luck
oh forgot to mention that i really don't believe in raw milk - no no no. i can have many coworkers of mine back up the risks for kids. don't do it. if you and steven do, that is one thing but the kids systems are different. ok im' done now
I don't have any practical input, Ann, but just wanted to let you know that early on in this pregnancy, I began feeling the way you do right now. I had been reading about similar things and feeling guilty for not making it a priority to do better (raw milk, sprouting whole grains, mixing my own herbal teas etc.) for my family's nutrition.
Well, I just gave myself permission to continue to make the "good" choices I already have, and left it at that. I haven't revisited the subject since then, and I feel freed from the pressure. Perhaps I'll look into this again one day, but for now, I am allowing myself to do what I can without being overwhelmed.
So I guess my encouragement (if it can be called that) would be to drop it if it is something that would over-complicate your life or give you added stress. If you can delight in it and it is a challenge you want to embrace, pursue it. If it makes you feel guilty and overwhelmed, let yourself off the hook. There's my two cents. The things you already do are good for your family. Don't discount those little things.
okay, so I did the same thing a few weeks ago!! I looked at LB's links and then went from a blog to another blog reading all of the things that I want to try when I get back to America. It can get so overwhelming...but like LB said, just try those three things and then go from there. And when/if you do make changes, blog about it, I want to read about and learn from you too! :)
I am like you, I am just not sure that I could do the raw milk...even with all of the benefits...
Hey Ann,
Ok, so first about the milk. I have actually been doing a lot of research on organic food lately and it is so much better for you in general and milk is one of the main things you should buy organic. However, my research has also lead me to another conclusion that may not be so popular. In general milk is really not the best thing for our bodies for a couple of reasons. The main one being is that it actually depleates our bodies of calcium despite popluar belief. If you look into it you can find a lot of good research on that topic. Jordan and I have been drinking vanilla rice milk lately and I would highly recommend you give it a shot because it is a lot better for our bodies to absorb than milk. We also really like almond milk. I know it may sound kinda gross but they are actually really good and add a lot of flavor to whatever you add them to. Stace has given the vanilla rice milk to Hope and she LOVES it!
Now onto the grain. Stace and I have been grinding our own flour for almost a year now and it really isn't that much more work. The mill we use is great! It's called a WonderMill and you can find out about it here http://www.thewondermill.com/. The one we have is the electric one not the hand one. All you do is put the grain in the top, flip the switch and you've got flour that is the healthiest you can get! We don't do anything to the grain before either so it's super easy. This way you get ALL the nurtrients and good stuff in your flour. It's worth the little bit more effort than just buying it from the shelf but still supper easy. Hope this helps!
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