momcast

February Clutter Fighter Challenge Starts In Two Days!

2012-01-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

The Challenge is almost here!

If you want to join me in get your clutter under control, leave a comment.

If you blog about your challenge or write about getting organized, add your link to your comment. Show off your progress, come clean about the real state of your home, share your best clutter fighting tip or talk about the clutter in your life. Share with everyone else, I'm going to! It's going to be fun!

Making Hash

2012-01-25T19:21:00.001-05:00

I've been going through a thing this last year: I've been really fatigued by having to cook everyday and come up with food that is nutritious, tasty and won't bore my brains out. I think I just found a new thing: hash.

A hash is a pan fried version of the one-pot meal. Basically, you chuck everything in a pan with some fat, season it and cook till done. It's perfect for leftovers, especially those leftovers that accumulate in the freezer in small quantities like half a cup of gravy, a cup of pan drippings, one chicken quarter, etc.

Tonight I was looking for something to make with three sausages for me and the boys - Sean is at a concert in Toronto tonight. I found this in my blog reader: Hash: A Great Stretchy Meal. Major inspiration!

I put three about a 1/4 C of bacon fat from this morning's breakfast into my big iron pan.
I sliced three Yukon Gold potatoes and let them cook on med-low until the potatoes start to get a bit soft.
I add half an onion, chopped into medium- large pieces and let those cook for a minute.
I added half a carrot, sliced in thin half medallions.
The last veggie I added to this mix was chopped cabbage.
To the mix I added sea salt and pepper, some garlic powder, a shake of Montreal Steak Spice and a tsp of Old Bay Spice. Yum!
I cooked the whole thing till the potatoes looked evenly fried and the carrots and cabbage were soft.
I then slapped that stuff beside some German sausages.

You're welcome!

Do you make something similar? What's your favourite combo?

February Clutter Fighter Challenge 2012

2012-01-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

It's almost the end of January and I have yet to get started on any of the New Year's resolutions I told myself I was going to do. Sound familiar? So, this is the moment when I get off my butt and actually do something. Who's with me?

I'm challenging myself to purge a minimum of one bag of trash or donations every day in February. That 29 bags of stuff I don't want and don't need in my home. After 29 bags of stuff leave this house, it's going to be a lot cleaner around here.

Like most families - especially those with kids - we have a lot of stuff. We do our best at finding places for things and putting everything in it's place, but we're not perfect. Stuff is piling up. We have more stuff than we need and nowhere to put it.

Spencer, my youngest, was born at home. My bedroom was perfectly clean on that day. I had three midwives, one doula, a mother, a child and my husband in that room and they all could move around easily. But, the challenge of raising two children quickly overwhelmed my ability to keep clutter and cleaning under control. Our bedroom has a laundry pile that's been in steady state for two years. There is a permanent collection of stuff that doesn't have a home stacked at one end and because of it's clutterific state, there are bits and bobs all over the place - Lego, stray dryer sheets that escaped the clean laundry baskets, abandoned hangers... you get the picture. This is a hoard waiting to happen.

The kitchen has a similar problem. There are a few boxes and stacks of assorted paperwork and homeless stuff stacked neatly around the edges of the room.

I often explain the problem away by pointing out that there is one closet for a 4 person home (we live in a duplex). That's really just an excuse. We've really just got more stuff than we need.
Some stuff I have a hard time relinquishing due to the fact that I feel I'm being thrifty. Who knows when I'll want a dozen toilet paper tubes to make owl crafts?!

Sometimes I feel guilty throwing things away that I've spent money on. Living on a small income means that any purchase I make that ends up going in the garbage is wasted money. It doesn't matter that many of the things I'm holding onto may have lived through their usefulness; they were once valuable and served a purpose but they are no longer needed as our family's needs change.

Well, it's time to white knuckle it and face the problem before it completely overwhelms us all. I can understand those families on Hoarders who are living with piles of stuff and boxes and cobwebs: after a while, when things are messy and cluttered for so long, keeping it all tidy and clean seems pointless and the grime starts to build up.

It sounds ridiculous, but it's more motivating to maintain the cleanliness of an already clean home.

So, as I stand on the tipping point, I am ready to let go and purge the clutter.

Want to join me?

Here are the rules:

Clear out 1 bag of clutter a day.
The bag can be all trash, all donations, or a combo of both (in which case you should really separate the stuff into two separate bags.
The term bag could mean a grocery sack, a black garbage back, a box, a pail, a laundry basket or even a larger single item or more (for example: a bag could be equivalent to two old broken kitchen chairs or a computer monitor).
You can dispose of your unwanted items by adding them to your weekly garbage and recycling, donating them to a thrift store, donating them to needful individuals, reselling them or having a third party pick them up (like an e-recycling firm that can pick up old cell phones and dead laptops).
You must dispose of your items within one week. I don't expect you to run to the thrift store every day, but if your items sit around for long, they may never leave!
You don't have to do this one, but I'd love it if you left a comment here on your progress. Blog about your progress, if you have a blog, and share your links!

The challenge starts on February 1, 2012. I'll be posting about my daily progress here as well as offering some tips. Want to join me?

Christmas Traditions and a Recipe

2011-11-15T21:45:00.001-05:00

Like most of us, I grew up with certain Christmas traditions. Most of them involved food.

There were the traditions that we all share of foods eaten on specific days, at specific times, in specific houses. On Christmas Eve I ate frankfurters and kartofellsalat (weiners and potato salad) at my Oma's around 7pm. Around 10 or 11pm I ate lasagna at my Granny's. The next day we would have turkey, ham, brussel sprouts, corn, mashed potatoes and mushy peas for supper and "Sand" (a strawberry trifle) and "5 Cup" (5 cup salad with marshmallows, fruit and sour cream).

A holiday meal really isn't complete for me unless it has some ham, some "Sand" (so named because, my father declared on first eating it, the juice of the berries made the jelly roll go "sandy". It's been called "Sand" for 40 years) and some "5 Cup". I can negotiate on everything else, though I crave mushy peas like crazy! (Bigga Peas that come from the British Isles in a box and must be soaked.)

There are other food related traditions that I'm reminded of in late November and December. Like Magic Bars!

The rest of the world calls them Hello Dolly's but we call them Magic Bars because that's what the recipe on the back of the Magic brand sweetened condensed milk called them. And I know the recipe from heart because my mom and I made them every year since I began existing. You melt butter into graham crackers and press into a square pan, spread a layer of chocolate chips, a layer of walnuts and a layer of coconut and drizzle a can of sweetened condensed milk evenly over everything. Bake till it all goes melty and the top starts to brown.

This was pretty much the extent of my mother's "Christmas Baking".

My Mom, lover of Advocaat.

The squares, usually 2 batches at a time, would go into the fridge to set and my mother would give a strict warning that the treats weren't to be touched. They were for guests. Of which we had few if any. (My father didn't cultivate many friends and abhorred entertaining people, preferring to drink beer in front of the hockey game alone.) I think my mother really meant that they were for her.

The warnings succeeded only in slowing down the pace at which we devoured the squares. Every day when we came home, we'd sneak into the kitchen and cut off slivers of squares, attempting to make the devouring as unnoticeable as possible. After a week or so my mother would notice the missing squares, however, and hit the roof.

The other pre-Christmas Christmas food tradition we had also involved something that just my mother would enjoy: egg liqueur.

Called Advocaat, it was a creamy egg liqueur that my grandmother made every year. My mother would request a bottle and be given a small soda bottle full of the creamy stuff that was always covered in a bit of plastic wrap held in place with an elastic band. Since it was alcoholic, I never touched it, not even to experiment. It lived at the very back of the fridge like a scary science experiment.

My mother indulged in a weekly teaspoonful of it, making the precious stuff last months and months until it was almost time to request another bottle.

I made some when I was in my 20s, from my Granny's recipe. It was delicious! I can see now why my mother hoarded it. Though, of course, I also wonder why she didn't just make some for herself whenever she wanted it since it's remarkably easy to make. Though, I suppose, my generation don't really get the concept of delayed gratification and making things a special treat in this age of instant gratification.

I suppose that little bottle of Advocaat prepared by her mother wouldn't have been special if she'd made it herself every month and drank a dram every day.

I hadn't thought of the egg liqueur in a long time until my Granny told me she'd made some because my mother had asked for it. But, Granny told me, she'd lost her recipe and made it from memory and was sure she'd gotten it wrong because it was more like custard than a cream liqueur. I tried it and reveled in its thick, creamy deliciousness, not unlike a boozy custard. I wondered at where she'd gone wrong with the recreation of the recipe and then realised that I actually had the recipe at home.

My Granny, with Kieran and Spencer.

My Granny was relieved to hear it and I promised to bring it to her so that she could make a second batch in time for the holidays.

My Granny is 86 years old. She won't long be around to make Advocaat for my mum. Thinking about that makes me realise that I need to get off my butt and archive a number of my Granny's recipes and remember all the wonderful traditions she created for me and my mother.

Egg Liqueur - Advocaat

6 Egg Yolks
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Alcohol (vodka, unless you can find plain, tasteless spirits)
1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream (35%)

Soak the sugar in the alcohol while you beat the egg yolks for 15 minutes.
Blend the alcohol into the eggs.
Add the cream to the mixture and beat for 5 minutes.
Store in the fridge in a clean bottle, covered.

The Best Pork Chop Recipe Ever!

2011-10-04T20:33:00.002-04:00

I'm not kidding, I'm going to share with you the most delicious pork chop recipe I've ever come across. It will make tender, flavourful chops with lots of sauce. You will thank me.

As part of a meat package we bought from our favourite butcher, we received 10 lbs of thick cut pork chops. When I was a kid, pork chops were sprinkled with garlic salt, chuck into the oven and cooked until ready. When I tried that as an adult, I found the chops to be pretty dry and therefore a bit tough. I fried them in a pan, but they were once again dry and tough. And, frankly, bland.

We are getting to the last few packages of that meat order and I've been putting off cooking the chops. So, I turned to the collective culinary wisdom of the internet and performed some Google Fu. "How to cook moist pork chops" yielded a number of results, including a positively ancient thread on Chowhound where someone asked the very same question.

If you are in need of food ideas and tips, Chowhound is definitely the place to seek them out.

A few early responses pointed to the need to sear the sides of the chop to lock in the juices. Other people spoke of starting the chops off in a pan and finishing them in the oven. Many people pointed out the necessity of brining the meat first for a truly moist, soft chop. One person brined in milk and salt instead of water and salt.

My attention was caught by a person who brined, seared and then cooked the chops with a couple of sliced up onions.

The real gem, however, came shortly after. A gentleman described a method of cooking the chops and building a sauce in the same pan. And that's what I made tonight.

I just want to apologise for not having a photo, but we all gobbled the food up so quick a photo wasn't possible.

This dish was absolutely amazing tasting. The chops were tender and moist and the sauce was endlessly flavourful. Though this is a hands-on kind of dish, it's not so labour intensive as to be hard to make on a weeknight. You can prep your veggies between steps, set your table, enjoy a glass of wine, wash a couple of the breakfast dishes and even read a few snatches of a good book.

The Best Pork Chop Recipe Ever!

4-6 chops (size up or down the portions as fits your needs)
Olive Oil
Butter
2 Onions
1/2 C White Wine
1 C Chicken or Veggie Stock (I used a TBSP of homemade boullion and a cup of water)
1/2 Heavy Cream (if you only have Half and Half, add in a TBSP of corn starch at the end)
1 TBSP Mustard (not yellow hot dog mustard. Get your self some decent mustard!) or 1tsp Dry Mustard
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Brine pork chops for an hour (1 or 2 TBSP sea salt and water in a bowl or zip bag), drain and dry.
Heat a pan to very hot and with some oil sear both sides of all the chops for 2 mins/side.
Remove chops and reduce heat to medium-low, add 2 TBSPs butter, 2 onions halved and sliced, 2-4 cloves of garlic minced.
When soft, add 1/2 C white wine and reduce for 2-5 minutes, then add 1 C chicken or veggie stock and reduce for another 2-5 minutes.
Add chops back in, cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes - less if your chops are thinner.
Remove chops and add in 1/2 C cream.
Simmer a few minutes and add mustard and salt and pepper.
You are done! Eat that stuff up!

I had a bunch of the sauce left over, so I'm going to add it to browned hamburger tomorrow and serve over potatoes. It's going to be amazing!

The Writing On The Wall

2011-09-29T23:08:00.001-04:00

The last time I wrote, I discussed the differences between my two sons: my wild child Kieran who is spirited and curious and my adorable Spencer who embodies that time worn phrase joie de vivre.

This summer, tho, Kieran hasn't merely been spirited, he's been troubled. The depth of the developing problems shook me to the core. And, looking back, I realise that I've always known that there was something Kieran needed special help fixing. I just refused to look at the writing on the wall.

We've read so many parenting books, took classes, tried for years to parent Kieran with love and kindness and practiced positive discipline while warring with our frustrations, the pressure of people who didn't understand, like we did, that Kieran was special and was just physically and mentally unable to restrain himself.

It broke our hearts in two to watch Kieran in pain but at the same time resent him for being so damned difficult, defiant, aggressive, mercurial, unfocused, disrespectful... He never got invited to birthday parties, never was able to build and keep friendships and gained a reputation as a problem kid for his outbursts and those wretched and horrifying lapses in patience when he bit or punched or pushed a student or his cousin or the child of a friend.

For my part, I've learned to shy away from other parents. I am a lone wolf on the playground, seeing the unhappy looks of other parents and putting my headphones on or opening my book to hide away from accusations and the sheer fatigue of dealing the Kieran-stuff. I've spent years explaining and making excuses to family and teachers and administrators and strangers and parents and babysitters... In the first year he was at school, I often walked home from the school crying and ashamed at hearing the latest incident.

And, despite all my readings and classes and research, nothing seemed to work. We role played and made charts and had heart-to-hearts. We yelled and gave time-outs and a couple times completely lost our tempers and swatted at behinds. We implemented strategies that the books and blogs recommended: family meetings, structure, participation in the decision-making process, dietary changes, emotional connection before correction, kind firmness...

Finally after a combination of some truly frightening new symptoms showed up and it became quickly apparent that many of Kieran's problems were directly impacting his ability to learn, we realised that a new approach was needed.

This morning, Kieran took his first tablet of Ritalin.

When he came home, he put his lunchbag away and started his homework reading - without being asked. Then he worked on a very hard math page with me and didn't once freak out, yell, say "I'm stupid" or refuse to continue or do the writing.

He actually wrote! By himself! And didn't once ask for me to do it for him because writing with a pen was "too hard".

He made mistakes! A lot of them! He made false starts and wrote numbers backwards and had to scribble out mistakes and not once did he shout "I'm so stupid!"

I pushed him, hard, to learn new math concepts, to redo the work he made mistakes on. I cringed in anticipation of his defiance and refusal and he did neither. Not even an "Oh, come on! I'm not doing that!"

From the time he first practiced writing at age 3, from the very first homework project sent home in Junior Kindergarten, he has always protested and refused the effort. And, for the first time in 5 years, working with him was joyful! I feel like I shouldn't admit this, but he was like a normal kid.

He said, "this is hard, but fun!" And I almost started crying.

Last week he told me he really wanted to get an A this year on his report card. "Just, like, an A minus would be good." He's never gotten one of those before. I think he'll probably meet and exceed that goal if his reaction to the medication continues like today.

Brothers, Sons

2011-07-30T22:01:00.001-04:00

It's a marvel to see how very different Kieran and Spencer are.

The difference was brought home to me the other night when, out for a bite to eat, Spencer abandoned the table, hotdog in hand, and approached a boy about the same age who was waiting in line.

The two boys seemed to just meet in the middle, began laughing and dancing around. There wasn't one speck of awkwardness, not one moment of hesitation, no aggression.

Kieran doesn't have this easy way of making friends. He is shy and hesitant, even when he boldly attempts introductions. There is a reserve to him. And when he finally makes a connection, he stumbles through the early conversations, the getting to know you.

I never really worry about Spencer in social situations. With Kieran, however, I'm always hovering nearby, holding my breath with my stomach in knots, waiting to intervene should he unwittingly insult someone or get hurt and lash out or sense rejection and start feigning an indifferent bravado I know he doesn't really feel.

I try not to label them, but it's true: Spencer is somehow "easier" than Kieran. Kieran is more "complex".

Of course, it's not like Spencer is some little angel. He throws temper tantrums all the time. He screams and screeches when he doesn't get his way. He rages. Kieran isn't immune to frustration, but he's never been like Spencer. We often find ourselves indulging Spencer just to avoid these rages. Even Kieran finds it easier to give in than face the fury!

Kieran used to love buses and trains and firetrucks and dinosaurs. Spencer isn't interested in those things. Spencer likes to sing and dance.

Kieran is a spirited child. Spencer isn't (though he doesn't lack in vivacity!). I don't really worry about Spencer. I have this feeling that Kieran is going to need a decade to finally feel comfortable in his own skin and I'm constantly struggling with how to help that along and managing my reactions to his spirted-ness.

I love both my boys differently and I finally know what that means for a parent. I don't love either less, but they are different relationships.

Kieran's love is tinged with shadows and fire. Spencer's is bright and full of sun. Together, they fill my heart up so much, some days I feel it might burst.

Broccoli Chicken Soup

2011-06-09T23:55:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you have chicken, broth and a couple heads of broccoli? Make soup! And it's paleo/primal/archevore, too!

We cook with whole foods. That includes chicken. It comes whole. We don't buy a dozen legs or a couple of breasts. We cook a chicken and then we divide up meat and other parts into different meals.

I get large chickens from a butcher at our farmer's market and they usually cover us for about three meals. I love to do the chicken in a crock pot. It's easiest to do this if you have one of those folding racks that you can then lift the chicken out of the crock with because 9 times out of 10, any attempt to remove the chicken from the crock results in the entire bird falling into a million pieces. That's not so bad, though.

I use a slotted spoon and a fork and pick out as much meat as I can. 1/3 of the meat is used at dinner, 1/3 is used for soup the next day and the last third is used in another dish.

After I take out the meat, I leave everything in the crock, add a few cups of water and turn the temp to high and let the last of the nutrients boil out of the bones. Get rid of the solids and keep the liquid to make soup the next day.

Broccoli Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
4C chicken stock
4C water
2 TBSP vegetable bouillon
1 onion (diced)
2 potatoes (diced)
2C broccoli (chopped, divided equally, including chopped stem in the first cup)
1TBSP preferred fat (tallow, lard, bacon drippings, butter, duck fat, olive oil...)
2C chicken (chopped)
seasoning (I used salt, pepper and a little Old Bay Spice)

Equipment:
large pot
immersion blender

Instructions:

Saute diced onion in fat until the onion is translucent.
Add diced potatoes, chopped broccoli, stock and water.
Cook until broccoli and potatoes are tender.
With an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Add seasonings to taste, remaining chopped broccoli and chopped chicken
Cook until broccoli is tender.
Serve.
Swoon!

Convenience Foods & Overeating

2011-06-09T09:45:00.001-04:00

My grandmother used to say about a man we knew, "he's the kind of drinker who opens a bottle of whiskey and throws away the cap." The man wasn't always or even often drunk, but when he did drink, he couldn't stop. Convenience foods are like that for me.

If I open a bag of chips or popcorn, no matter how large, I have an incredibly hard time eating just one serving. I have small bowls we use to put our servings in, but I'll just refill it compulsively till the bag is empty.

What other foods are like that? Beef jerky, French fries, nuts, various snack mixes, pizza...

It's not just snack foods, though. Most foods that come pre-packed and take minimal preparation or are just delivered straight to our doors or car windows are generally eaten in huge volumes.

People eat more than they need routinely. We seem to always be challenging just how much volume our stomachs can handle (the stomach can go from holding 45ml to nearly 3L when fully distended), with little regard to (indeed, sometimes in spite of) how uncomfortable it is to be so filled with food.

I don't subscribe to the theory that says the amount of energy ingested must be equal to the energy the body expends or the surplus will be stored as fat, often referred to as calories in/calories out. Our bodies are far, far more complicated than that. However, if you add a couple litres of food into your body and an insulin reaction causes that food to be stored as fat, more food available will mean more fat stored.

There is a nice, neat way to side step this problem.

My first batch of beef jerky, still warm!

Make your own food.

When you make your own food, you are making an investment in your health. You are learning the value of the rewards of hard work. If you must sour your own dough, knead it by hand and let it rise for hours before baking it in your own oven, the chances of you eating half a loaf of it at a sitting are much diminished. Because when it's gone, it takes souring the dough, kneading by hand and hours of proofing before baking in your own oven before you can have more.

If you buy your bread, you could buy two or three loaves at a time. When they are gone, it only takes a few minutes to get to a store to acquire more.

The same with pizza. When you lovingly make the dough, spread the dough and dress the pizza, you are far more likely to eat fewer slices than if someone arrives at the door with it.

What about cake? I can't be the only one to notice that when I buy a birthday cake, I serve gigantic pieces but when I spend a day making and decorating a cake, everyone gets only a sliver!

Other things I've noticed this with: homemade jams, beef jerky and dried fruit. If I marinate that beef and then slice it just so before drying it for eight hours, I am not going to eat half of the batch at a single sitting, like I would with commercially purchased jerky. If I spend an hour slicing pineapples and apples before drying them, I won't sit in front of a movie mindlessly putting them in my mouth. I will savour them in very small servings, making the deliciousness last as long as I can.

Similarly, the cost of food inhibits overeating. If I buy a $2/lb roast from WalMart, I'm likely to eat two or three times as much meat at dinner than if I go to a local butcher and pay $4/lb. My butchered roasts last me two or more meals easily. And they taste better, too!

So, if you are trying to lose weight, the first and smartest thing you can do is to start cooking real food. Buy your own fresh meats and vegetables and fruit and cook them on your own stove. Live the principle that we value things most the harder it is to get them.

Are you trying to get away from convenience foods? Have you noticed you eat less of something if you make it yourself?

I'm a recovering addict

2011-05-27T20:52:00.006-04:00

But I don't smoke crack or drink alcohol (much) or snort coke or even smoke cigarettes. My drug of choice is sugar.

I love sugar and I'm helpless in the face of it. I can't eat a dish of ice cream; I have to eat a pint. I can't eat one chocolate bar; I must have two. If you are watching me, I'll only eat one cookie. Well, maybe just two or three. But if noone is watching, you can bet the entire plate will be gone by bedtime. And I might lie about eating them.

I used to think I was weak. I used to think I was deviant. But, I know that's not true, now.

In the last week, I've stopped buying processed sugar sweets. No desserts, no treats, no sugary drinks, no snacks, no chocolate, no ice cream, no cookies, no cakes, not even any sugar in my tea. And a curious thing happened.

At first I was bitchy. But I stuck to my guns. I tried to get Sean to buy me chocolate one night. But he forgot and I was secretly thankful. I made my unsweetened tea and drank more water. I told myself, "the sweet taste of that chocolate bar is not worth it."

And the more I abstained, the easier it got.

In fact, it got so easy that I went to the store tonight - a night when I am on my own while my children are at my mother's and my husband is out of the country, a night when I'm relaxing and treating myself out of view of anyone who might steal away my treat or remind me that I shouldn't be eating it - and I walked out of the store empty-handed.

I could hardly believe it.

Only a few weeks ago, I would have bought a pint of Caramel Cone Explosion Haagen Daas and a Snicker's bar - because I have to eat chocolate and nuts and I love the creamy sweetness of ice cream. But tonight, I walked out with nothing.

After 5 days with no sugar or sugary processed foods, I don't feel like I need it! I don't have the rush of anticipation that the possibility of eating sugar fills me with.

I had a slice of birthday cake last week at a grand-nephew's birthday party. And I had to give 1/2 of it to Sean. The first 1/4 tasted OK. The second 1/4 I ate out of a Catholic sense of duty. But I couldn't stomach it. It was so sickly sweet it wasn't enjoyable. (Make no mistake, I was honoured to be a part of the celebration and I'm thankful I was there.) And not liking the cake made me really excited.

At first, last week, my tea tasted bitter. It tasted bitter and vaguely like watery dirt. With a hint of white peach, of course, because I got a nice fruity oolong tea. But, by the third day, the tea started to taste fine. And now, I don't need sugar in my tea at all.

I could go on because there are more than enough oppourtunities for me to eat sweet, sugary foods, but I will stop.

I'm so happy to realise this sugar apathy because I've been putting on a crazy amount of weight in the last couple of years and it's almost entirely because of sugar intake. Abstaining from sugar this week - and not even the entire week, because I had a couple of Iced Mochaccinos on the weekend and that piece of cake and there may have been something the day before that - has resulted in 3lbs of weight loss. THREE POUNDS! In less than a week! Just from not eating sugar.

I'm doing a lot of reading about food, searching for the best types of things to eat and nourish my family with and I discovered a number of things that shocked me. One of those things is the fact that sugar is toxic.

Toxic. Not just no good. Not just bad: toxic.

And I'm starting to think people like Lustig and Taubes are on to something. Because, when I eat sugar I want more of it. And when I have more, I want a LOT more of it. I want sugar on my sugar! Nothing is sweet enough.

And when I stop eating sugar, the things I'm offered that have sugar in them are suddenly too sweet. They are so sweet I feel sick. But not the nauseous type of sick. More like heartsick and sad. Processed sugar, when you stop regularly eating it, tastes like sadness and desperation and emptiness. It's one-dimensional.

I'm not saying I'm never eating it again. In fact, after having a long think about what would be a great treat for my night alone, I chose two pastel de nata. They'll be sweet, to be sure, but I chose them because I know the woman who bakes them and I've decided that when I get a treat, I want to know who made my food. Because those people tend to put less sugar in their food. And they use whole food ingredients, like the eggs in my custard.

For some interesting information about sugar and what it does to the body, check out Gary Taubes article in the New York Times called Is Sugar Toxic? And check out Dr. Robert Lustig's talk about sugar below. More than 1.3 million people have watched it.

Anybody else ever given up sugar? Did it last? What were your experiences?

Goal: Hike Every Week

2011-05-22T19:08:00.000-04:00

I have goals for getting healthy. Some of them are short term and have specific numbers attached: lose 3lbs of body weight per week (hey, reach for the stars, right?). Other goals are "rest of my life" goals. Like this one.

Be More Active is ridiculously vague. I'd never make a change with such a limp wristed goal. So I've broken this over-arching goal down into specific directives. The first of which is to get out for a hike every week with the family.

This goal is about more than just being active. It supports one of our family values: being a good steward to the earth.

I have always worked to make my boys aware of the beauty of their environment, to understand our place within nature and to know that it is a complexity of delicate systems at risk and yet enduring and flexible. Admiring trees and bugs and birds and rocks are all things I do with the boys. They can often tell you which birdsong belongs to a cardinal and which to a robin. They appreciate the cycle of life the runs from birth to death and back around through various recycling methods.

Now that Spencer is almost 4, totally independently mobile and a fairly reliable listener, we can go out hiking. And we are spoiled for choice here in Hamilton, ON. We have an escarpment, part of the Golden Horseshoe, running through the middle of town, as well as a bay, a lake, forests, valleys, the Bruce Trail and more waterfalls than nearly anywhere else on Earth. With this wealth of natural beauty, there's little reason to venture very far for eco-entertainment!

Today we explored Tiffany's Falls.

So this is what 40 is like!

2011-05-19T23:41:00.000-04:00

I used to say that I felt like a nervous 18 year old. Even in my 30s, I felt like the me I was in my head didn't quite match the me I was trying to be in the world.Even when I became a mother, responsible for the life of another person, marked by time and my rite of passage birthing was for me, I wasn't quite the me I was trying to be.

Apparently, that feeling that you are somehow a fake, that you are only pretending to be responsible at your work, it has a name. It's called "Imposter Phenomenon". Most people feel that a little, I think.

I'm not special, but I always felt like someone was going to find out that I really sucked at being a doula, at being kind, at being a business owner, at being a mother, at being alive. It's one thing to feel young at heart, but quite another to walk through life feeling like an underqualified teenager.

Throughout my 30s, I spent a great deal of time repairing from previous relationships: with family, exes and old friends. Poor Sean had to put up with a lot of my dysfunction as I groped through our life together learning how to really trust someone.

Now, at 40, I am pretty sure I'm on the other side of that. For one, I no longer feel like a teenager about to be found out. What a bloody relief!

What I feel now is raring to go. I feel like I've wasted a LOT of time. I wasted a lot of my husband's time and I wasted a the formative years of my son's lives. I wasted them being depressed and angry and paranoid. And unhealthy. Unfocused. Unhappy. Impatient.

Things are turning around, though.

What was it that helped begin this transformation?

Food.

In January, Sean and I started making big changes in our diet. We began the process of cutting out processed foods, grains, sugar and vegetable oils. And we've seen some big changes.

We saw some big problems, though, too, when we got lax.

To get back on track, I've joined a 9 week challenge: Eat For You Challenge. In order to help myself track progress and maintain my goals, I'm going to posting here more often (well, once every six months seems to qualify as "more" around here!). In fact, I may be posting every day!

I'll be talking about my goals, about the food I'm making, about my challenges, about my results - or lack thereof - and about some of the ideas behind why I'm doing what I'm doing, both personally and from a scientific standpoint. There will be photos, too.

Come back and follow along. Maybe you need to make changes, too? Goodness knows I'll need the support from kind readers.

What's In The Pile On My Headboard

2010-12-13T11:41:00.002-05:00

That's where I keep my books. I don't get much of a change to read during the day with two little guys so my reading time tends to be immediately before sleep. There are nights when I read for three hours - and I pay the next morning - and nights when it's all I can do to make it through a couple paragraphs when I start falling asleep with the book open on my chest.

I love to read. There are days when I rail against the fact that livings must be earned, children minded, homes kept, mouths fed and personal hygiene to be tended to because I honestly just want to read books all day and all night, every day, forever. I resent the imposition that life makes on my ability to zip through a great book.

One definite solution to this is audiobooks. I am far too voracious a reader and far too poor to be able to buy them all, so I'm thankful that my library offers a digital library. It's got a handful or two of really great books and a few more that I'm sure are great but aren't really in my interest area or preferred genre.

It's just not possible to sit on your ass and do nothing while you listen to audiobooks, though I do sometimes just sit and knit and listen, so I have found myself doing a lot more housework than I usually do. Given a steady flow of audiobooks, I may just whip our apartment into shape one of these days soon. And by soon, I mean next week. The housewife productivity level I can achieve with a good audiobook going is mind boggling.

They even have kids books, which is awesome since we are considering getting Kieran an mp3 player for Christmas. He wants and iTouch and we were thinking maybe a $20 Coby.

This week I stepped out of my comfort zone and listened to the first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel Guilty Pleasure by Laurell K Hamilton.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I was afraid it would be hardcore cheeze with a romance plot and too much "eroticism". What I heard was am interesting and strong heroine who I found myself identifying with - hates panty hose and things "foundation" makeup is stupid! A gal after my own heart! While there was a little sexuality in there, it wasn't in the form of actual sex scenes, which are notoriously badly written, but merely part of the landscape of what adults do in life. The narration was good and I'm looking forward to downloading the next one.

If I enjoyed the Hamilton book, I LOVED the next library digital download: World War Z by Max Brooks.

This book blew me away! While I suspect I would have gotten a closer reading from actually reading Hamilton's book, World War Z's award winning audiobook version is not just a good book, it's exciting! The book is presented as a series of interviews that piece together the overarching story, much like a filmed documentary would. My initial reaction to reading that "series of interviews" description was not promising. But I'm glad I forced myself out of my comfort zone, again.

What really makes this books so fantastic is the cast who act the parts. Did you catch that? I said cast. As in multiple voices. Normally you get one narrator and if you're really lucky, it's someone like Stephen Fry or Michael Pollen.

World War Z goes beyond simple narration and presents and unbelievable cast that includes Carl and Rob Reiner, John Torturro, Mark Hamill, Henry Rollins, Becky Ann Baker and many more. It was such a pleasure to listen to, so compelling, that I'm going to listen to it all over again this week. And, it's a zombie book! I love it.

There were two actual books I read over the last couple of weeks, too. The first was Lev Grossmans's The Magicians.

George R R Martin says it "is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of weak tea." And it was! It's about a college bound New Yorker who discovers he's a magician and that his favourite children's fantasy world is real. I was skeptical, but fell in love with the flawed characters who live real lives that includes the normal indulgences of youth: sex, booze, drugs and self-loathing. It went places I didn't think it would go and it's always good when a book surprises you.

The other book, one which I'll be buying this week and making my bible is Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.

If you have a child with so much energy and passion you find yourself apologising constantly for their dramatics, distractability and "hands-on" methods of social interaction (gosh, was that a diplomatic way of saying "your kid sometimes beats up other kids when they get wound up" or what?!)? Do you have a kid who is extra sensitive, extra loud, extra everything? You probably have a spirited child.

When I started reading this book, I felt a rush of relief so overwhelming I had to cry to let it out. My son, my beautiful crazy son was not a discipline problem. He wasn't wired wrong. He wasn't in need of medication. He wasn't a bully in the making. He was spirited! And as such, there are ways of helping him manage his extra-ness so that he can manage his own behaviour and get along in the world better!

I have found some wonderful books in the past couple of years that have helped me become a better parent, but Raising Your Spirited Child is definitely the book about children and parenting that will be the most profoundly useful to me.

Those are the things I've been reading lately. How about you?

Winning Tastes Good!

2010-11-23T14:31:00.003-05:00

The doorbell doesn't usually ring during the day, and when it does, it's usually a package of books or CDs or records for my handsome husband.(*see note at end of post!) So, when the package is for me it's a really good day.

Purolator was just here to deliver a bin full of holiday entertaining goodies from Loblaws, the folks behind the delicious President's Choice line of foods.

It arrived here due to a contest on fellow Canadian family blogger Dani of Postcards from the Mothership. I shared my lazy chili recipe with a twist (**see the other note at the end of the post!) and the universe aligned just so when Dani pushed the magic button at Random.org.

First observation: the box is bloody huge! That's my very tall very potty-training 3 year old Spencer pushing the giant box up the hall.

Spencer is so excited to open the box! Wowzers! It's like a birthday, or Christmas or something!

It's so big! And there are chips! And Spencer insisted on being a part of the picture. He's a total ham for the camera. I'd better take advantage of that because the time will come soon, probably, if he's anything like his brother, when he will hate having the camera pointing at him.

Isn't that a pretty package?

Here are all the goodies laid out for sampling!

And the stuff we couldn't keep our hands off of were super yummy! The chocolates: Fruit Fancies, Belgian and covered almonds were all delicious. The cracker assortment will be particularly handy since both boys like to have what I call "nibbly" meals: cubes of cheese and kielbassa with crackers that they can snack on at leisure.

Usually I'm a great baker and I make everything from bread to squares from scratch, but sometimes I can't be arsed. The mixes for cinnamon rolls, brownies and butter tart squares will be the perfect remedy. In fact, Sean was just asking the other day about those halcyon days when I used to make trays of brownies. I seem to recall that was in the days before I had children and before I started cooking from scratch.

Thank you Dani and Loblaws! I'm really thankful to have a fully stocked snack cupboard as the holiday season ramps up. The $10 gift card will be great for trying something out of the Holiday Insider Report. That Red Velvet Cheesecake has been calling to me.

Note #1
My awesome husband Sean Palmerston won Publicist of the Year for the third year in a row at the Hamilton Music Awards. And, as if that isn't enough, our heavy metal webzine Hellbound.ca won online publication of the year! He and the amazing staff of writers we work with consistently create the best writing about metal music around. Our photographers rock, too!

Note #2
Momcast's Lazy Ass Chili w/ a Twist

1 lb ground beef (lean if conventional, regular if from the farm)
1 large onion
2-4 cloves of minced garlic (Ontario!)
1 green or red pepper (or both, if you have ‘em)
1 can of diced tomatoes (No Name/yellow label – the big fat tins)
2 cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup (don’t do No Name or Heinz – you can taste the difference!)
2 cans red kidney beans, don’t rinse (No Name!)
1 can mixed beans (No Name!)
2-4 TBSP chili powder
1-2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce (No Name – can you figure out where we shop for our packaged foods?)
1 TBSP sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
*optional – other seasonings – give it a shake of this or that if you want to bump up the flavour
*optional 1 cup of frozen corn (add near end of cooking)

Secret Nutritional Meat Extender (I buy chicken hearts and livers at the farmer’s market, they are nutritional powerhouses, but ridiculously cheap, usually $1-$2 per 2 lb bag, grind them in the food processor, freeze portions in my metal muffin tin – which is only used for meat, incidentally, as I make individual meatloafs affectionately known as meat muffins – remove to a zip bag and add one to two into every pound of ground beef you prep for casseroles, stews, loafs…

Brown up the meat with the veg, add in your canned stuff, mix in your seasonings, let cook at a light, simmering boil for 20 or 30 mins and serve.

We serve with corn bread or buttered toast (LOTS of buttered toast!) on warm nights and it rocks and usually results in at least one extra meal for the freezer. To further extend for bigger families, add another tin of diced tomatoes.

I'm so boring I stopped talking, or writing. You get the idea.

2010-11-13T00:17:00.001-05:00

It's almost embarrassing how long I've gone since posting. I guess I don't have a lot to discuss. Though, really, there is stuff to discuss. I'll have to return soon. But, the archives are full of interesting stuff: my home birth story, with pics, me bitching, me bragging, me blathering...

A Few Pretty Things

2010-04-24T15:23:00.000-04:00

I recently rewarded myself with a few dollars in Paypal and the freedom to spend it guilt-free. Wanna see all the pretty things I've been buying?

A Honey Pot!

Since we switched from refined white sugar to honey, I've been craving a useful container. The jars we get at the market get all sugary and I hate dipping my spoon into the honey, even though I know honey has wonderful antibacterial qualities. So, I went looking for the perfect honey pot and found it here:

Anne Maries's Pottery

A Wee Pretty Platter!

From the same shop I also got this beautiful little platter on four lefs. It's really small, but so pretty that I couldn't resist.

The artist was really wonderful to deal with and the shipping was lightening fast. I'm thinking of getting a berry bowl next.

For The Love Of My Life!

I had attempted to get one of these made many years ago as a present to Sean but it never quite worked out. Luckily, someone on Etsy had one for sale. It's about the size of a quarter, perhaps smaller, and Sean loves it. I took him to the jeweler to pick a chain for it. So, my manly man will be sporting some silver around his neck next week.

Silver 999 also sells rings!

A New Pendant For Me!

I get a LOT of compliments on the pendant I currently wear. It's a simple narrow block of clear plastic with blue beads set into it. I haven't taken it off in years and the plastic is wearing away and the beads are becoming exposed. It was time to get a new pendant.

I've been thinking about placentas a lot and that lead me to the image of a tree (the veins and arteries that feed the placenta look like branches in a tree). So, I chose this. I'm still waiting patiently for it's arrival.

Check out the other work: Charming Ladies

Because I Want The Man Outta My Panties!

The pretty, pretty things are from Primmnproper and Randumosity.

I also bought a pelvis and some shors, but I don't think you need to know that.

Go buy something nice for yourself a great day!

The Inadvertant Comedian

2010-04-15T16:06:00.000-04:00

I love just listening in our my kids' conversations. They don't realise it, but they are incredibly funny. Listen in with me...

Kieran: Next year for my birthday, I'd like to invite Luke, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.
Me: Ugh, if you invite Vader and Palpatine, I'll have to really clean up a lot.
Kieran: Well, I want to invite them because they're really sociable and they like meeting people.
Me: *snork*!

The Omnivore’s Hundred

2010-04-11T19:58:00.000-04:00

Are you an omnivore? A vegetarian? A vegan? What won't you eat? What have you eaten? Check out this fun little meme for foodies.

I came across this blog ( www.verygoodtaste.co.uk) a while ago, the writer created a list of 100 things that he thought every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I thought we could do do:

1) Copy this list into your fb notes (or blog!), including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
(there are instructions on how to bold/cross out... down at the right hand corner of your notes page)
4) Tag your friends... so we can see how adventurous each of us really are! (Or just do this on your blog and leave me a comment with the link!)

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1.Venison
2.Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4.Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (alligator?)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10.Baba ghanoush
11.Calamari
12. Pho
13 PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18.Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27.Dulce de leche
28.Oysters
29.Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32.Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Lassi
34.Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36.Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49.Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54.Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58.Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60.Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67.Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69.Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71.Gazpacho
72.Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78.Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82.Eggs Benedict
83.Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87.Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98.Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

My Baby Is Anything But

2010-04-08T13:26:00.000-04:00

Today I am the mother of a seven year old

From the sleepy little chicken who arrived early, he has turned into a funny, fun, creative, passionate young boy. He changed my life so profoundly and continues to teach me about who I am and who I can become.

I love him to bits and I'm so thankful that he's mine.

He is obsessed with Lego of any stripe but particularly Star Wars Lego and Indiana Jones. He loves to watch both of those series, too.

He loves Harry Potter as well and is always on the lookout for a fallen branch that will make the perfect wand.

He can read English and French.

He loves anything to do with space and archeology.

He wears his heart on his sleeve which makes him a very loving and generous person but at the same time, it leaves him open to heartbreak. He's very sensitive to rejection and can be a little vengeful when he feels he's been wronged.

He draws comic books and fills up sketch books with images of droids and fantastic vehicles, crazy aliens and pictures of his family, usually rendered as Star Wars characters (I'm Leia!).

After seven years, I'm more in love with him than ever.

Growth Spurt

2010-04-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the growth spurts happen in the legs. Kieran puts on a pair of pants and suddenly they are 2 inches too short for him. Sometimes they happen in the brain. Sometimes he grows right before my eyes and I just have to step out of the way and let it happen.

This morning, Kieran ran out the front door, just as he does every morning, just ahead of his dad, to walk over to the park where his schoolbus picks up in the morning. From inside I could hear Kieran shout out a greeting to the group of 4 brothers and cousins who all live in the big apartment at the end of our block. They take the bus, too.

Sean was running a little late and was tripping out the door with shoes in hand when Kieran had a growth spurt. Kieran had joined the group of boys, boys ranging in age from 7 to 10, turned to his dad and waved. "Bye Dad!" And then he set off to the park.

Sean rang the doorbell to get my attention and when I went out onto the porch, he explained while Kieran waited patiently at the corner to cross a moderately busy street buzzing with morning rush hour traffic. He looked back once to wave at us, slack jawed, back at home, and then turned his attention back to the traffic where he and the boys were looking for the right moment to cross.

A tiny piece of my chest clutched up into a little nut of panic, but mostly I felt a strangely giddy feeling of pride and excitement run through me.

From the beginning of this school year we've been talking about safe places, safe people and what to do if I'm late to the park at the end of the day. We have visited a couple of businesses in the neighbourhood and asked them to be safe places for Kieran in the event he is ever alone and feeling unsafe. We have role played and discussed and tested.

This week we started talking very specifically about traffic awareness and how to cross a street.

Two times now, he has walked to the home of a school friend. They both get off at the park together and this older boy walks them both back to his house. I've talked to the boy and his parents and I trust them all. And, I trust Kieran with him.

In the last couple of days, we got Kieran's bike out of the basement and I've let him ride back and forth on the sidewalk, going from one end of the block to the other. At first I sat on the porch and watched, but now I just leave the front door open and let him ride.

He loves it. He loves the freedom.

I guess I just didn't realise how close to the boundary edge he'd come. I was surprised at his decision this morning, but in those split seconds where we parents analyse a situation and make decisions, I knew that Kieran had all the skills to take on more responsibility. And, it didn't hurt that he was walking with a group of four other boys who've been making the walk unsupervised for the whole year already.

So, off he went. I gave up control so that he could grow.

My little boy isn't so little anymore.

Could You Put That Back Please, Son?

2010-03-29T12:36:00.000-04:00

No, that's not hand gel.

I don't know why your hands are getting hot. Maybe, uh, stop rubbing them and go wash them, please.

And, uh, I'll take that, please. Now, stop touching mommy's stuff!

Chores and Rewards

2010-03-15T14:19:00.000-04:00

You aren't supposed to use rewards to motivate children. You are supposed to help your child develop self-motivation so that want to do things like keep their environment tidy, help their parents and honour their families. I'm just not that good at parenting.

I've tried threats: real and implied. (Don't worry, they weren't threats of violence, merely threatened unpleasant consequences like toys going into time-out, loss of desserts, etc) I've tried raising my voice. I've tried asking pleasantly. I've tried asking once. Many times I've asked dozens of times. Time-outs, chore charts, pleading, bribing, cash - none of the have worked in the slightest.

I went to my favourite parenting resources and got some ideas, none of which worked. The standard response to requests was the furiously frustrating, "No!"

I was at a complete loss until this morning when the perfect solution struck me: give him what he wants and in order for him to get what he wants, get him to give me what I want. Both of us will be happy, both of us will get our desires fulfilled.

I made a calendar of the next two weeks. Underneath that, I drew a number of boxes with various chores I want Kieran to do. Some of them are things I ask him to do all the time, like make his bed and pick up his toys. Other things, however, are chores I'd like him to take on but that he's never done before. And, for each task, there is a point value according to the chore's level of difficulty.

For every 10 toys picked up and put away, Kieran earns 1 point. For every back or armful of recycling taken out to the blue bins Kieran can earn 5 points. Making beds is worth 3 points, a load of dishes is worth 10 points and a half load of laundry (putting a load on to wash, or on to dry or taking a dry load out) is worth 10 points. Finally, if Sean or I ask Kieran to do any small chores, he gets 2 points.

All of these points add up over the days until they hit one of three levels: 100, 200 and 500. These correspond with the ability to purchase a set of Lego at the $25, $50 or $100 level. And that is the key. Kieran LOVES lego. He plays with it constantly and dreams about all of the different types he could get. I knew if I made it clear how to attain new Lego, he'd go for it.

And, go for it he did!

No sooner were the words out of my mouth when I explained the scheme to him than he ran to his room and proceeded to put away 102 items. 10 points!

Then he took out the week's recycling; six bags and boxes of things into the blue bin netted him 30 points.

After that, he happily clambered up on his bed and made it, then made his brother's bed, finally running to my room to check that the sheets were tidy. 6 points.

After taking a break to watch some Harry Potter, he is planning on tackling some dishes and laundry. Now, I certainly didn't mean to encourage domestic slavery in my six year old son. But, he's so excited to be able to earn a new set of Lego, he's challenging himself to earn 100 points in one day.

The score currently stands at 51.

In Case You Are Curious, Or You Just Think I'm Crazy

2010-03-10T14:34:00.000-05:00

After reading some of the commentary on the Glove and Mail, I thought it would be helpful to offer some info and links for people who may be curious about why this is sort of a big deal (for me) or just think I'm crazy to eat things cooked in lard. I know, lard!

The core of the Real Food/Traditional Food movement is the Weston A Price Foundation and the work begun by early 20th C dentist Weston A Price. Essentially, while examining, first hand, different cultures around the world, he found those who ate a diet of whole foods that had little or no modern processed foods, had little or no tooth decay, sickness or growth problems.

Price began a movement to return people to their culinary heritage and hence better health. If you want to learn more about the foundation and check out the local chapter which has semi-monthly meetings and potlucks, go to WAPF and Nourishing Hamilton.

Why would I eat lard?! I mean, the government spends a crazy amount of our tax dollars to tell us to eat low fat sources of food and lard is, well: fat.

It turns out that the scientists got the whole saturated fat thing wrong. It turns out that saturated fats do not cause heart disease and can actually play an important role in keeping your body operating at it's peak which includes keeping you thin. I couldn't say it better than other people have, so please look into the Lipid Theory, which originally hypothesized that fat makes you fat and prepare to see it totally debunked as mounting scientific evidence points to important role saturated fats play in your health and the horrible effect of various seed oils like canola and corn.

7 Reasons To Eat More Saturated Fats
Confused About Fats?

Why I don't like highly processed (non)foods. Simply, because they are no longer food. Essentially, the food you find in packages particularly anything that requires any kind of reconstitution is like a chemistry experiment. Food shows up at one factory and is pulled apart into its separate parts. Those parts are sent off to another factory where compounds are created and then finally, the compounds are sent to yet another factory where the compounds are assembled with a small amount of chemically treated, highly processed versions of whole foods to create a frozen lasagna, frozen bean and cheese burritos, rising crust pizzas, ice cream, no fat yogurt, chips, tinned soups, etc, etc, etc.

I call that mutant food. By the time you eat it, the food's been cooked about three times! There just aren't any nutrients left in food like that. And, like an Italian friend who once pointed out that when buying canned tomatoes, only ever get whole ones because the worst quality is used in sauces, with the best used for whole preservation: I'm suspicious of the quality of meats and veggies that have been prepped in teeny tiny chunks.

A whole food is a food that has all the parts it normally comes with in tact. Fats and nutrients are part of that, not just calories.

I have the luxury of working from my home, so I can choose to use my non-working home time to prep some food. But, if you actually know the real me, you'll know I'm a classic slacker. I really prefer minimal prep in my foods. Aside from bread, which is my workout! So, when I make my own sauerkraut the cabbage goes through the food processor, I pound it a little, stuff it in a jar and abandon it for a week. But, for that 20 minutes I spend throwing together a single jar of sauerkraut means healthy probiotic rich food to garnish dozens of meals. Spend an afternoon canning a few fruits and veggies and then spend a few weeks or months slacking off just opening up jars to have delicious, healthy food.

But if I worked a day job outside the house, how would I be able to do it? Well, I'd go back to my roots: make a big fat roast or bird on Sunday with lots of veggies and taters and a salad (and don't forget to throw some fermented veggies on that salad!) and eat the meal on Sunday.

Throw all the leftover veggies, some of the meat and the gravy in a casserole dish. Top it with mashed potatoes or biscuit or pastry right away or the next night and you have a big pot pie to enjoy.

Immediately throw any bones and veggies scraps (save those in a zip lock bag in the freezer all week long) and a splash of vinegar in a soup pot, bring it to the boil, and let it simmer overnight. In the morning, put the pot in the fridge.

The next night, while you warm up your pot pie in the oven, take your broth and package it up 4 cup portions and/or ice cube sized portions in the freezer.

The following night, chuck a bunch of fresh veggies and some more left over meat into a soup pot with some bone broth. A few herbs and spices will make it a nourishing soup. Serve that with more salad, a hunk of good bread, raw milk cheese, fruits, crudite, whatever you have on hand.

Still got any meat left? Make a sandwich? Fry up some potatoes and veggies in bacon grease or butter and top it with the leftover meat. You'll almost certainly have leftover pot pie and soup.

If you get a great cut of meat and use it wisely, you can split a good-sized roast or bird into as many as five meals without having to rely on heavily processed foods, without having to compromise your nutrition, without over-eating a single type of food and without having to spend an arm and a leg. And, the best part, aside from the length of time it takes to roast something on a Sunday, a process which doesn't require any babysitting so that you can enjoy your life and spend your day with your family and friends, each day's meal only takes 20 minutes to an hour from fridge to table. And, you'd be doing that with a boxed frozen lasagna, right?

So, with a little thinking, some habit changing and a bit of preparation and planning, eating a real food, whole food, traditional diet is totally doable for most people who want to do it.

Check out these great books for ideas and guidance and just a plain good read:

Why Yes, That IS Me In The Globe

2010-03-10T11:51:00.002-05:00

After completing the 28-Day Challenge over at Nourished Kitchen, Kieran and I get 15 minutes of fame in the biggest national paper in Canada! Though I could have stood a more flattering photo.

You can read the story here: Ditching Processed Foods Isn't So Easy.

The title is a tad misleading. Sure, it was a tiny bit hard to throw out food that was still potentially useful (just like, on the day I quit smoking 5 years ago my last cigarette was the last one of the last pack) - though it's continued value in our lives was now questionable - but transitioning to a more complete Real Food/Traditional Food diet wasn't all that hard. But, I know how to cook whole foods.

I grew up cooking whole foods, making strawberry jam in early summer, making cakes and cookies from scratch and sitting down to eat the same thing everyone else at the table was eating as a family every single night of my life. We even made our own liqueur every holiday season!

With this kind of background, making roasts of chicken and beast, cooking up vegetables that were seasonal and local, eating raw fruits and planning for meals that require a little bit more effort and/or time was something I had the skills to do. So, while it may have been a little inconvenient at times and took a little bit more effort than looking into the cupboard to see what box to open up today, it wasn't what I would call difficult.

Preserving foods, soaking oats for a morning meal, scrambling eggs at 7am, crockpotting a 7lb chicken, kneading my own loaves of bread, fermenting drinks - it's all easy compared to living with heart disease and diabetes and obesity. And, as you can see, I have to work on that obesity thing. Low fat mutant foods, denatured whole foods and chemistry lesson meals have done nothing at all for my health. But, eating real foods for a short time has meant a marked improvement in gut and Candida issues. I'm looking forward to the day when my pants get loose.

So, it's pretty strange to read registered Vancouver dietitian Gloria Tsang comments that "she is uncertain whether people’s diets were actually more nutritious before the mass industrialization of agriculture." I can guarantee that heart disease, diabetes and obesity were not the epidemics 50 and 100 years ago that they are now.

Heck, the fact that people don't even know how to prepare meat and veg dinners and would wonder about how the heck they would feed themselves without the crutch of heavily processed foods is sad and shocking to me. It's shocking in the same way that many of today's youth can't read or write cursive handwriting!

We aren't perfect. I'm not going to say we eat 100% real foods. Last night I bought pizza and wings for myself and the kids though I could have heated up some delicious local sourced homemade sausage, kale and white bean soup made with my own bone broth. We like to indulge in the occasional junk food and I'm making peace with giving up my beloved cracklike addiction to Diet Pepsi.

We don't yet buy fully pastured meats, eggs and dairy. But, we don't buy those things at the supermarket anymore. We buy from smaller farmers, from butchers whose names we know and we buy things that were raised or grown in and around Hamilton, Ontario where we live. Fully pastured is the next step, but for now this is healthier than the factory farmed foods we used to eat and in an entirely different league than anything you can get in a box, can or bag at the supermarket.

So, did you do the challenge? What did you think of the article? Do you eat "real food"?

The Dough Is Sour

2010-02-16T23:26:00.000-05:00

I love sourdough bread. It has so much flavour, it's sort of pre-digested due to the fermentation, the phytic acid (bad crap) is gone and it's like an ongoing science project. It's magical - using naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria like tiny faeries in the air doing their mystical job - and it is forgiving - it'll still be good, perhaps even better, if you forget to stir or feed it for a few days or even weeks and it'll be patient with me if I force feed it a little.

I've experimented with a few different recipes: all sourdough, half sourdough/half dry active yeast, long proofs and short proofs, hard and soft wheats, seeds and fruits and flavouring agents. I always aim for one sandwich loaf for lunches and one "fun" loaf where I experiment a little.

Today's experiment (half and half loaf with yeast, half soft all purpose wheat and half hard wheat mix of hard whole wheat and red fife wheat flours and gluten) involved cinnamon raisins and mixed candied peel. Yum! It turned out nice and subtle. Next time I try this, and I'm definitely going to try this again, I'm going to put more cinnamon in and maybe some brown sugar, too.

While I was doing the knead before the first rise, a knead that takes about 30 minutes or more, Spencer was at my side. You have to knead dough for a long time initially to activate the gluten and create a nice even, slightly chewy crumb that holds together well and has lots of fine holes. If you don't do this knead or don't do it long enough, the bread will be incredibly dense. It would be good with pate or creamy cheese, but it's not good for making sandwiches.

So, there I am, sweat trickling down my neck, my hair getting wet, my shoulders starting to ache and my heart rate up and Spencer reaches up to pat the dough.

Sweet, eh?

I thought so, too. It's so important to get kids involved in making food and knowing where their food comes from and how it is prepared, having my two year old want to help knead the dough that would become his bread gave me a little thrill! But, not so fast!

The patting hand started to contract, fingers digging into dough, trying to tear off a fist-sized hunk.

My excitement turned to panic, "No! Stop it! It's not ready! You can't eat that, we have to turn it into bread first!"

My fiery little redhead did not like being denied this snack. "No, Mama! Bread gone! Bread gone, Mama!" He was seething at me, crying and shouting. He sure doesn't like being thwarted!

He's so funny when he gets mad. It really blows me away to watch him. And how weird that he would throw a tantrum over some dough! Well, he loves the finished product, of course.

I can't wait to toast the fruit bread in the morning for breakfast. It'll be glorious!

But, that dough. I suppose it's not bad for him: fermented wheat, honey, yeasts, salt... My instinct it to stop him, though. Should I stop him or let him take a little hunk?