Benefits of Raw Milk

If you would have told me a year or so ago that my family would be relying on a local farmer for our milk, I would have called you crazy. My naive mind thought that store bought was the way to go. Obviously not with just milk, either. But boy has my mind been changed!

The more I look into what is really in (or in some cases, what isn't in) store bought food, the more I want to avoid it. We've switched to homemade bread products made with fresh ground wheat, homemade snacks, and I grow and preserve as much food as I can. Other than finding a good meat source (which I think I have already) the only thing I needed to do something about was our dairy products.

I'm not going lie. This was a very hard decision for me. It took many, many months for me to finally jump in and do it. And really, it wasn't me that did it, the farmer did. They had some extra milk, and wanted to know if I wanted it. If I didn't, it would be poured down the drain. Not being one to waste, I jumped on it, and I haven't looked back. The family loves it!

Benefits of Raw Milk

1. During the pasteurization process, milk store bough milk loses roughly 60% of it's calcium.
   
   
2. In addition to losing that much calcium, it loses all of it's phosphate. Doesn't sound too important--but it is! Phosphate helps your body to absorb (or use) the calcium.
   
   
3. Raw Milk is higher in B12 (here is great article on the importance of Vitamin B12)and Vitamin C, as well as many other vitamins that are completely destroyed by the pasteurization process.
   
   
4. Raw milk contains beneficial enzymes and amino acids that aid in digestion and vitamin absorption.
   
   
5. Many "lactose intolerant" people are able to drink Raw Milk because it is easier to digest.
   
   
6. Store bought milk goes rancid, where as raw milk just sours. Sour milk can still be used in baking; makes great muffins, breads and pancakes.
   
   
7. We skim off the cream on some of our gallons, and I use it to make butter, or for my coffee. 2 birds with one stone.
   
   
8. Less is more. Raw Milk will fill you up faster since it still has all of the nutrients and cream.
   
   
9. Raw Milk tastes so much better.
   
   

Things to keep in mind: Only buy from farmers that feed their cattle green grass and that do not use antibiotics. Also make sure that the farm is clean, and that the milk is stored correctly.

These fancy processes that our food goes through isn't necessarily a good thing! I've come to really love Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions. It is a definite eye opener, and it will change the way you look at food.

Taking a closer look at real nutrition, which was one of my 2009 goals, and finally switching my family to raw milk works for me! There is no turning back for us!

This post is being linked to Works For Me Wednesday

After School Snacks: Finding Freedom Friday

I don't know about the rest of you, but when my children arrive home from school, they are starving! Some days it feels as if it'll take a horse to fill them up. I really don't mind if they eat junk some days, but not every single day of the week. In the last year, I have really tried to add to my list of snacks and add some more healthier options. Some have gone over well, while others tanked! I usually try to get our snacks simple since I am usually doing prep work for our dinner at the same time.

Here are some of our favorite After School Snacks:

• Smoothies. I always toss in some wheat germ and flax seed for good measure!


• Yogurt. I just made my first ever batch of homemade yogurt, hopefully I will be able to convert them! So much healthier.


• Cereal. I'm not much of a cereal fan for breakfast, so I let my kids grab a handful of their favorites for snacks. Corn Pops, Bluebery Muffin Tops, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks and Honey Nut Cheerios are our favorites. They thought they were in heaven when I bought Cocoa Puffs for them a few weeks ago! ;)


• Hummus w/HM Pita Bread or carrot sticks.


• Fresh Fruit.


• Chopped Veggies. My daughter could live off of cucumbers and cherry tomatoes!


• Milkshakes. This is a rarity, but they love it when I make Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakes.


• Apples with Caramel Dip. (Cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla) This was always my favorite growing up.


• Home baked snacks. The possiblities are basically endless here, just depends on what I've made for the week. We love HM Banana Bread, muffins of any form (they are stuck on Strawberry Muffins right now), and of course cookies. Since they are homemade, I generally try to sneak in some whole wheat flour, flax or wheat germ. You can find some of my recipes under the Recipe Label.


• Granola Bars.


• Granola/Yogurt


• Cheese and Crackers.
• Sweet Pickles
• Jalapeno Jelly w/cream cheee on Wheat Thins. Sounds crazy, but it is oh so good!
• I came across an idea recently from Parenting.com that I can't wait to try. They took cream cheese and jam (homemade would be perfect), mixed it together and spread it on a graham cracker. Yum!
• Family Fun also has some really great ideas that are not your normal after school snack. I can't wait to try the Peanut Butter Balls or the Cookies and Milk Bars (don't forget that you can make your own Sweetened Condensed Milk for these.) You can find more of their recipes here.

What do you give your kids for After School Snacks??

Finding Freedom Friday: 2009 Goal Update

I find goals play an integral part to my success in any aspect of my life, whether it be goals for the day, my goals as a wife/mother, or goals that I set for a year. Taking a look back periodically really keeps me on the right track, and keeps the goals (and where I am at in attaining those goals) fresh in my mind.

If you haven't had a chance to set goals for yourself for 2009, I encourage you to so, now. It isn't too late--I promise! :)

To see the whole list of goals I made for 2009, you can go here.

Here is my update:

• For my spiritual goals:
  • I'm still trying to find the time of day that works for doing my devotional. I would love to get in the groove of doing it first thing in the morning before everyone wakes up, but 5:30 comes really early!



• As far as Relationships go:
  • Thankfully there is Facebook! I've gotten a lot better with communicating with friends back home, and family using it. Although I would like to get better at actually setting aside time to see them, for now I'm okay with Facebook. It's better than before!
  • I am doing tons better in terms of patience, and am praying that it continues to get better.



• Home/Gardening:
  • I'm doing better with getting all my housewifely duties done, but I'm still in search of "my routine". I hope to get this down in the next week or so.



• Monday of this week, I became the proud new owner of fruit trees! Not so funny story, though--we picked out Gala and Jonathon Apples and Keiffer and Bartlett Pears (since you have to have more than one variety to pollinate). The place we went to is close to the city, so just under an hour away. I was showing Kaitlyn the trees, and realized that we ended up with a Golden Delicious Apple instead of a Bartlett Pear! Agh. Now, on the search for a Bartlett Pear! :) While we were there, we also picked up our second blueberry bush.



• Learning about nutrition got kicked up a notch when we learned out DH's cholesterol. I must say, that over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot and have adjusted our diets accordingly. I'm sure that I have much more to learn, and I'm eager to learn it. For now, though, I will focus on getting his numbers where they need to be.



• Personal Goals:
  • I do feel as if I'm getting healthier. I'm on a mad mission to lose weight (which was jump started by DH's results as well as Janet's plan to get fit.)



• Since I have been crazy busy over the last few weeks trying to get the garden ready, I haven't had much time to read books. So, I still have room to improve here.



• Financial Goals:
  • Not so great. Willie isn't getting the hours we were used to. Thankfully he still has a secure job and we are provided for. The only "issue" is our debt has barely budged. But, I'm definitely not complaining. We are blessed far beyond measure, and the Lord continues to provide for us during this time, and I am ever thankful for that.
  
  
  
  • I did go over my grocery budget for March. I spent about $284, so $34 over. I stocked up big time on strawberries, various different flours that I normally wouldn't buy (rye and oat), as well as bought far greater amounts of fresh fruit. I am, however going to increase my grocery budget to $300 for the coming months, because I'm needing to stock up on canning jars, as well as continue to buy great amounts of fresh fruit. Hopefully by July I can bring this number back down.

Now is your time to share.

How are you doing on your 2009 Goals? If you haven't made your goals yet--hop in now and let us know what you are striving for.

This post is linked to Money Saving Mom.

Making Your Own vs. Store Bought

This topic is very near and dear to me for numerous different reasons. It all actually started when I started taking a closer look at our grocery budget and seeing where I could trim. From there I realized that basically everything that I relied on the grocery store for (which was everything), I could make at home. Yes, you can make almost anything at home. That does not necessarily mean that it is economical to do so, but with a little bit of time, research, and maybe some added umph--you can make anything.

This newfound discovery got my wheels really turning. Why was I buying all these things from the store and giving someone that I didn't even know the authority to play in my food, or add whatever they wanted to into my cleaners. Granted, these companies are regulated by the government, but that just wasn't and isn't enough for me. Especially when you take into account how many food recalls we have had and also knowing that certain ingredients have a potential for causing cancer.

I would have to say that yes, making my own has definitely saved us money! For a lot of the recipes that I post and for all of my menu plans, I try to post the cost breakdown so you can see that making food from scratch is easy, frugal and delish. Doing the cost breakdown has really gotten me to see just how much money it has saved us.

Currently the only other thing that I make from scratch, other than food items, is my laundry soap and fabric softener. I cannot even begin to tell you how much this has saved us. There are no additives, and no perfumes in the laundry detergent. The fabric softener, because I use conditioner, does have perfumes and such--but I've been using diluted vinegar with added essential oil with success. This method does not have the perfumes/additives. I do not make any other cleaners right now, because I still have a big stock of the commercial things from couponing. But, isopropyl alcohol and vinegar (not together) should be your best friend.

Of course there are other things, like curtains, clothing, toys, gifts, etc that you can make at home. All of which, in my opinion, fall right along the same lines.

Doing these things has granted me great amounts of freedom. I hardly rely on the grocery store for anything. I have the base ingredients at any given time to make almost anything you can dream up. That in conjunction with couponing, I rarely need anything other than basics, which grants me the freedom and reliance from the grocery store. Not being there so much saves me money on impulse buys, which is helping me find financial freedom. We're all human! :)

And on top of all of that, yes, I can notice a difference in our health. I feel better, and I have slimmed down a bit. Although, I'm on a mad mission to lose more!

Let me add here, that I was never one to be any form of domestic. No way, no how. Didn't want any part of it whatsoever. Money was made to be spent, and the stores were created for you to spend it. Thankfully my views have changed! I still have very little patience and desire fast results. I say all this so that you know that "making your own" isn't always time consuming (which is what I always thought). Sure, the first time you do it, it may take a while, but once you get it down, it will be second nature. Kind of like tying your shoes. When you first learn, it takes about 12 days to tie both shoes. Now, I'll bet that you can tie them in your sleep with your hands tied behind your back.

I'm no domestic powerhouse, or professional homemaker, but I strongly encourage you to attempt to make your own "something". If you are already making something, make more "somethings", venture out and see how many things you really can make. It's a great feeling knowing that my family depends on my hands, and not someone elses.

If you have any questions about where to start, how to begin, or anything at all--I'm more than happy to help!

Now is the time for you to share. Please remember to link to your post and not your homepage. And please keep it on topic--I don't like deleting links!

What is your take on Making at Home vs. Store Bought?

1. Changing Reflection

Cholesterol and Triglycerides

I mentioned Monday that my husband's recent doctor visit yielded not so great results on his cholesterol/triglycerides. I've always vaguely known what they are, but not really paid much attention because quite frankly I never fully understood their importance.



I've learned a lot since Friday (which is when we got the results). And, we have made a lot of changes in the last few days.

1. Our portions, although I thought were in range, are getting a makeover. I've always known the rule of "meat servings no bigger than the palm of your hand", but I guess we never tightly followed that rule.
   
   
2. Amping up our vegetable intake. We've always ate our veggies--but we're trying to double up on our servings (cooked with no salt seasoning in place of our usual salt).
   
   
3. Upping our fish. I've wanted to do this for a while now, but just haven't because fish is more expensive than some other meats. Also, up until about 8 years ago--I hated fish, so I'm still learning to cook, eat and like fish. In an ideal diet, we would have fish 3 times a week. I'm currently shooting for once.
   
   
4. No more sausage (or bacon) and eggs breakfasts for my husband. He's been eating about a cup of oatmeal with cinnamon and half of an apple for breakfast in the morning. Sometimes he will eat it with a fried egg white. I've also bought Cheerios for those "off" days. **And let me add here that there is a big difference between generic and name brand Cheerios. I will admit that this go around I bought the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart--but I won't again. I've always went with generic on most things because the taste is usually just about the same--but I won't anymore without first checking the nutritional label. And I urge you to do the same. Although you maybe be saving a buck or two now, your health is worth SO much more than that! **
   
   
5. Changing DH's lunch. For the most part he always took a sandwich (on whole wheat bread) with cheese, chips (if we had them), and some form of snack cracker. If we had fruit he would take that, too. And--who knows what else. We've omitted the cheese off of his sandwiches, added a salad, and an orange, and taken out the rest.
   
   
6. I made some granola (packed with wheat germ and flax seed) for those snacky moments.
7. Also snacking more on vegetables/fruit. I love a fresh red pepper!
   
   
8. I make a whole wheat/all purpose flour bread--but I would love to find a tried and true 100% whole wheat bread, or an Oat Bran Bread recipe.
   
   
9. Trying to get atleast 30 minutes of moderate exercise. Willie is doing really good with this and enjoying it!
   
   
10. I just recently removed all margarine from our diet. Wanting to kind of stay that way and remain on butter, I bought SmartBalance butter, which has Omega-3 but we use it in moderation.
    
    
11. Really paying attention to fruit intake. Ideally you should have about 1½ cups fruit, with atleast ½ cup of that being a citrus. Doing really good here, getting about 3 cups of fruit a day.
    
    
12. I'm taking this opportunity to teach my kids a little bit about nutrition. I find this especially important since I know very little and look where it got us. I want my children to know how to eat and be able to pick a good food from bad all while knowing portion control. An average person can have some "unhealthy" foods as long as it is done in moderation.
    
    
13. We're enjoying our "new" diet, our added energy, and our gusto to change. We are still a young couple (not quite 30) and this is a very scary experience for us and a major wake up call.
    

Willie's numbers were very high, which puts him at a risk for so many things. We're bound and determined to get those numbers where they should be and enjoy this life that we are blessed with.

If you do not know your cholesterol scores--I urge you to get them checked. We literally had no idea, and I never would have thought about it. Thankfully, since the doctor was already running tests, they decided to run the cholesterol one as well.

This post is liked to: Thursday Thirteen.