So I have been pretty successful making normally store bought items myself. The peanut butter recipes are ridiculously easy to do and don't see why someone would want to buy this product with all the added ingredients or more importantly why manufacturers would add so many ingredients.
Onto my second personal challenge to live simpler (ie more naturally).
Do it yourself home products.
Now I have admittedly tried many of the products throughout the last few months but am now on a search to broaden my horizons. I post all the homemade products and ideas in hopes that if someone browses this blog, they may try one or two out - IT REALLY IS VERY SIMPLE.
I think convenience has gotten in the way of useful. At some point, way before I was a consumer, one sought the convenience of getting a cleanser from the store maybe because they didn't want to search for the ingredients or maybe because they came in a nifty container that made using simpler. Then (or maybe from the beginning) these products were compromised with additional ingredients and were no longer the "stuff grandma used to make". Maybe no one noticed and when they did the convenience was still there and really you can't make it at home - look at all these words I can't pronounce. I am trying to see if indeed you can.
This week I am making the following:
Powdered laundry detergent
Glass Cleaner
General Surface Cleanser
Shampoo
Additionally I am going to look up some "home remedies" which actually should just be called plain old natural ways of doing things such as the use of lemon juice while dusting or as a stain remover (along with the sun).
At the end of this week I will report on the success rate of these endeavors.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
DIY - One week challenge
One thing I am noticing is that people are going for the quick and easy solution for seemingly everything dealing with food. This shouldn't be a surprised based on the fast food industry's success, but quick and easy usually does not translate to healthy and natural. Nothing bothers me more than to look at a label and see unnecessary ingredients in foods.
My husband once gave up High Fructose Corn Syrup for Lent as a kick start to give it up entirely one day. Some very basic items such a ketchup, barbeque sauce, pickle relish, etc, contained this ingredient. Salt and its various preservative counterparts are another battle I seem to face. As someone who VERY rarely cooks with salt, our family gets by fine without it. Don't even get me started on Partially Hydrogenated anything.
This infiltration into nearly all convenience foods is why I have taken to seeing what I can make easily and with minimal ingredients. I am going to make from scratch (or relatively so) seven items that do not have to be store bought with a little effort.
Hummus
Peanut Butter (or other nut butter)
Butter
Tortillas from Masa
Tortilla chips from ready made Corn Tortillas
Guacamole
Guinness Bread
I also am setting out to make a money saver treat for the hubby - Chocolate Guinness Cheesecake
My husband once gave up High Fructose Corn Syrup for Lent as a kick start to give it up entirely one day. Some very basic items such a ketchup, barbeque sauce, pickle relish, etc, contained this ingredient. Salt and its various preservative counterparts are another battle I seem to face. As someone who VERY rarely cooks with salt, our family gets by fine without it. Don't even get me started on Partially Hydrogenated anything.
This infiltration into nearly all convenience foods is why I have taken to seeing what I can make easily and with minimal ingredients. I am going to make from scratch (or relatively so) seven items that do not have to be store bought with a little effort.
Hummus
Peanut Butter (or other nut butter)
Butter
Tortillas from Masa
Tortilla chips from ready made Corn Tortillas
Guacamole
Guinness Bread
I also am setting out to make a money saver treat for the hubby - Chocolate Guinness Cheesecake
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Shopping Success and Going Organic - Somewhat
As someone who is trying to change the way her family views food and meals, I am opening up many possibilities for us. We have been very successful with keeping up with a $200 budget per month. Admittedly, we have a cache of pasta, rice and instant potatoes so are saving on most of our starch options but those items bought in large quantities would not add more than $25 a month to your budget. I have been keeping with my goal of spending about $30 or more per week on vegetables/fruits. One of the greatest things about this is it lending itself to one instant meal a week. At the end of the week (a day or two prior to shopping day) I make a large stir fry with all the vegetables that I didn't use during the week. This is preventing the waste of good intention shopping that didn't quite pan out. We have been have some wonderful combos - bamboo shoots, broccoli, squash, onion, peppers, ANYTHING we have that I am not using on the next night's dinner. PLUS, as a family that eats leftovers, there is often more than enough for at least one more meal.
This week's meals - Fish with Balsamic Spinach, Pasta with Broccoli Alfredo Sauce, Beef Patties with Yogurt and Fruit Plate, Chicken with Orange Marmalade in Slow Cooker with Sweet Potato and Corn (one lb of meat will get us two meals), Vegetable Stir Fry (again two meals).
As I am a sucker for documentaries. I totally buy into the information as I figure, now that I know; there is no claiming ignorance. After watching one recently, I decided to see about going organic or natural or whatever, especially for chicken and dairy. I am still doing research to decide what the difference is for the various grocery items and what that entails. I have determined that dairy products were going to be our first transition to this arena, choosing milk and dairy without rBST or BST hormones. I was delighted to be able to stick to the budget even with the increase cost associated with this choice.
Funny thing is you can REALLY take the difference between the organic dairy and regular. The milk is the least noticable - kind of like switching from 2% to 1%, after a week or two you don't notice as much. The cheese on the other hand was a major difference. I had to check the label after eating my first piece to make sure that I bought American. It tasted sharper, like a sharp white cheddar or irish cheddar rather than american. The yogurt also takes some getting used to but honestly I think it is all for the best. We could all probably benefit from a little less cheese. I fell into a habit (picking it up from my hubby) of adding a slice to my sandwiches a few days a week. Prior to this I went my entire life without adding cheese on sandwiches (of course unless it was a grilled cheese). I really had the mindset that everything tastes better with cheese. I am drinking more water instead of milk but hitting my daily dairy needs.
Tonight with our beef patties I am trying my first organic beef experience. We will see how it goes. Again, spending more on the meats is okay because I foresee it encouraging us to eat more vegetables and fruits and less meat.
This week's meals - Fish with Balsamic Spinach, Pasta with Broccoli Alfredo Sauce, Beef Patties with Yogurt and Fruit Plate, Chicken with Orange Marmalade in Slow Cooker with Sweet Potato and Corn (one lb of meat will get us two meals), Vegetable Stir Fry (again two meals).
As I am a sucker for documentaries. I totally buy into the information as I figure, now that I know; there is no claiming ignorance. After watching one recently, I decided to see about going organic or natural or whatever, especially for chicken and dairy. I am still doing research to decide what the difference is for the various grocery items and what that entails. I have determined that dairy products were going to be our first transition to this arena, choosing milk and dairy without rBST or BST hormones. I was delighted to be able to stick to the budget even with the increase cost associated with this choice.
Funny thing is you can REALLY take the difference between the organic dairy and regular. The milk is the least noticable - kind of like switching from 2% to 1%, after a week or two you don't notice as much. The cheese on the other hand was a major difference. I had to check the label after eating my first piece to make sure that I bought American. It tasted sharper, like a sharp white cheddar or irish cheddar rather than american. The yogurt also takes some getting used to but honestly I think it is all for the best. We could all probably benefit from a little less cheese. I fell into a habit (picking it up from my hubby) of adding a slice to my sandwiches a few days a week. Prior to this I went my entire life without adding cheese on sandwiches (of course unless it was a grilled cheese). I really had the mindset that everything tastes better with cheese. I am drinking more water instead of milk but hitting my daily dairy needs.
Tonight with our beef patties I am trying my first organic beef experience. We will see how it goes. Again, spending more on the meats is okay because I foresee it encouraging us to eat more vegetables and fruits and less meat.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Grocery Shopping - Farmer's Market
This weekend started my new outlook on grocery shopping. I tried a new place which is an international Farmer's Market. Absolutely amazing. The prices were fairly decent for produce and the variety was nothing I have ever seen. I felt as if this is the first time I have shopped for fruits and vegetables. My husband and I were very excited to know that we can now broaden our horizons for international cuisine. We have Chinese and Stir Fry cookbooks that was previously limiting because we didn't know the place to get a certain type of cabbage or root vegetable. This had it all, we could make Chinese, Spanish, Indian, Mexican, etc, food everyday. AND most importantly start getting away from meat dishes every night. This time around we did stick with our "normal" fruits and veggies (except I have never seen a Sweet Potato the size of my head prior to this purchase). We will find some wonderful recipes and go back to get our "new" veggies. I will post when we come up with some great ones. In the meantime, making stir fry with whatever veggies are around with some terryaki and little soy sauce works very well.
The best part of it all was that although I thought we were getting carried away grabbing such a variety of items we didn't blow our budget. My $50 a week plan is intact with about $35 going towards produce.
Over the past week, I have had three meat free dinners. Two of them were unintended due to kinks in the "menu", but look forward to the approaching Lenten season as we will be definitely doing meatless Fridays with a goal of Meatless Wednesday at the very least also.
The best part of it all was that although I thought we were getting carried away grabbing such a variety of items we didn't blow our budget. My $50 a week plan is intact with about $35 going towards produce.
Over the past week, I have had three meat free dinners. Two of them were unintended due to kinks in the "menu", but look forward to the approaching Lenten season as we will be definitely doing meatless Fridays with a goal of Meatless Wednesday at the very least also.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day 1 - Mission 1
Determine what my family should be eating on a daily basis based on USDA Pyramid and meal plan accordingly.
According to mypyramid.gov our family breakdown is as follows:
My results 6 ounces Grains, 2.5 cups Vegetables, 2 cups Fruits, 3 cups Milk, 5.5 ounces Meats/Beans
Hubby's results 9 ounces Grains, 3.5 cups Vegetables, 2 cups Fruits, 3 cups Milk, 6.5 ounces Meats/Beans
Toddler's results 3 ounces Grains, 1 cup Vegetables, 1 cup Fruits, 2 cups Milk, 2 ounces Meats/Beans
Initial thought on these results is that it seems a little measily but of course that is part of this excersice, to eat what we are supposed to not what we have learned to. The milk thing will be a problem for the hubby since he doesn't drink it but the alternatives like yogurt, ice cream and cheeses add the unneccesary sugars or fats that we are trying to avoid also. There is the Stonyfield Organic product that I will have to look into.
For budgeting and shopping purposes I have calculated that I will need about 14 oz total meats/beans a day. Adding the infant into the picture who will soon enough be eating 1-2 oz a day it is about a pound a day. Striving to only use meat about 3-4 days a week, buying 4 lbs of meat won't kill the budget if trying to go organic...but I will have to price this out to confirm.
8 cups of milk a day equals a HALF A GALLON - WOW. Now that will put a damper on my plan of organic milk. 3-4 gallons of milk a week at $6 a pop - WOW. Maybe I will look into cost savings for using Soy Milk in addition to cow's milk.
Tonight's meal is Tilapia and Baby Spinach with Balsamic Vinaigrette. http://www.bhg.com/recipe/seafood/fish-fillets-with-spinach-red-pepper-and-onion/
The link is close enough to the recipe I found in the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook I've had for about 5 years or so. It is a new recipe for us and instead of the red pepper jelly I am substituting pure honey. It will count as most of our lean meat consumption for the day as well as two vegetables...looking forward to this new step.
According to mypyramid.gov our family breakdown is as follows:
My results 6 ounces Grains, 2.5 cups Vegetables, 2 cups Fruits, 3 cups Milk, 5.5 ounces Meats/Beans
Hubby's results 9 ounces Grains, 3.5 cups Vegetables, 2 cups Fruits, 3 cups Milk, 6.5 ounces Meats/Beans
Toddler's results 3 ounces Grains, 1 cup Vegetables, 1 cup Fruits, 2 cups Milk, 2 ounces Meats/Beans
Initial thought on these results is that it seems a little measily but of course that is part of this excersice, to eat what we are supposed to not what we have learned to. The milk thing will be a problem for the hubby since he doesn't drink it but the alternatives like yogurt, ice cream and cheeses add the unneccesary sugars or fats that we are trying to avoid also. There is the Stonyfield Organic product that I will have to look into.
For budgeting and shopping purposes I have calculated that I will need about 14 oz total meats/beans a day. Adding the infant into the picture who will soon enough be eating 1-2 oz a day it is about a pound a day. Striving to only use meat about 3-4 days a week, buying 4 lbs of meat won't kill the budget if trying to go organic...but I will have to price this out to confirm.
8 cups of milk a day equals a HALF A GALLON - WOW. Now that will put a damper on my plan of organic milk. 3-4 gallons of milk a week at $6 a pop - WOW. Maybe I will look into cost savings for using Soy Milk in addition to cow's milk.
Tonight's meal is Tilapia and Baby Spinach with Balsamic Vinaigrette. http://www.bhg.com/recipe/seafood/fish-fillets-with-spinach-red-pepper-and-onion/
The link is close enough to the recipe I found in the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook I've had for about 5 years or so. It is a new recipe for us and instead of the red pepper jelly I am substituting pure honey. It will count as most of our lean meat consumption for the day as well as two vegetables...looking forward to this new step.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Cliches and goals
Okay so how cliche is it for a stay at home mother to have a blog...and think that they have something so witty and wise to say that others will find themselves glued to the computer and changing their ways? I know it is. Heck I probably won't even give out the blog except maybe to my husband so he can see what we are having for dinner or where I am spending the money.
I want to start this for two reasons, to track my journey as I try to make a change for me and my family and to see if I stick to my goals.
Lately, I am finding myself more unhappy with life, not so much my life but the way the general public live. Conversations with some mothers revolve around buying and wanting things. I feel disconnected with these people because I could go weeks without buying clothes, electronics, or random stuff without noticing I haven't gone shopping. I don't spend nap time shopping online, I don't know the hottest labels for kids, and I don't wait for the UPS guy to come with my newest package. Maybe that mindset will make this project easier.
Some of my goals are to prove or disprove that my family can be perfectly happy without being consumers for the sake of being consumers, live a healthier life and live within the means we set for ourselves. I want to expose my children to a more "natural" lifestyle while being socially aware. This doesn't mean that I won't indulge in some yummy not so good for you foods with *gasp* words I can't pronounce or that sometimes that piece of clothing may just come from a suspect manufacturing plant....This is suppose to get me to see if I can make as much food and products in my home as possible knowing every ingredient in them without giving up the precious time I have with my toddler and infant. I want to be accountable for researching companies to make sure that KIDS aren't making my "got to have" new shirt or clothing for my children and most importantly I want to be able to stay with my kids every day living out a new adventure or memory.
We will see if this blog even come to fruition. I guess the first step is to make a second post, then go from there.
I want to start this for two reasons, to track my journey as I try to make a change for me and my family and to see if I stick to my goals.
Lately, I am finding myself more unhappy with life, not so much my life but the way the general public live. Conversations with some mothers revolve around buying and wanting things. I feel disconnected with these people because I could go weeks without buying clothes, electronics, or random stuff without noticing I haven't gone shopping. I don't spend nap time shopping online, I don't know the hottest labels for kids, and I don't wait for the UPS guy to come with my newest package. Maybe that mindset will make this project easier.
Some of my goals are to prove or disprove that my family can be perfectly happy without being consumers for the sake of being consumers, live a healthier life and live within the means we set for ourselves. I want to expose my children to a more "natural" lifestyle while being socially aware. This doesn't mean that I won't indulge in some yummy not so good for you foods with *gasp* words I can't pronounce or that sometimes that piece of clothing may just come from a suspect manufacturing plant....This is suppose to get me to see if I can make as much food and products in my home as possible knowing every ingredient in them without giving up the precious time I have with my toddler and infant. I want to be accountable for researching companies to make sure that KIDS aren't making my "got to have" new shirt or clothing for my children and most importantly I want to be able to stay with my kids every day living out a new adventure or memory.
We will see if this blog even come to fruition. I guess the first step is to make a second post, then go from there.
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