Product Changes Posted! (And the book I’ve been hiding in…)

It is finally up!!  The page I promised nearly a month ago that was to outline all the product and food changes that I have specifically made in my home is finally posted.  It is labeled Product Changes in the menu bar, and will remain a work in progress as I change and settle on better things for my family.    The list was a labor of love, believe me.  And there is still much that I probably didn’t even think to put on the list.  But it’s up now, for better or for worse.

One of the reasons I am so delayed in posting the list is that I have been immersed in a book – and NOT the audio kind, for once!  Kim had an extra copy of The Help, and I am two-thirds of the way through it.  I saw the movie before I got the book, and I’m glad because I can hear the characters’ voices in my head as I read and I think that helps me with the dialect.  But I find, too, that even away from the book I think in Aibileen’s voice.  (As in, “Law, I shore am into this book!” and “Those chilluns better like this dinner I’m a cookin’” and “You is a good puppy. You is a smart puppy.  But you is gettin’ yella dawg hair on my black skirt, and Law knows that ain’t right!”)

I’m taking mom to see the movie one day this week and then we will head out to harass some car salesmen with a three-page list of amenities I EXPECT to have on my next vehicle…for a price I like!

Law, give those po’ men the strength they gone need to deal with me!

Day 350: The Skinny on Sunscreen

Summer officially begins for us next week, as the last day of school is Tuesday.  Yeah, that’s right…Tuesday – the day after Memorial Day.  Welcome to my world.

Since most of you either have already begun summer (luuuuuuucky!) or will begin it very soon, I figured this would be a good time to bring up sunscreen.  Long before this healthy change took place in my home, I had issues with sunscreen.  And for this generally-too-white girl, that was already a red flag.

About two years ago my mom was getting ready to take the kids to a neighborhood park and was protecting them with sunscreen before they left the house.  You know how kids are, so you can imagine the scene: this was RIGHT before they left the house in unbridled excitement, meaning that the sunscreen application happened just inches from the door in a hurry-up-and-stand-still-so-I-can-spray-you fashion.  I had purchased a common name-brand spray sunscreen, waterproof and 70 SPF, to make sure that my babies’ precious skin was protected.  Mom sprayed brisk swipes to the skin not covered by shorts and tee shirts.  The exterior door is in her utility room, so they were standing right next to her brand new front-loading washing machine.  An excited flailing arm wiped against the machine door, and when Mom went to wipe off the resulting smudge, it had ALREADY ETCHED INTO THE SEE-THRU DOOR!!! As in, permanent damage!!  In under two minutes!!

Have you ever spilled nail polish remover on acrylic?  Suffice it to say that I have.  (On accident, of course.  Plus, I was like, 14, so no judging, K?)  Anyhoo…the acetone in the remover made a permanent white etch-mark into the acrylic face of my alarm clock.  Mom and I both recalled this fact as we gazed at the damage to her washing machine door and wondered how in the heck we were gonna explain this to my dad.

Ooops??

Immediately after realizing that we could just let Dad deal with the door, our next thoughts echoed each other’s:  If sunscreen can do that to the washing machine door, what is it doing to our skin????  We stopped using spray sunscreens altogether, and opted only for lotions – messy as they are.

Now  that I have begun to avoid parabens, petrochemicals, and propellants in my skin care products, how in the name of Jiminy Christmas do you find an acceptable  sunscreen? One that is not going to actually do more damage to you than the sun itself??

You turn to the Environmental Working Group, of course!  They have produced the Sunscreen Guide iPhone app, which lists the safest sunscreens and gives you the 4-1-1 on sunscreen claims – the good and the bad!  It tells you what ingredients are best and what ingredients to avoid.  Over 1,700 sun-care products are reviewed and rated in this app.  I downloaded the app at the end of last summer.  They just updated it last Monday for 2011, so go check it out.  It’s free!!

So what am I using on my kids this summer?  Badger brand Waterproof Unscented 30 SPF sunscreen.  It’s $13/bottle at Sunshine Health Foods, and I’m hoping it rocks.  But, other than keeping my kids from getting burned, it really doesn’t need to do a whole lot more to impress me.  With none of the chemical ingredients that I am working so hard to avoid, plus having earned a nod from the EWG, it had me at hello.

SafeMama reviewed the Badger sunscreen and liked it, so I think I’m probably on the right track.  They also have a sunscreen guide “cheat sheet” on their website that you might want to check out.  It’s labeled 2010, but I’m sure they will be updating soon since I noticed that they had offered the guide in 2009 as well.

What are your favorite safe sunscreen products?  Help spread the word for a safe, happy and Purpose-Driven Summer!!!

Day 238: What the Hay?! GM Alfalfa Affects Us All

Tags

GM alfalfa, organic farming

Last week the USDA caved to lawmakers who obviously don’t care about organic products. With all the news and screaming about the threats to organic farmers, I still wasn’t quite sure how this affected me. What the heck is alfalfa anyway? Does this mean my turkey wrap might not have sprouts on it anymore?

So I dug into some research. As it turns out, alfalfa is our nation’s fourth largest crop. It is used most prevalently by farmers for their livestock to graze on year-round. And, it is a flirty little cross-pollinator. So what’s the fuss all about? Well, this new genetically-modified alfalfa is supposed to be resistant to Roundup – you know, the mega poison that kills any living organism in its path. Now, if it resists Roundup, then farmers can use the poison to kill off weeds they don’t want and still keep their alfalfa cow-food. Sounds alright, huh?

But it’s not. See, genetically-modified anything goes totally against organic farming. And since alfalfa is rampant with the cross-pollination activity, then organic farms within wind-blowing distance of non-organic farms are likely to be contaminated by the GM alfalfa, rendering their certification as an organic farm completely invalid. So the USDA who certifies our organic farmers essentially screwed them last week by not advocating any protection for the organic farms in this decision. 

If the supply of organic forages falls, the cost will rise. Organic dairy farmers will either be squeezed and go under or organic milk prices will rise. The impact: higher prices at the checkout counter for moms and dads buying organic milk for their kids. (Or maybe we’ll see more imports of organic milk powder from nations with stricter GM controls to keep the market going.)
(Chewswise.com)

So, yeah, I hooked up with Stonyfield’s website and fired off a letter to our President. I figure it’s the least I could do in support of our organic farmers who work hard to make sure my kids are healthy.  I just wish there was more I could do…

Day 216: The Oolong and Short of It…

I love tea.  Almost as much as I love coffee.  I can drink tea just about any time of day at just about any temperature.  Tea is a happy drink, and perfect for sharing.  So I was thrilled when I learned from George about the health benefits of Green Tea. 

Except that it’s hard for me to feel like green tea is real tea.  I mean, it’s so… weak.

Suffice it to say that I prefer my tea strong.  It’s gotta have some flavor, some body.  I can’t stand to get a glass of iced tea at a restaurant and be able to see straight through the tea enough to count the French fries on a plate across the table.  As any Southern lady will tell you, weak tea is for pansies…(and poppies and begonias… you get the picture.)

Howevah, a strong black tea or orange pekoe tea is right up my alley.  And while tea is known for a few health benefits, strong black teas have not gotten their true due.  Until now.

My friend Jill pointed out that Dr. Oz (of Oprah fame) suggested that drinking Oolong tea (which is an entire class of tea, as well as a specific taste) provides several health benefits.  And to my sweet surprise, it is suggested that drinking the tea three times a day (say, after meals) provides the most benefit. 

What might these benefits be, you ask…?  Check THIS out:

• Oolong tea is supposed to be beneficial in our efforts to lose weight.  Um, can I get an Amen?!
• Oolong tea is also strong in antioxidants, fighting those free radicals we get smothered by each and every day.  (I have to make this side comment since we’ve ventured into the subject of free radicals.  On his website, George addresses the misuse of light oils in cooking…to be more specific, olive oil should not be used as a sauté oil.  You know how it starts to smoke rather quickly as the pan gets hot when you’re cooking with olive oil?  That’s because the oil is too light and burns at a much lower temp.  The smoke you see rising from the pan is full of harmful free radicals. Blech, right?!  I have made a conscious effort to sauté with chicken broth or vegetable broth ever since I learned this.  Save the olive oil for your salad dressing.)  Now back to our tea…
• Skin problems like eczema can be fought with oolong tea. One source says drinking oolong tea three times a day can improve skin condition within a week.  I don’t have skin issues, but I can imagine this might be a welcome suggestion for anyone who does. 
• Bones and teeth can actually grow healthier thanks to the antioxidants found in the tea. 
• I read in a few places (though I can’t remember all the sites I visited) that oolong tea is used in treatment and (sometimes) prevention of Type 2 diabetes. 
• Natural polyphenols in oolong tea help reduce stress.  Sign me up for that one!

So where do we get this stuff?  Good question.  I cannot find oolong tea at any of my regular chain grocery stores.  I do know both Drug Emporium/Vitamins Plus and Sunshine Health Foods in Shreveport sell various brands of organic oolong teabags, and I have learned that oolong can be purchased in bulk through Amazon.com.  If you’re looking for a ready-to-go drink, Honest Tea makes a peach oolong. I think I need, like, a case of that! 

I just love it when my vices find justification!!  Cheers!

Day 204: Call Me Mrs. Baird

Allow me to give you some stats on yesterday, Sunday, January 2 :

Number of hours I overslept: 2 ½

Number of hours I spent waiting on bread to rise: 8

Number of hours I spent standing in my kitchen: 11

Number of cups of coffee I drank: 2

Number of meals I consumed: 1 (ironically, a sandwich.)

Number of times I said, “Not now, sweetie,” to my children: 18

Number of loaves of bread I actually made: 3

Number of hours that I was up PAST the time I WANTED to go to bed: 2

Number of biscuits baked: 0

With all that I have to be pleased with in my first-ever No-Holds-Barred bread baking day, why would I mention the biscuits that didn’t get made?

Because I didn’t want to just be 19^th Century Farm Woman today, I wanted to be SUPER 19^th Century Farm Woman today.  I wanted to do it all.  (Except that we don’t have cows or chickens, which is a very good thing…)

Dom and Victoria were gracious enough to go to Kroger for me, since I was standing in the kitchen covered in flour for most of the day.  I needed them to bring home White Lily Enriched Bleached Self-Rising Flour.

Have you ever heard of White Lily Enriched Bleached Self-Rising Flour?  Me either.  Until I read that I NEEEEEEEED this flour to make the absolute best-ever southern biscuits.  The slap-your-mama kind. 

Now will someone please tell me whyyyyyyyyy no store in Shreveport carries White Lily Enriched Bleached Self-Rising Flour?  I can buy 15 pounds of it on Amazon, but I will need to pay more for shipping than I would for product.  I say phooey!  The Purpose Driven Mom isn’t made of money, ya know.

(Someone please explain that to my kids…)

Speaking of my kids, they are the reason I’m trying to make my own homemade slap-your-mama biscuits.  Dom told me Aaron likes biscuits.  Aaron!  Crazy, right?  I mean, this is the kid who used to eat Cheerios for three squares a day. 

So my plan is to stop by Snobby Brookshire’s on my lunch hour tomorrow.  (They’re not really snobby, but it’s our most upscale grocery store, so they have every right to be, if they wanted.  Plus, I like the nickname.)  If they don’t have the flour I require, I’m going to have to resort to testing other brands and praying they give me quality results.  I’m a little nervous about veering from the recipe’s recommendation when the recipe requires SEVERAL hours of my time. 

Alright, alright.  Enough whining.  Want to see what DID turn out right?

 The Mediterranean Olive Bread (totally organic, mind you! Rock on!!)

The White Sandwich loaves waiting for the final rise.  Good grief, these took ALL DAY!!  And as they rose, I didn’t quite get the height I was hoping for, but they turned out okay. 

The true test will come when Aaron and Victoria try it out.  Until then…

How am I looking for that Bread Fool award???  😉

Day 203: Smiling on Aisle 7

On this, the first grocery shopping day of the New Year, I am pleased to report that I am finding more and more organics at Wal Mart. This means that the grocery store giant is finally paying attention to what consumers really want, at least in my neck of the woods.

Okay, forget that there are so many varieties of soft drinks available now that I got a headache when I came home with specially requested Cherry Coke and realized I had inadvertently bought Cherry Coke Zero. Ugh! Both kids took one look at the 2-liter bottle and asked, “Aspartame?”

Yep.

And I hate Wal Mart returns.

But, back to the good news…

The organic items I am finding are: milk, chicken broth, Annie’s snack mix, yellow onions, limes, potatoes, salad greens and baby spinach. They also now carry the YoBaby yogurt line from Stonyfield. And prior to the holidays they sold organic chicken breasts.

They said they cancelled the chicken breasts in the interest of making room for the holiday turkeys in the coolers. But the turkeys should be gone soon, and I hope to see my chicken return.

While we still have a long way to go, this helps a great deal in decreasing the need for me to hit four or five stores. I think I’ll send them a thank you note, and a list of things I need them to carry.

Day 131: The Power of Pumkpkin

Tags

Food

So much to celebrate, so little time! 

In honor of 1) Jessica’s happily-October birthday, 2) Halloween (duhhh) and 3) my co-workers’ plans to Trick-or-Treat down the halls of our building, I will soon spend some quality time in my kitchen making none other than Pumpkin Praline Muffins to dole out to the masses on Friday. 

Can you possibly think of any better way to celebrate such crisp Octobery days?  (Except that our Louisiana days aren’t quite as crisp as I’d like them to be just yet.)

Now, to fashion this news into an appropriate Purpose Driven Mom post, I have researched all the benefits of pumpkin.  You might want to buckle up. 

You probably already know that pumpkin is full of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, fiber, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and pantothenic acid.  Big deal, right? You bet your pumpkin it’s big!  These nutrients work in our bodies to boost our immune systems, renew our skin and balance our bodies’ fluid levels (who couldn’t use some of that?!)  There are some reports that it can lower cholesterol, fight cancer and osteoporosis, benefit the prostate, relieve inflammation and arthritis, and fight free radicals.  Busy little fellas, aren’t they?  In addition to all this, pumpkin seeds are also a fab source of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which we now know helps the synapses fire so little Suzies and Johnnies don’t get so distracted in class!  (I foresee pumpkin seeds in Victoria’s lunchbox!)

I’m taking my pumpkin from two sources this year: The first source, of course, the almighty can.  Drug Emporium/Vitamins Plus sells organic canned pumpkin for about 50 cents more than the non-organic at Wal Mart. Not bad.  But I will also for the first time ever try to use fresh pumpkin for my baking.  I know the kids will enjoy helping me scoop out the guts and carve a cute face.  And we will all enjoy feasting on the roasted pumpkin seeds, provided I don’t get carried away and burn everyone out on pumpkin in the process. 

Last year I bought pumpkins for the sole purpose of outdoor decorating in the Fall.  When Thanksgiving was over, I took the decorating advice of Southern Living and spray-painted my pumpkins gold.  They sat in front of my flowerbeds announcing a fallishly-festive Christmas.  But I wasn’t so green last year.  This year will be different in many ways.  Perhaps after using a couple of pumpkins as décor, I’ll toss them into the new garden in hopes of having my own crop next year. 

So pumpkin reigns supreme.  Sorry, spray-paint.  I will have to find other uses for you.  😉

Day 62: Planning and Preparing, Preparing and Planning…

As a reader of this blog, beware that you are about to dive head-first into the depths of my neurosis. But please understand something about me: in order to make something work effectively and efficiently, I have to first make a rotten mess of it. Shotgun-blast-the-hell-out-of-it is always my first step.

I have said on many posts that I am going to need a lot of help with such-and-such, or that a particular change was going to present a particular challenge. Three words sum up this one…

Pray. For. Me.

A residual result of all my changes, this one presents my biggest problem: In order to be a good time-manager, I have to plan the menu. In order to serve good meals, I have to plan the ingredients. In order to plan the ingredients, I have to plan the grocery list. In order to plan the grocery list, I have to know the menu. And in order to plan the menu, I have to know our evening plans.

Can you see my head starting to spin? My goal of preparing a month of menus at a time was manageable before all this natural/organic, oh-my-gosh-will-my-family-actually-eat-that, Holy-Mother-of-Pearl CHANGE was set into motion. I have to get a handle on this, and fast. Yesterday had me spinning so far out of control with my grocery trips, that I started to wonder if I was going to set out to prepare the first meal and have a breakdown over breadcrumbs. Hey, I’ve been hormonally emotional lately. It could happen.

So today, for what little time I can afford to invest in this thought process, I will try to wrap my head around not only what I plan to be doing for the next two weeks, but also for what I need to do next month, so I’m not rushing around like this two weeks from now when I grocery shop. To my credit (what little I am allowed in this experiment), I have identified one source of chaos for myself: After I plan the meals, I forget where I put the recipes. Are they in this book, or that one? Did I rip it out of the Southern Living, or do I need to rifle through the magazine rack?

Here’s my rough outline of a solution: I need more lists. I should have an alphabetical list of all the recipes and where to find them. I should also have four rotating grocery lists, one for each week, so I can buy fresher ingredients and adapt for changing menus and schedules. (Seriously. I used to have two rotating grocery lists and it was a beautiful system, even if not quite so complex.) That’s my starting point. Every project needs a starting point, right? Hear me out…if I have a list for each week, and I know when certain items are going to be consumed, then I can plan when to buy them. Better yet, I can extend this to my non-food consumables and plan when to buy them too. Whoa…I might even be able to predict our consumption so well that I could systematically identify when to go to which store, and lessen the burden on any particular week. For instance, I can get all dry and paper goods on a monthly schedule and only have to deal with Wal Mart on a limited basis.

Time for four new words, my friends: Send. Me. To. Counseling.

Before I can wrap my head around my next move, I have to come to terms with what I did yesterday…I think I’ll re-organize the refrigerators today. That always gives me a fresh perspective. Yeah, I’m odd like that.

But after 62 days, you probably knew that already.