food industries

I watched a new video this weekend. It was called "Food Inc". It was a very informative DVD. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know how food gets to our table. I couldn't believe that only 4 major companies make all of our food in the stores. It tells how McDonald's is the largest company in the world to buy up all of the beef, chicken, Pork, lettuce, apples, and other products. I also learned that it is actually safer to process your own food outside in the fresh air then buy a package of food in the store. YIKES! I learned so much more but I think you should watch the movie. I am so glad I decided not to eat processed meats. We have really watched eating out in restaurants. We have noticed that we have more headaches. We feel more tired whenever we go somewhere to eat. We were out this weekend and my son and daughter both were sick. My husband whom never gets a headache had one for two days. I was wore down and very tired. I have come to the conclusion that I cook better meals. They are healthier even if I don't have vegetables with every meal.
My son has many allergies. I have noticed that simple meals are all our family needs. What happened to the old fashioned cooking. We want everything simple. Boxed foods have over taken our pantries. We have forgotten how to just make the basic Meat, Potato, and veggie meals. It doesn't take that much longer to make it from scratch. Putting a piece of meat on a indoor grill or in a pan with a lid takes about a half hour ( less on the grill.) It only takes about 10 minutes to heat up a potato in the microwave. Peas only take 3 minutes in the microwave . So in less than a half an hour you can have a whole meal that is better for you than hamburger helper. It takes about the same time but less salt and preservatives. A couple of veggies on the grill will add variety and you have your onions and peppers for the day. Some people think you have to have several burners going to create a good meal.
Sherry's Snippet for the day.- Kiss (Keep It Simple Silly)

gasoline in our water?

I recently heard on the radio that the FDA has made it a law to put gasoline in all city water systems. It is the Law . All city water must be treated with it for purification. This has led me to look at water more closely. It also makes me think about what is the reason behind all of this madness. I can not come up with a logical reason why we must ever have gasoline in our water. Can you???? I guess it would run along with why would they put coal tar in our candy !?! Both are toxic. Well, what about BPA's in plastic. Have you heard of that one yet. If you have you are probably one up on me. If you have not a good website is http://alternativemonster.info/toxic-plastic-water-bottles.htm/ this will give you enough information to start you wondering. It gives you more information on handling of bottled water. What you should do. It has made me even question whether I should use glass jars and bottles to store leftovers in. Should I use canned goods? They are all petroleum products and leach into our water and food. Is this safe? No! sometimes
we can let those around us dictate what we do. Yes, it is not easy to grow a crop, harvest and put it up for the winter. It is much easier and cheaper to go to the store and buy it off of the shelf. It is cheaper than organic from a health food store. In the end though we end up paying the price for what we thought was wholesome food.
Snippet for the day- God maybe telling you something. Are you listening or are you ignoring his calling. If you are fighting it. Maybe you are ignoring out of stubborness!

Keeping up with the Jones

Vacations are a fun thing to do. We recently came home from Iowa.

What a good time we had with my sister-in-law. It is so nice to be back home though. I think it is fun to get away but It is also good to get back home.

We can get back into the routine. I must start all over with our food routine,our homeschool routine and our chores. It always seems like so much work. I sure hope someone appriciates this someday and I hope it isn't just God. Don't get me wrong I do want to do things unto the Lord. I want my children and husband to reap the rewards and I don't want to do things in vain. I mean isn't that what we are here for? Well, aside from preaching the gospel unto others. Are we not to bring are children up in him? There are so many things on this Earth that can take our time away from our families and God. If anything we do in a day isn't the goal for the Lord and in the end we don't reap the benefits of seeing it in our homes or lives in the long run is it really worth it?

Someone told me a few months back that they thought that another homeschooling family's children were quite. As a matter a fact they classified it as being anti-social and because of their homeschooling background they were definitely not being socialized. Which I know to be the contrare. If you are one of my homeschooling friends please don't beat yourself up if you are questioning if it is you. For one thing I think phycologist have to make everyone think that there has to be something wrong with those whom want to stay home with their children and homeschool. It isn't just enough to have a normal child. In this case I beleive the child was just taking all the information in. They have been trained at home. They have learned to ask questions and listen to answers from adults. Their peers are now adults instead of children. This is a good thing. Think about it for a second. Isn't it the peers whom children hang out with that get them into trouble? When was the first time you tried a smoke? drink? or something else? was it a friend you got into trouble with? What about the childrens clothes at school? Is it not the peers who pick out what is the latest and greatest toys your child must have to be in the incrowd? Or what about those clothes that you wear ? are they name brand or do you just get any old brand? Our peers have more affect on us and our children then anyone cares to admit. How about your car? What does it say. Does it say you have to take out a large loan just to keep up with the Jones or is it paid off? possiably always being worked on but yours none the less. Some people might read this and try to rationalize their behavior. I am not here to judge just simple say sometimes we don't always look at the full picture of what people are doing and saying. Mull it over in your head. Yes, we would like that new toy, car, house, or what ever it maybe. God himself says we are to owe no man money. How hard would it be to save up for those things? Think of the intrest we pay on that loan. You could pay for your house 3 or 4 times by the time you pay all that interest. That would have given you the money to buy the car and some little goodies on the side. All that and no morgage. I am not saying that everyone should have a morgage. I am saying at what price do we actually pay for that peer pressure in the end. I do think the only thing that could be purchased without cash is your first home because you would probably be paying rent somewhere. Of course that is if our children made it a priority not to get married until they had enough money for their first home. then they could save all that money they earned for a nicer home later. Besides my wisdom on that one isn't what God says he says ,"OWE NO MAN" and he is the man



snippet for the day- Go on doing what you have been doing and you will keep getting what you have been getting.

aspartame

I went to a health fair yesterday. I was quite humored to find they were giving away a high fiber cereal. It contained of all things aspartame. If you are not familiar with this product it is a poison. I can't beleive it was lurking in a breakfast cereal. A healthy whole grain cereal. I threw it away as soon as I looked at the ingrediants. I can't tell you what cereal it is right now. If I find another one lurking around then I will post it. Aspartame is in many low fat or diabetic foods. It causes aspartame poisoning. If any doctor tells you or someone you know that their liver and /or kidneys are shutting down, and they don't know why, ask them if they drink diet soda. It has aspartame in it. The unfunny thing about aspartame is doctors tell diabetics that it is a good thing. It doesn't have sugar. What they fail to say is it raises and drops their glycemic index. It could also kill you. A diabetic could use stevia a natural sweetener found at a health food store. It has a low glycemic index. An even better alternative to stevia is Agave Nectar. It doesn't have a glycemic index. Aspartame is even in bottled water. My advice is drink regular water. Selter water with grape juice,or some juice or a flavoring. You are better off drinking something with sugar instead of aspartame. If it causes tumors in labratory mice after their 30 day or 90 day experiments are over you know their just isn't something right about this product. It also caused fertility problems. Do you think this is a good product to market? If they weren't making so much money off of this product do you think they are going to say it is bad?
snippet for the day---Why is it that when someone tells you something is bad for you, your reply is usually," Oh, but that doesn't affect me?"

Sweetners

Agava Nectar
It has a low if any glycemic index. It is similar to honey but without the bitter after taste if you accidently overdue it. It also comes in different flavors. Hazelnut, ameretto, vanilla, irish cream, ect.. It is good in tea and I assume coffee since I don't drink the stuff. It is also great on oatmeal. So if you are looking for a sweetener that is good for diabetics or hypoglycemia try this sweetener. It taste better that stevia. It is better for you that sugar or artificial sweeteners.( ugh!!!)

Halloween

I am thinking about nixing the whole trick or treat idea this year. Well, my son actually says,"It's satans holiday and I don't want to celebrate it." Well, my other son wants to celebrate halloween. I am not sure that he really needs to go trick or treating since all of the candy he is allergic too. He really loves candy. He is addicted to it and if he gets it in his hands it is hard for him to resist. I asked them what can we do instead? My Oldest son said, " We can dress up in Biblical Character and tell people about the Lord." Great Idea except that I am not sure how that goes with weaving God into Satans holiday. I am not sure what to do? I want to create a loving spirit in my children. I do not want to discourage their little hearts and squish out the holy spirit working in their lives. Well, if anyone has an idea that could help let me know.
Snippet for today: God will provide a way. Sometimes , it may come from the most unexpected person or place.

travels

We went to Ohio and Indiana earlier last month. I am surprised how much easier it was to work with my kids allergies. I found it is much easier to take soy milk with us in the cooler. I also took cheerios with us. We found breakfast so much easier and if I had to go grocery shopping it could wait until at least afternoon. So if you have a child with allergies try this little trick. I also found if you hit the nearest Walmart before you get to your destination you can do most of your shopping right before you get to wherever you are staying and you don't have to feel guilty when your host make food you can't eat. It also helps with their grocery bill.
Snippet Question for today: If you are allergic to cats why do you like them enough to keep them in your house?

What are you eating?

One of my friends stayed with me recently. She was surprised to see all the food that I made for my family. She said that we ate so much healthier and it didn't take as much time to make as it did her. Tonight, I was thinking. How much many of us do not know about nutrition. We are into eating to much meat and potatoes and not enough veggies. Yes, it is hard to get those little ones to eat their veggies. I have tried a few things to improve our veggie intake that might help you. I now put Pumpkin in our pancakes. My children call them pumpkin pie pancakes. I started by adding 1/4 cup of pumpkin now we are up to 1/2 cup or more! Then I add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice (optional) in to pancake mix. I make my own mix though. I do not add much sweetener. I may add agava nectar and soy milk instead of cow's milk. I found that baking with soy milk makes the food fluffier and tastes even better. My husband whom hates soy milk now makes pancakes with soy milk. We do not need alot of sweetener. That is what real maple syrup is for. We don't eat that corn syrup maple flavored pretend stuff. My son that has problems with sugar usually uses agave nectar. They now even have different flavors. He loves them on his pancakes and agave nectar does not have a glycemic index. If you are diabetic this sweetener is the ticket! My friends daughter is a little on the hyper side. After staying with us she was less hyper that week. My friend said It is amazing what sugar and dyes do to children. We decided not to give children Ice cream near bedtime. It is a complete nightmare. I am talking for us not the children. We try to make it a habit to eat pancakes on Saturday morning. That way the kids can help and I know they will have their pumpkin. I have went so far as making a food calandar. Mondays are Mexican night . That way I can make homemade tortillas if I desire. Tuesdays are Italian night. I can get creative or if I am lazy it is Speghetti. Wed. are usually Pizza Night. We are in a hurry to get to church so we try a quick meal. Now that I found out that my son has a mold allergy It is a Pizza/ chicken nuggets night. Thursday is Soup and Sandwich night. I usually make potatoe soup or broccoli soup. I even love to make french onion soup and found mine is even better than the resturants. Sometimes we have a Chili (loaded with veggies!) or Tomato soup. Friday is our movie night. My husband likes to make popcorn the old fashioned way. We try to have left overs or whatever sounds good. Sometimes it is junk food. (in moderation of course) We go for Lays all natural potatoe chips and sour cream dip (homemade) sour cream and dry ranch dressing or a package of onion soup mix added to a small sour cream makes a great french onion dip. We have Jo jo potatoes up here. Thick cut potatoes. sometimes we will even get chicken wing diddies or fish sticks. If the boys are really good I treat them to Icies.Luigie's has real lemon and rasberry Icies in a cup and they are all natural. It does beat ice cream and they aren't as crazy and hyper. Saturday I try to put on a roast, turkey, chicken, or ugh (a ham.) We eat that for dinner and sandwiches for leftovers after church. Who wants to cook when they get home from church??? We even have a fish fry about once a month. Most other meals are chicken breast on our indoor grill ( george foreman type) with a side of rice and peas (my sons favorite veggie). I try to make oatmeal for breakfasts. Any leftover Brown rice usually gets ate up in the morning by my daughter. She likes hers with cinnamon a little agave nectar and milk. My other son usually eats Cheerios. We do not eat any processed cold cereals other than that. However, I have come across a good cereal by Kashi. It has the flax in it. It is all natural so we are going to eat more of that one. We must eat so why not make it quick and easy and with a plan.

Todays snippet- Are you eatting to live instead of living to eat?

Milk Intolerance

Allergies are a terriable thing to have to deal with. I am finding that there are more allergies with a red headed child than any other children. Second is blonde headed children. Light hair and light blue or green eyes. I happen to come across an older book that was a wonderful save for my allergy prone child. "Change your childs behavior chemestry." It was an eye opener. I have learned that my child has milk intolerance and wheat intolerance. My child has always had milk problems but it wasn't till recently that I was willing to realize that I had the problem with his problem. What I mean is that I have been giving my child milk he has had several behavioral problems but I never realized that milk was attributing to most of these behavior outbursts. I was the one in the most denial. I do see many parents doing this with there children. Most will put their child on medication because of their lack of information on the subject and do not know all the allergies of there child. Well, It doesn't help when your child has had allergies tests and the allergy doctors tell you there is no allergy. It may not be an allergy. The doctors beleive if your child does not break out from head to toe that they are not allergic to the ingredient. I knew my child was having problems with milk but was told he was not allergic to milk. He had a scratch test done and it proved he was not allergic to milk or wheat. He definately has a milk intolerance. He doesn't have an allergy (they say). So if the child doesn't break out but has bowel blockages or have a mean attitutude it could be an intolerance even if I believe it is an allergy. Sometimes allergies show up in more than breaking out all over the body.

I have looked on the label of boxes and found that many have some form of milk products. I have even seen the non dairy dried milk. I didn't think that this was a problem for my child. I noticed that he had behavioral problems but didn't think it had anything to do with it. I was wrong. I now try to watch butter, cream cheese, sour cream, ect... in recipes and in boxed foods. Now I have been making him food and changing ingredients. I now put coconut oil in place of butter and soymilk in place of milk. Soymilk actually taste good in baked goods. I don't know what I am going to do if I realize he does have an intolerance for wheat. It will be alot harder to deal with that kind of an allergy. Maybe your child has an intolerance for milk . If your doctor says," they aren't allergic" that doesn't mean they can eat/drink it. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!

I had to demand that my son have a blood test done for food allergies. If I wouldn't have done this I wouldn't have found out that he does have an allergy. an allergy to Mold Spores. That's is a topic for another day.

erthorbate/nitrates/nitrites

Today my husband and I decided to have a little open pit cookout. Well, It started out with a fun memorial day snack. (Smores) Then of course that couldn't be enough. We then had to get Hot Dogs Uhggggggg! Well, of course it is a holiday. The co-op does not sell veggie dogs so we had to go with Vollwerst. They actually are the best if you are in to eating dogs. They pop when they are done. The casings are all natural. They don't have alot of all the nitrates and nitrites in them. The also didn't tell me how they didn't like me. (not yet anyway.) Not that I would endorse hot dogs in any way,shape or form. Sometimes we have to step out of our healthy comfort zone to enjoy life. (A stomach ache)

snippet of the day- Do you know what Erthorbate is in all hot dogs?

Answer---Earth worms

Makes you want to have a few doesn't it?????

Red Dye

My first bad encounter with Red Dye was with my son. He broke out without a reason. I could not figure out what made him break out. Two years ago we had a severe problem. He had to be rushed to the clinic. He had red hands. His face had streaks on it. His ears were red. His back had marks on it and his feet were red. What caused this reaction? The doctor suggested it was probably RED DYE 40. The doctor was allergic to it also.
Hmmm? We were wondering what was wrong with him. I knew it was in his food but I wasn't quite sure what it was? This could be the answers to my prayers. The problem was that he didn't ingest it. He was playing in snow that had Yellow Crystal Lite mixed in for color and flavor. I would say COOL idea. Except my son broke out from playing in the snow. So now I am a mom with a mission. What is RED DYE? Do you know what red dye is??? neither did I ! So I Googled red dye and went on a search for what red dye really is. Well, I found out what it is made out of. Never would I have guessed coal tar. Yes, coal tar. Would you feed your child a peice of coal? How would that even get on the menu? How about a box of cereal? Some of our favorite candy? Gum? How about in your Yoguart? Ice cream with a beautiful cherry (red one) on top. How about your favorite chips? Doritos. Wash it down with some Gatorade? How about some Chocolate Cake? Or some Cookies? Yes, all of these have red dye. It was so sad that my son wouldn't even eat strawberries because they may contain red dye. That could cause him the Ichies. (Hives) Well, We have learned to stay away from red dye and yellow and a few more. I can't even pick up some M&M's without cringing. Red and Yellow are the worst dyes. They cause hyperactivity, memory loss, I forget what else. (must have had red dye sometime today) Yes, and to think that some parents maybe putting their children on drugs when all it could be is an allergic reaction to dye or a food additive. My son is doing better now. There are so many things out there that our kids are allergic to that change their behavior that we just shrug off. If your child is showing signs of hyperactivity it could possiably be food coloring or a food additive. More on that latter!
I am one step closer to finding the answers is my motto.

Snippet for today- RED DYE or is red die killing us?

stamping

I just came back from the sayner stampede. It is just that. You would not beleive the crazed women (including myself) running for thousands of stamps. It was wonderful. I am so happy to be able to grab up a few good deals. What a steal. Everyone was pretty happy. unless they didn't get that special stamp that was grabbed away from them by the woman next to them. (better luck next year!) some of those stampin up sets I have never even seen before. amazing!

my first blog 2

I hope that I finally got this blog thing down. This is my first blog if I have done this right.