To do list

Uh ... a little late on this, seeing as how the week is almost over, but better late than never.
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Goals for last week:

do blog post Confused by Food, part II

put an advert on WAHM.com

work out 4 hours this week (30 mins zumba, 30 mins pilates)

Record last video of home videos

Read chapters 6, 7, and 8 of Dawn Treader with Ethan (This is not working. Neither of us are feelin’ it. I think we’re going to try some “Magic Treehouse” books instead)

Do one craft with the boys (use googly eyes and pompoms that I have?)

Call Schools First FCU about putting off loan for the summer

Read 364-464 in Omnivore’s Dilemma (got to page 426)

Deposit checks at the bank

Call Jule Collins about Saturday art clubs.  334-844-3486

Call the Meat lab on AU campus 334-844-1566

Call preschools (Sonshine, Sonshine II, Holy Trinity, Bright Beginnings, Auburn First Bap, Lakeview, Hardy’s)

Call about advertising in Parents mag: 334-209-0552

Call Paparazzi about 2 necklaces 1-855-697-2727

Call Emma again to babysit

Make a 4-year appt for Benji

Do thank you notes for Benji’s birthday presents

Make flier and mail / email to people for jewelry party!!!

TO DO THIS WEEK:

do blog post Confused by Food, part II

work out 4 hours this week

Record last video of home videos

Get a Magic Treehouse (or similar) book to read with Ethan

Read 427-527 in Omnivore’s Dilemma

Read half of the book of Acts

Call about advertising in Parents mag: 334-209-0552

Catch up on reading friends’ blogs

Check freebieshark.com, southernsavers.com, and moneysavingmom.com daily

Earn 150 swag bucks (started at 1050)

Go through stack of papers with Ethan

Confused by Food, Part II

     I know you've all been sitting on pins and needles till I wrote Part II of this.
     After stressing the entire day after I wrote Part I, I came to the conclusion that stressing about it ridiculous.  Stressing about food is probably just as bad as eating bad food. So, NO MORE STRESSING about it.
     One way I will be taking it easier is to just realize that it's going to take me a long time to do all the research I'd like to about food. It's going to be a long process. Since I should never make learning about food a priority over my children, I'll just have to do bits of research here and there when I have a little time. I'm thinking this could be a year-long process of research and phasing.
     Another way I'll be taking it easier is to phase some things out and ease other things in. For example, we have one 12 pack of diet Cokes left in the cabinet. When those are gone, I plan not to buy sodas anymore. (But lest you think I'm an extremist, I will still have diet Cokes, maybe once a week ... that's a good goal). And we are moving towards only buying meat that we know has been ethically raised, not fed animal byproducts and other things unnatural to its intended menu, and humanely killed. I've found a farmer's market that starts this week, and if Randle Farms will ever call me back (Sheesh, they have the worst customer service!), I can start buying meat from them.
     Except for fish, still not sure what I think about farm-raised fish. Probably okay...
     In the meantime, it's been fun and challenging to make vegetarian meals. I've made a yummy frittata, a mushroom crepe cake (10 stars!!!, you gotta try it), portobello mushroom burgers, and green smoothies.
     In some ways, I have become one of those "willfully ignorant" people. I just can't think about certain things, and I pretend not to know what I know; otherwise I'd just have to retreat into a cave for the rest of my life. For example, at a cookout recently, I ate sausage and hotdogs. And chili. And it was all very yummy. But I didn't, and don't, want to think about what was in that sausage and hotdog. Nope, not thinkin' about it.
     So ... sometime in the future, perhaps a year from now, I will have all this sorted out. I will be knowledgeable and will have an action plan.

And here are some pictures of my adorable children to cheer you up and make this post a little more interesting:

   

Goals

I tried SO HARD this week to do everything on my list.  But I didn't.  *sigh* Actually, I didn't try that hard with exercising this week. I just can't get motivated lately to work out.  Blah.  Blah humbug.  It's way easier to just sit and think about working out.  I wish that counted.  Hey, does it??

Goals for last week:

discuss summer plans with Chad and put things on calendar (trip to Bullios It can maybe happen in August???, trip with Davises, weekend with Boones in Atlanta)

record last video of home videos

finish Forks Over Knives (documentary on Netflix)

prepare and mount new pictures on the wall

read 2 World magazines (read one)

read 3 chapters of Dawn Treader with Ethan

read pages 100-200 of Omnivore’s Dilemma

eat lunch at school with Ethan one day

make piñata for Benji’s birthday (well, I didn’t end up making one, I bought one!)

paint birdhouses with the boys and hang them up

make a sticker chart or smiley face chart for each boy to work on 1 behavior

work out 4 ½ hours this week (uh … only 2 hours: 1 hour salsa, 10 mins hula hoop, 30 mins zumba, 30 mins power yoga)

get two jewelry parties on the planner (nope. ARGH)

get one “distant hostess” on the planner (nope. ARGH again)

do days 2-6 of “31 days to a more organized home” (http://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-a-more-organized-home-series)

make a budget for May, go to bank and withdraw cash

Goals for this week:

Do one craft with the boys (use googly eyes and pompoms that I have?)

Make a budget for the summer!!!!!

Get trip with Davises and trip with Boones on the planner

Record last video of home videos

read 2 World magazines

read chapters 4, 5, and 6 of Dawn Treader with Ethan

read pages 207-307 of Omnivore’s Dilemma

work out 4 hours this week

get two jewelry parties on the planner

get one “distant hostess” on the planner

spend 20 minutes on Panda trying to reach the cash-out minimum

contact the AU campus preschool to get pricing and other info

find and contact 2 other preschools

make a trip to the library to get new books for kids

go through all my coupons and get rid of expired ones

update Benji’s baby book with his 4^th birthday party information

blog post: Confused by food, part II

do 5 more days of “31 days to a more organized home” (http://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-a-more-organized-home-series)

Goals for this week:

discuss summer plans with Chad and put things on calendar (trip to Bullios, trip with Davises, weekend with Boones in Atlanta)

record last video of home videos

finish Forks Over Knives (documentary on Netflix)

prepare and mount new pictures on the wall

read 2 World magazines

read 3 chapters of Dawn Treader with Ethan

read pages 100-200 of Omnivore’s Dilemma

eat lunch at school with Ethan one day

make piñata for Benji’s birthday

paint birdhouses with the boys and hang them up

make a sticker chart or smiley face chart for each boy to work on 1 behavior

work out 4 ½ hours this week

get two jewelry parties on the planner

get one “distant hostess” on the planner

do days 2-6 of “31 days to a more organized home” (http://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-a-more-organized-home-series)

make a budget for May, go to bank and withdraw cash

Goals for last week:

discuss summer plans with Chad and put things on calendar (trip to Bullios, trip with Davises, weekend with Boones in Atlanta)

record last video of home videos

watch Forks Over Knives (documentary on Netflix)

spend 20 minutes on Vindale to see if it’s worth it to continue on with them

find a new survey site to start earning ? (dependent on above item)

prepare and mount new pictures on the wall

read 2 World magazines

choose a new chapter book to read with Ethan

start making piñata for Benji’s party

finish making gum paste figures for Benji’s cake

work out 4 hours this week (close enough: 1 hour of zumba, 1 hour of pump & sculpt, 30 minutes walking, 30 minutes jogging in place, 30 minutes zumba, 10 minutes yoga)

get two jewelry parties on the planner

get one “distant hostess” on the planner

do 5 days of “31 days to a more organized home” (http://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-a-more-organized-home-series) (did day 1!)

blog post on goals and an update on my unprocessed adventure

Goals for week before last:

Earn 200 swag bucks (started at 356)

discuss summer plans with Chad and put things on calendar (trip to Bullios, trip with Davises, trip to DC, trip by ourselves?, trip to TX, weekend with Boones in Atlanta?)

record last video of home videos

Chad fix chairs

watch Raw for 30 Days

pay off credit card!!!

read and do workbook pages for last session’s Bible study

finish reading Jungle Doctor to Ethan

do 1 short Vindale survey

do 5 Panda surveys (I completed 2 and got credit. I tried to do 4 others, signing up for stuff and getting calls from lots of people trying to sell me insurance, but didn’t get credit for them! ARGH. I really hate Panda, and want to reach my minimum so I can cash out and be done with them forever!!!!)

make business announcement

prepare and mount new pictures on the wall

walk or jog 4 miles, 10 mins abs

1 hour airclimber, 10 mins abs

1 hour pump and sculpt

1 hour zumba, 10 mins hula hoop

read through page ?? of Creative Correction (finished it)

finish reading last issue of World

skype date with Faith

Make 2 gum paste figures

Set a date for Benji’s birthday party, make invitation list, and select location

Confused by Food, Part I

*If you read this entire post, I will be very impressed, and you will win a prize.* (a gold star by your name)

Oh, my friends, I am SO CONFUSED. I hardly know where to begin.

I did an adventure with unprocessed foods, which you can read about here, by trying to eat no processed sugar or flour for 10-14 days. Well, I made it 7 days, which I'm pretty satisfied with. I honestly don't know how I did it. Okay, I do. I did eat 1 slice of a friend's homemade bread made with 1 Tbsp of sugar and whole wheat flour. And I did eat copious amounts of "cookies" made with brown rice cereal, agave nectar, natural peanut butter, and semi-sweet chocolate chips (I couldn't make them ever stick together, so I ended up eating it with a spoon). Anyway, I am satisfied with my attempt, and I proved to myself that I could do it.

However, looking at labels during that week was really depressing. For example, I used a bouillon cube in a soup. Did you know that SUGAR is the second ingredient in a bouillon cube? In a bouillon cube?? Yup, that's right. Sugar is in salsa too, and even my Trader Joe's hummus! It's in everything. Kinda disturbing.

We also watched a documentary called Forks Over Knives (available on streaming on Netflix). It talks about "The China Study," about the incidence of cancer, which followed hundreds of people, watching their eating habits and testing various health indicators. Basically, they found that animal proteins cause cancer cells and lead to heart disease and diabetes. It's a whole book, which you can order here.

The documentary also talked about a study in mice. When mice were fed higher levels of animal protein had more cancer cells. When the same set of mice were fed fewer animal proteins for 2 weeks, their levels went down. I am not able to find a link for this study.

We also watched a documentary called Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days. Truly fascinating, this movie followed 5 type II diabetics who ate raw (no meat, no caffeine, no sugar, no foods cooked over 118 degrees, etc) for 30 days and ALL of them stopped taking insulin, most within a week. You can see more here.

But here's where confusion begins to set in. There's this website, which says that Dr. Campbell's China study is wrong. And this scholarly article that says soy proteins cause cancer.

It seems that a whole-foods-plant-based-diet is the best, the most all-around healthy. That's how it was the Garden of Eden. But then again, I believe that after the Garden, God meant for us to eat meat. Not in the amounts we Americans eat today (bacon for breakfast, a hamburger at lunch, and grilled chicken at dinner). And definitely not corn-fed, abused, mis-treated, brutally slaughtered, hormone-filled animals who live their lives in tiny pens crowded together lying in their own excrement. (Reading The Omnivore's Dilemma is very disturbing!)

In the old days, let's say Adam's family (not to be confused with the Addam's family) killed a deer. No refrigerator, so it must be eaten that day. They share it with their family and family's family (community life!), so portions are small. They eat it all and then don't eat meat again until a week later when Adam gets lucky and chases down a wild boar.

Maybe silly, but they were probably mostly eating fruit and veggies. Maybe they even had a domesticated cow and drank milk. Or at least a goat with goat milk.

Here are some of the questions that kept me awake for an hour last night.

1. Meat or no meat? Is it better to eat (free-range, hormone-free, humanely-treated) unprocessed meat or the over-processed soybean that is turned into tofu? Do I want cancer cells from the meat, or cancer cells from the soy?

2. False sweeteners or real sugar? I love that Splenda has no calories, but it's processed and not "natural." But white sugar is processed too. I suppose the answer to this would be stevia, which I do love.

3. Is it even possible to eat raw and whole in America? We are thwarted at every turn: fast food joints on every block (that is no exaggeration in my town), grocery stores' merchandise, the food at my son's school's cafeteria, other people who don't even question what they put in their mouths (no judgment, I've been one of those people most of my life), the FDA (which approved "pink slime" for school cafeterias), genetically modified corn (did you know that farmers order the corn they plant by numbers such as "Pioneer Hi-Bred 34H31" [Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, pg 63]). The people in the Simply Raw documentary lived for 30 days on a remote ranch with a gourmet vegan chef who prepared everything for them. I'm simply not sure that such a whole, raw diet is possible in urban America. Perhaps it is if you live rurally.

4. Vegan or vegetarian, or neither? I love to bake and cook. Can I really go without butter in my cookies? Or eggs in my cakes? Or cream to make a rich cajun pasta sauce? Or ... I could go on and on.

5. Is it healthy to eat proteins that are also carbohydrates as opposed to lean proteins? I love beans and sometimes lentils, barley, bulgar, edamame, and some whole wheat couscous. These have protein in them, but are also carbs. Will I become ever fatter if I don't eat lean meats?

6. Is there real truth when it comes to healthy foods? Or is there relative truth for each person. Shonda can never be vegan because she's allergic to soy. Diabetics have a conundrum: eat lean meats that have no carbs, as most doctors would recommend, or follow the whole-foods-plant-based diet, which does keep blood sugars more regular. I have high cholesterol: should I eat real butter which is natural, or margarine, which is processed and might have hydrogenated oils? Chad and I had an interesting philosophical, non-heated conversation this morning (rare!) about this: true truth or subjective truth when it comes to diet. He says it depends on each person's body make up, genetics (such as my high cholesterol), tolerances, allergens, etc. I'm not sure what I think.

7. Cow milk or soy, coconut, almond, or rice milk?

Let's just talk about milk for a minute. For many years, I've been wary of how much cow milk is pushed on children. An average pediatrician will tell you to put your weaned-from-breastmilk one-year old on to 2-3 cups of whole milk a day. "They need the calcium," I've been told. But whole milk comes from a 500-pound cow and was created to nourish and fatten a 90-pound calf. Not my 18-pound one-year old.

I'm not saying cow milk is bad, but is it good to push cow milk on these little kiddos? I'm just thinking out loud here; there is NO JUDGMENT coming from me.

God made everything good. If God made it, why can't we eat it (here, Chad played devil's advocate and said, "Well, God made opium, and we can't eat that." Thanks, Chad). Why not eat meat if God made it? Why not drink milk if God made the cow? Again, not the milk from the cow who spends her life eating corn, being injected with hormones, is confined to a tiny pen, walks in her own poop, and is hooked up a milking machine twice a day -- and then that milk is pasteurized, where it loses 20 % of its iodine and most of its other vital qualities.

Soy milk has more calcium than cow milk and has no casein in it. But soy milk is a false estrogen, potentially dangerous.

Coconut milk seems like a good option. So does almond milk. But both are pretty pricey. Not sure about rice milk. And Chad says, "Why drink milk at all?" I say, "Because it's delicious, especially chocolate milk." And do you really expect me to drink coffee with no creaminess in it?? Come on. And children do need calcium ... Right?

I also went to a women's health class last night. FASCINATING! Have you heard of the Diva Cup? Or a sea sponge? Or Glad Rags? Imagine all the landfill space we can save using natural and reusable options like this! And did you know that most lipsticks that have red coloring in them are cancer-causing? What? I've never thought about the cosmetics and skin care things I apply, but the skin is the largest organ of our bodies. I better think twice about what I put on my skin, face, and lips. The teacher gave us this to start with: http://www.ewg.org/.

That will have to be a part II of this.

I have now spent the last hour of my life compsosing this novel. I better go attend to my children, one of whom is up on the counter trying to get jelly beans from the cabinet, the other of whom is crying beside me and hitting my leg to get my attention. Poor things.

Your job: GIVE ME FEEDBACK ON THIS FOOD CONUNDRUM. Is there truth out there? Where do I find it? What should I eat?

Business Announcement

Business Announcement

I'm WAY overdue in doing this, but I have a business announcement: I am now selling jewelry! It's one of those work-from-home businesses called Paparazzi Accessories. The best part of it all is this: EVERYTHING IS $5! Yup, you read that right: $5. Most of the necklaces come with matching earrings too.  It's so fun. Most of the items are trendy and spunky, with a few classic pieces thrown in. Here's a sampling of what I have in stock right now.

Browns 1:

Browns 2:

Brown 3:

Blacks 1:

Black 2:

Purples:

Hair clips (all the hair clips also have a pin on the back, so you can attach to a purse, hat, anything)

a sampling of the headbands (the headbands will fit baby girls or grown ups, and they're not tight enough to give you a headache like some headbands do):

rings 1:

rings 2:

bracelets 1:

bracelets 2:

silvers:

silver and whites:

earrings:

greens:

blues:

pinks:

reds:

Are you drooling as much as I am right now? How fun is this for new spring accessories? If you want something, let me know. I'm also toying with the idea of me mailing a box of things to a "distant hostess," who can host a party or showcase the box around for a week. Hostesses earn great rewards. Have I piqued your interest yet?

Unprocessed

The idea: I am launching into 10-14 days (we’ll see how far I can get!) of unprocessed foods. As natural and as whole as I can manage. It’s like the “caveman diet” you’ve heard of: eating unprocessed, whole foods. Mainly, I’m cutting out processed sugars and flours (those who know me well know how much I love cookies and other delicious processed items). It’s also the idea behind The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which I haven't even read, but really want to. There's also this article, which says it's great for heart health.

Why? I am inspired by Bridget, who did this for 10 days and stopped craving sugars and flours. And Bobbi who did it for a few months with a diet called Prism. And Rena, who is going vegan for 100 days (obviously, since I’m going for 10 days, I’m not as hard core as she is!). And Kirsten, who once did it for 30 days. It’s a kick-start to getting me un-addicted to sugars and fast foods, and of course, I’m hoping to get rid of the belly that plagues my daily existence.

The plan: Avoid processed foods (no more Ritz crackers, granola bars, coffee creamer, leftover Easter candy, breads, hamburgers, French fries, margarine, cookies, cinnamon rolls, donuts … sigh … I could go on and on). Stick with as whole as I can: real butter (but not in the amounts I’d really love to use), sprouted breads, lean meats, lots of fruit and veggies, you know, nature’s items. If I use something processed, I’m trying to stick with things with only a few ingredients (like Ezekiel bread, cottage cheese, cheese sticks, hummus). I got to go to Trader Joe’s this weekend, so I stocked up on fantastic items like sunflower seed butter, peanut butter with sugar added in it, hummus, etc.

But don’t worry folks, I’m not going too extreme: there will still be splenda in my coffee, half-and-half in my coffee, mayonnaise (not in my coffee), and a few diet cokes. Hey, at least I’m making steps in the right direction! Another “cheat” is going to be dark chocolate; I got some 72 % dark chocolate there. Mmmmm. Oh, and maybe some no-bake cookies made with oats, non-sugar peanut butter, honey or agave nectar, and dark chocolate chips.

The challenge: If you’d like to join me on this journey, let me know! I’m only on day two. There’s still time. Jump in!

Also, if you can think of other things to add to my list, please give me more ideas. I know I’m going to need more snack options.

The menu: see below. If you want recipes for specific items and they’re not already listed, let me know.

Breakfasts

Oatmeal sprinkled with almonds

Ezekiel bread (toasted)

Peanut butter banana smoothie (1 cup skim milk, 1 banana, 1 Tbsp peanut butter)

Chocolate smoothie (1 cup skim milk, 1 banana, 1 Tbsp cocoa, 1 Tbsp splenda)

Pear-ginger smoothie (3/4 cup skim milk, 1 cut pear, ¼ cup oats, 1 Tbsp cocoa, ½ tsp ginger)

Strawberry smoothie

Raisin bran cereal from Trader Joe’s

Eggs

Snacks

Celery sticks with hummus

Carrots sticks with salsa

Apples with peanut butter

Banana with peanut butter

Other fruit

Cottage cheese

Edamame

Cheesestick

Popcorn (not the drenched-in-butter kind!)

Sliced tomatoes

Cucumber

Almonds

Roasted kale chips

Lunches

Greek salad (lettuce, tomato, olives, red onion, avocado, feta cheese)

Salad with beans (lettuce, tomato, carrots, kidney beans)

Ezekiel bread with turkey slices

Tuna with mayo

Microwaved sweet potato with 1 Tbsp butter

Brown rice with tomatoes and basil

Wheatberry salad

Broccoli, orange, and olive salad (cooked cooled broccoli, fresh or mandarin orange slices, kalamata olives)

Cole slaw (shredded cabbage, carrots, grapes, and yogurt)

Dinners

Veggie and chicken stir fry

Tofu-barley-spinach soup (yes, I know tofu is processed, but ...)

Lemony bulgur, asparagus, and tilapia

Spinach salad with bulgur, salmon, and orange dressing

Cajun beans and rice (but without the andouille)

Zucchini and chicken curry

Mexican rice, beans, and avocado salad

Tabbouleh

Roased bell peppers stuffed with rice and feta

Roasted chicken, potatoes, and fennel bulbs

Roasted broccoli, okra, cauliflower, other veggies