Planting Day!!

Today was our work day at our farm!

It was so great to meet the owner, Wendy, and to see how it all starts. She was more organized than previous years(or so I got the drift) because she had all the areas labeled. All thanks for the overly rainy season we're not used to!

So it was very relaxed. We got there around noon, much later than we planned, and she and her family were bringing out trays of food. All fresh veggies, fruit, fruit spreads, hard boiled eggs - it was a feast! Of course, we were there to work - so she got us started on some onions. We stayed for about 3 hours, while people came and went. IT was like family - she introduced us to everybody. The kids mostly played, but would dig in once in a while.

I'm a little nervous. She has so many variety of every kind of plant - we eat about 2 squash a year - let alone the nine different varieties she has!!! Plus not all these will keep like a squash will. It's also making me rethink what I'm going to plant in my own gardens.

It was a great day!! Everyone came home and took a nap - but not me. I went outside an got my own little plot of land ready. It's not much, but we don't get alot of sun. There was a hole in the middle from the last bush being pulled out last year - plus all the red rocks someone used for ground cover - my nemesis. I also tilled it and evened it out so it's ready to go!! I'll post the pic as soon as I upload pictures!

Cleaning Supplies

Okay - I hate to keep revisiting the laundry soap, but I just made some and it obviously falls under approved topics for this blog!

So I'm desperately behind on laundry and just about out of soap. Fortunately I have everything I could need to make it. I was going to make a large batch, but I still don't have a 5 gallon bucket. Well, I forgot that it needs to sit overnight. Bummer. So I decided to make a batch of powder to have on hand in case the liquid runs up dry again.

I officially prefer the liquid laundry soap because it is cheaper - it's already melted and I feel confident that it will mix will with the cold water. The powder, although you use less, it uses more product and runs out faster. Plus I feel I need to use warm water so it melts and can clean properly. I did find a nifty way to store it though - in an old baby wipes container! With our new lifestyle I just don't have as much Tupperware available!

So onto other cleaning supplies. I have not taken the plunge on a vinegar based cleaning solution - although I am out of Lysol... and can't bring myself to buy more. I did find the Tea Tree Oil... but I didn't like the way it smelled! I'm not about to spend $6 on a little bottle to help the vinegar smell better - when it doesn't smell nice! Although I figure maybe the odor is strong enough to cut through the vinegar - and it's definitely better than vinegar! I looked at Jojoba oil too, and it smelled nice, but not quite as strong... would it cut through the vinegar? So I didn't buy anything. Ugh. Indecision has slowed me down many a times!

I do buy a few "green" cleaners from the store. The first is Method's fabric softener. It's a bit pricey, but I like it alot and I probably will use less(if any) during the summer. (I've not found a home remedy for this.) But for now, I still need a fabric softener. The other was Method's dishwasher soap. It comes in hard pellets, 1 per cycle. I know there are easy homemade dish washing cleaners out there - but even with traditional cleaners, we eventually get a buildup of residue on the dishes. That's when we breakout the (probably) horrible dishwasher cleaner and run that once or twice. So I'm afraid to use a homemade version that had reviews of residue. I suppose it doesn't hurt to try it though. It is expensive.

That's another topic of discussion soon to follow. Money is getting tight - what is going to get cut back with this new lifestyle?

Defining Our Priorities + ramble at the end!

Food Priorities.

I think I was fairly vague about our food priorities in the beginning. Not intentionally - but because I'm not sure where the line is on certain Food Issues. But I am discovering our priorities. I will try to identify a few areas in food and eating that I've recognized and define how they apply to our family at this time. This is an evolution in our lifestyle and it's not happening overnight. So bear with me anyone with stricter food morals!

Raw Food = Best Food and Nutrition for Your Body/Health.
Um... I don't know that I disagree with that, but going all raw is too drastic for our family at this time. I've read and heard from several sources that highly recommend this manner of eating (also including freshly made fruit and veggie juices) to improve your health. Fortunately no one has any obvious health issues at the moment - so I'm not planning on changing our diet just yet. Although we have considered adding fruit and veggie juices to our diet - meaning buying our own juicer. Someone in the family does this - so we're planning on having dinner and trying some of their juice - to see if it's something we could do regularly.

Eliminating All Unprocessed Foods
I'm sure even those who attempt to do this allow some wiggle room, even if it's just in eating away from the home. Initially I thought we were striving for this, and we still are. But I'm learning more and more that although I'm finding organic alternatives to some of our eating habits, does not mean I am eliminating processed foods (Ex: Annie's Bunny Crackers). As a family I am striving for this, but it will take some work and time. I am attempting to develop new habits (ex: baking my own bread) but there are some products my family just loves - and I can't recreate them. I'm still trying to improve - I'm looking to make my own ranch dressing and ditching Hidden Valley for good... just need to gather all the ingredient (meaning, find organic buttermilk). Also trying to decide how crucial it is to remove sugar from our diet for good. I'm just comfortable baking with sugar!!

Eating Whole Unprocessed Foods Helps the Environment
I want to help the environment - but let me tell you a little secret about myself... ((I don't believe in global warming!!! Shhhhhh!)) I know - it's crazy! I do care about the environment and want to take care of it but frankly I'm a little more narrow minded at the moment. I can only change what I do and what I do for my family. I will continue to make wise eating choices for my family - and vote with my dollars and my actions. I will attempt to buy locally and organically and not be ignorant of the politics in the food industry. But bottom line, I'm worried about the extended health of my family and keeping as much crud out of our system as possible. And if this benefits the environment too - awesome.

Our Bottom Line
Like I said - my main goal is to keep as much crud out of our system as possible. I believe if we just consume food - and not the additives and hormones and chemicals that might tag along - that my family will lead long healthy lives. To do this, we must consume real food, raw or not, but as close to it's original state as possible. Yet we're a young family of five and I must be practical. As much as I love messing up a clean kitchen, trying something new or just making something from scratch - it can be exhausting and time consuming. I haven't decided if local is better than organic and exactly what veggies need to be organic. I still bake with sugar and I still buy backup (non organic) bread. I don't ever eat Doritos - EVER. And I wouldn't eat canned soup if you served it for dinner(homemade is just too awesome to go back to canned...) Frozen dinners are just gross and so are packaged cookies(although I allow them from time to time!) I'd like to say we're a pop free household - working on it. But I'm proud to say I'm switching over all our cleansers to a less toxic and cheaper alternative. Yes, my paper products are still bleached... sigh... It's such an evolving process!

Update

I haven't written much here lately. I also write on my other blog, and that's where my focus has been. The two are really kind of meshed together though.

I wanted to update on a few things though. First off, the laundry soap is going well. I found out that two table spoons is the same as 1/8 of a cup - and I had that measuring cup so it made dishing out the soap much easier! I still have plenty of it, despite doing alot of laundry.

Oh - I've been networking with a few friends from my church and I've found a local CSA or Community Supported Agriculture! For 22 weeks this growing season I will get a half bushel(or so) of organic produce fresh from the farm!!! I am SOOOOO Excited!!! I haven't heard or seen about any in the area... I don't know many people (locally) who are as picky and health conscious of their food's quality. So when a friend and I started talking, she had heard of one. That particular one, located in Ohio - but delivering to PA - wasn't right for us. It wasn't organic and it looked like we might be getting a fair amount of produce we wouldn't normally utilize. And possibly too much. So this new one is a bit smaller - not as great a variety - but organic and local. There's also a mandatory workday - which I'm really excited about! The kids get to come and help and see where their food is grown. I do plan on planting some of my own produce as well though. I can't wait for spring and summer. Winter has gone on a long time and I'm very much looking forward to getting in the dirt!(and heat!)

I'm still cooking organically. I have some repeat and new recipes I'm cooking up this week. I'll try to take pictures and post them - especially the repeat recipes, since their obviously good ones!!

I'm also getting together soon with my friend I *networked* with - so we can talk more about food and what we do and don't do. I'm hoping to get some good ideas for gardening this year and maybe some shopping tips. Our area, although I live in a city - is still behind on things. So organic and clean/green living is really just starting to emerge in this area. Or so it seems to me!

Laundry Soap

So I finally took the plunge!!! I made my own laundry soap!!!

It's not terribly hard, you just have to gather the right ingredients - and that can sometimes be a chore until you know where to go. I made a powdered soap using 1 Cup Borax and 1 Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 1 bar shredded Fels-Naptha. I shredded it by hand, but you could also use a food processor - which I think would be much easier!!!! The soap is kinda hard!!!


The Ingredients!

The Work!

The Final Product!!!

It smells like soap. Nothing fancy or flowery. Just like a bar of soap. Some people use Ivory soap - I may try that in the future. I looked at the ingredients of the Fels-Naptha and all it says: Cleaners, soil & stain removers, chelating agents, colorants, perfume. Hmmm... I guess there aren't strict regulations for ingredient labels on cleaning agents! Thanks for all that information!(sarcasm... )

I haven't used the soap yet - but I'm sure I'll get to it tomorrow. You use 2 Tbs at a time. I'll be interested to see how long it lasts me. I suppose I should make a double batch, but my arm was getting tired from the shredding.

Another thing that occurred to me - and I never see it mentioned on other blogs talking about laundry soap - but I'm assuming I need to use this on a warm cycle to help melt the shredded soap. I normally use cold water- because I hear it doesn't make that much of a difference. I will try both and let you know if the cold water won't work. I'm excited to try out my new soap!!!!

I should be doing laundry...

One of the wholesome living *rules*is that you try to limit the toxins in and around your home. I don't know where the rule book is, but if you surf the internet long enough you come across this *rule.* Another thing you come across quite a bit is homemade laundry detergent.

The first time I heard of this was from a friend a few years ago. It just knocked my socks off that she made her own detergent. And if you've been wise to this - you know it's not very hard. She makes a liquid soap and swears it cleans just as well - if not better than any other detergent. At the time I couldn't conceive of making detergent.. well I could make it once, but I would likely run out and have to wait a whole week before buying more at the store. I wouldn't keep up with it. I'm lazy by nature.

Anyways, I'm not sure why she does it. I assume it's because it's way cheaper and she likes how her clothes smell - not because it's greener or has less contact with toxins in her family. And since then, I've heard of a few other people who make their own detergent. And now it's all over the internet - especially the blog world.

So I'm going to give it a try. I was especially curious when I found a few recipes for powdered detergent. That sounds much more my style. I don't know that I'm going to replicate a liquid recipe more than once. If it's too much work - I just won't do it again.

So, now I just need to get all the ingredients. I've been contemplating this for a while and I'm almost out of my detergent, so now's the time. I'll let you know how it goes!

Firsts

There's so much that could be said. I've been putting off writing anything for this blog - because it just doesn't seem monumental enough to write about. For the first post on this blog - I feel that it needs to be vital information and have a fair amount of substance. But I don't really feel qualified nor do I have anything interesting or particular to write about with our wholesome living. So I thought I'd write about some of our firsts - since this is the first real posting on this blog.

The first time I went shopping for real food. . .
I spent alot of money. I didn't have a list, I didn't have a plan. It was more exploratory really. I went to our local Whole Foods Co-op. I bought some produce, but not much. I roamed the aisles and gawked at the price of dairy and meats. I just stared at the petrified frozen bread... then I went to Wegmans.

I knew they had a large "natural" section. So I checked it out. They do have a large section - but it's for many special dietary needs. So I found myself trying to decipher between organic, gluten free and vegan. It was all so specialty- I still had to search for the real foods!!! Needless to say - it took alot of experimentation to find out what would work for our family. Some foods were easy switches - others we had to find new alternatives. Frankly, some things we probably won't ever change. There are just certain snacks or condements that my family prefers and despite searching for an alternative - there is nothing better than the processed original. I know this is taboo to those in the stricter frame fo mind, but this is how we're flexible and I like being flexible. I don't know that we're quite where I'd like us to be - but we've made alot of good changes and I hopefully we'll continue to do more.

I must say - it took a bit of effort to rethink our perception of food. Especially since I was coming off of Weight Watchers too.. all of a sudden, diet food was a HUGE scam and I'd never realized it. I didn't realize it at first. I was reading Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism book - and she was pointing out the same thing - but with a protein bar. I was shocked. I thought protein bars were the ultimate picture of "healthy fuel" for your body especially with a workout at hand. I think this was the first time I realized our boxed world of convenience was about to be tossed away. It's realizations like this that helped change our diet over time. Where we're at today has been a process. You don't just go to the store and totally change you're whole pantry and menu.

Well - that's how we first started to change - there's more I could say - but this is getting long and drawn out.