Food, Naturally: Article VII

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Even though I am not currently writing for this series, I wanted to add another article I found today regarding labels (which was my last "true" post on the series): 10 Food Label Lies

There is not much we can truly rely on anymore, but if we are eating whole foods (real foods) that don't require labels (fruits and vegetables; meat, milk and eggs from the farmer) we won't have to worry so much about a label trying to sell us a product on false information!

Food, Naturally: Articles VI

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

I found a couple articles today that I wanted to share with you, even though I am taking a break from writing new posts for the Food series.

1. Eater's, beware: Walmart is taking over our food system
A few tidbits from this article include:
* Walmart's share of the whole nations grocery market: 25%
* Walmart is short changing farmers and "charging consumers inflated prices" which has helped to drive up the food prices!
* Walmart's "local produce": "Walmart is doing industrial local," not buying from local small farmers.
* Walmart's low prices are supposed to help reduce the problems of poverty but,

"[n]eighborhoods that gain Walmart stores end up with more poverty and food-stamp usage than communities where the retailer does not open, a study published in Social Science Quarterly found. This increase in poverty may owe to the fact that Walmart's arrival leads to a net loss of jobs and lowers wages, according to research [PDF] by economists at the University of California-Irvine and Cornell."

If we had a distributist society, we wouldn't have this problem, but here in the US, capitalism is king, and along with it comes all these problems.


2. Asian Honey, Banned in Europe, Is Flooding US Grocery Shelves
Beward of Honey sold in US supermarkets. China is laundering honey and it's making its way to the US. Most of the honey is contaminated with antibiotics that are dangerous for children, heavy metals including lead, and some of the honey isn't even honey at all! Read the article to learn more.

Food, Naturally: Article V

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Another good article to go along with my series: What's Eating Your Child?

Good information for everyone, not just children.

Food, Naturally: Check Out This Series

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Heavenly Homemakers is starting a wonderful series that seems to fit nicely with my Food, Naturally series! So, head over to her site and see what it will be all about.

Food, Naturally: Articles IV

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Here are a few articles related to government regulation of the food industry and the ability to make our own food choices. Pretty soon we may not have the ability to buy from a farmer’s market or to choose whole milk at the grocery store. (Yes, I am sensationalizing, at least I hope.)

Amish Milk: The Latest Target of the Obama Regulatory State
— Be careful where you buy milk! Sting operations are in place to catch the Amish selling raw milk across state lines!

Sugary-drink ban starts to affect S.F. sites
— I would bet that whole milk was not on the list of acceptable choices for vending machines …

Department of Transportation Sets Sights on Farmers’ and States’ Rights
— A new multi-million dollar business for the government … CDL training for all farm machinery operators, DOT numbers, and plenty of paperwork and oversight for the farmers.

Wisconsin Judge Denies Basic Property Rights and Fuels Outrage
— Now we will really have to fight for our freedom to choose our own food, even if we produce it! (If nothing else, be sure to read the judge’s clarification of his ruling in the numbered list.)

This is the direction our country is heading. Big government needs to step down or there may be another revolutionary war, unless "We the People" decide to sit back and take it.

Food, Naturally: Know Your Ingredients, Read Your Labels

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

I talked last time about eliminating processed foods, but let’s face it; they are never going to be totally eliminated from our homes. As long as we eat real food 80% of the time, we can usually afford to compromise 20% of the time and hope our bodies will be forgiving. We should remember that the more “compromises” we make with food, the more strain we are putting on our bodies. As I briefly discussed here, the foods we eat are stressing our bodies to the point of exhaustion. But if you truly want to serve healthy, real food for your family and your budget is cutting you short, incorporating the meal blessing will give you the opportunity to ask and trust God to make up the difference.

So, what about those much talked about food labels? If I have not gotten the point across by now, I will repeat myself: do not trust them!

Here are just some of the many food label problems:
* Expiration dates: Use by, sell by, best by dates are only regulated by the USDA for infant formula. Only twenty states require dates (on some products) by law. Some dates are for store use only (such as sell-by dates) and are not an indicator of food safety. Other dates are given by the company to indicate peak freshness, not expiration and food safety.

* Trans fat: If the product has .49g or less trans fat per serving, the company is allowed to claim “no trans fat” on the box! Just a hint, you should read the serving sizes since they passed that law. Many are so small you would certainly be eating double or triple (or more) of the serving size in a normal meal/snack. So you could potentially be eating 1 - 1.5+ grams of trans fat with that one product. If the ingredient lists partially-hydrogenated oil, hydrogenated oil, and/or shortening, it contains trans fats no matter what the box and nutrition label says!

* “Raw” sugar (ex. Sugar in the Raw) is actually processed. Now how exactly do they get away with claiming “raw” on a processed food? Because there is no law that says otherwise, therefore the company can make any claim they wish to dupe you into buying their product.

* Health food claims: These are the worst. You think the product is healthy because they state all the vitamins and minerals in it, but do you stop to read the food label and ingredients as well? You should. Take children’s sugary cereals for example. They have always been marketed as “healthy” because of the added man-made vitamins and minerals (which are only added because of the poor quality of the original ingredients) and now for the “whole grains!”, but they have way too much sugar! And we all know now why we should limit sugar.

* “Wheat” products: The word “wheat” on a package does not mean anything unless the words “whole” or “100% whole” are accompanied with it. White flour, also known as enriched flour on food labels, is wheat flour. It has just been processed down to the endosperm only and bleached. Almost all the nutrients in wheat are found in the bran and germ. This is why white flour must be “enriched”!

* Multi-grain products: These are made to sound nutritious by claiming multiple grains, but usually these products are made with mostly white flour. Again, read the ingredient list.

Reading Nutrition Labels:
* Ingredients are listed according to weight, so the first ingredient is what makes up the majority of the product and so on.

* Look at the serving size. Because so many people are worried about nutrition anymore, many companies have lowered their serving sizes instead of lowering the sugar, sodium, or other content as claimed on the package. Also, many serving sizes are now much smaller than you would normally eat in one sitting (as stated above).

* Next look at the amount of sodium and sugar listed. For every 600 milligrams (mg) of sodium listed, there is ¼ teaspoon of salt per serving. For every 4 grams (g) of sugar listed, there is one teaspoon of sugar per serving. Most products include massive amounts of salt as a preservative so the product stays “fresh” longer. Sugar is included so often (especially when unnecessary as in the case of my crab) because our culture is now addicted to sugar.

Ingredients List: What to Look For
First, always look for partially-hydrogenated oil, hydrogenated oil, and/or shortening. If any of those words show up in the product list, don’t buy it! I promise, you can find crackers, tortillas, and other baked items without trans fats. You just have to look harder.

Next, how many types of sugar can you spot? Sugar may not be listed first, but that does not mean a product is not mostly sugar, or at least made up of too much sugar. If the company uses many types of sugar, they could all add up to being the main ingredient. Sugar words to look for include (in no particular order): sugar, fructose, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, cane syrup, and honey.

One more thing to look for is monosodium glutamate or MSG. The only problem with this is it can be found among so many names. If you think you are ready to spot them out, read the article linked in the previous sentence and also this Truth in Labeling table.

There are many other ingredients to stay away from in processed foods such as food dyes, chemical additives and preservatives, nitrates and nitrites (in processed meats), and others. If you are ready to tackle all of those, one of the best things to do is start looking for products listed as “natural” or “organic” and read only those food labels. It will narrow down your search, making it a little faster. I will talk more about natural and organic products in my upcoming posts.

For more information on ingredients and food labels, please read the books and blogs listed here.

Food, Naturally: Eliminate Processed Foods

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

As I have discussed previously, processed foods are something we should avoid for the reasons listed below and many more!

What is Real Food?—processed food is not and cannot be real food!
Why Eat Real Food, Part I?—God made real food. Man made processed food. You decide!
Why Eat Real Food, Part II?—How can we trust experts and researchers to tell us the truth when they are worried only about their own interests?
Article I—The truth about the food industry. We all probably know it, but do not want to believe it.
Article II and More—Do you need more to convince you of the problems with the food industry?
Vegetable Oils and Bad Fats—What type of ingredients are found most often in processed foods (besides sugars)? Vegetable oils … man-made foods.
Article III and More—More about vegetable oils and their problems
Natural Sugars and Eating Less of Them!—The other most common ingredient in processed foods? Sugar, of course!

So, after all that information, I still have more to share, or elaborate on, about processed foods. Most of the links below (but not all) correspond to the pages already linked to above.

The word “processed” should steer us all away from these foods for the simple reason in Why Eat Real Food, Part I. But since some of us need more encouragement and reasoning than that, I will elaborate. Many of us (myself included) love convenience. We crave convenience because we have become so used to it, as our society has “progressed” (and I am using the word loosely here). The other reason we “need” convenience comes from the problem discussed a while back in this post about women. It basically comes down to priorities—what they currently are and what they should be.

Many processed foods can be made at home quickly, cheaply, and far more healthfully than what we would buy at the store. I will start putting links on my Recipes post (found at the top of every page) for “typically processed” foods so that you can see how quick and easy things such as salad dressings, cream of ____ soup, or even mayonnaise are to make yourself! I would also like to point out that breads, muffins, and pizza crust (things we would typically buy already made or mixes for in the store) are quick and simple. The rising time for breads can make them “time-consuming”, but the fact that you get to do other things while the yeast works by itself, equates to a simple, easy, cheap real food option! I already have links available for some of my favorite “bread” recipes.

The other problems with processed foods (on top of too many vegetable oils and sugars) are the chemicals, additives, preservatives, and food dyes found among the ingredients. Are these ingredients safe? Can we trust the people who say they are? Are they God-given? Have they been around for thousands of years, like real foods, or just the past few decades?

Like I discussed here, companies want to make a product cheaply. They do not care about the ingredients they put into the product. It is more profitable for them to use white flour and fortify their food with vitamins and minerals than to give you the whole wheat version because whole wheat is more expensive and will turn rancid faster giving it a shorter shelf-life and thus less profit (because they have to worry about the product being sold quickly). Look at the crackers the next time you are in the store. You will notice the ones with whole wheat expire a lot earlier than the others. Another example is the overuse of soybean and corn oil—two of the cheapest oils available, but both are recent, man-“made”, and can be hazardous.

The third problem is with labels and the distrust they create between consumers and the companies. I will talk next time about reading/deciphering ingredients and labels.

For more information on processed foods, please read the books and blogs listed here.

Food, Naturally: Natural Sugars and Eating Less of Them!

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Some sugars are okay, others can be dangerous in large quantities. Care to know which ones you should choose?

Honey – A natural, God-given sweetener with anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal properties. It treats cough and upper respiratory infections, may promote better blood sugar control, contains antioxidants, improves HDL, boosts immunity, and taking 1 T raw honey made from within 100 miles of your home fights seasonal allergies. Honey also contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. The most interesting thing about honey is it never spoils! It has been found in Egyptian pyramids still edible!

Maple syrup – Also a natural God-given sweetener that contains antioxidants, 100% DV of manganese in ¼ cup, and is high in zinc. It raises HDL, supports the immune system, has anti-inflammatory properties, helps with male reproductive health and prostate support, has potential benefits for Type II Diabetes, and more than 20 compounds in maple syrup are associated with human health and also believed to have anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and antibacterial properties (source). Pour that 100% pure maple syrup on your pancakes!

Sucanat – This is dehydrated raw cane sugar. It is better than white sugar (but not much) because it is simply dehydrated cane juice – unrefined, unbleached, and molasses-retained (not added back in). Therefore, it also retains some (minute) amounts of actual nutrients and is metabolized a little slower than white sugar. “Raw sugar” in the store is not the same as sucanat. “Raw sugar” is actually processed. I will talk more about food labels in a future post.

White sugar (can also apply to sucanat) – Since she already did the research and wrote it out, you can read here the bad things about white sugar. Bottom Line: Sugar is an empty food devoid of any nutrient value. It only tastes good and is used far too often in processing today.

Artificial sweeteners – As with everything else, do we trust the research that says they are okay or listen to the research that says they are harmful? Remembering what God made and gave us on this earth will go a long way in using common sense on which sugars/sweeteners to avoid!

Why do we need to eat less sugar?

“Eating sugar depletes B vitamins, which leads to premenstrual symptoms and depression, and promotes Candida albicans, a systemic yeast infection. Sugar also causes bone loss, and of course tooth decay—but not for the reason you might think. Sugar upsets the balance of calcium and phosphorus, which causes teeth to rot from the inside out. … Last but not least, by raising blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol, sugar leads to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.” (Real Food, 216, emphasis original)

Sugar should never be a staple in your diet and does not even have to be included at all. If you want to include it regularly, at least choose honey and maple syrup over other types of sugar, but everyone’s sugar intake should be reduced overall. Try adding only a quarter or half the sugar called for in recipes and look for ways to reduce your dependence on processed foods (almost all of which contain too much sugar). Just for example, I bought artificial crab the other day for a meal—and what was included in the ingredients? Sugar! The generic brand also had almost twice as much sugar as the name brand so I opted to pay more for less sugar.

For more information on sugars, please read the books and blogs listed here.

Food, Naturally: Article III and More

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

I thought I would give you some additional information on vegetable oils, in case you are interested in reading about them.
**Are Polyunsaturated Oils Healthy? from Kitchen Stewardship

My Thoughts: I find all the information so fascinating that I have come across recently. And I am quickly learning that what we put into our bodies affects so much of everything else. If we all started eating healthy (the way people did a few hundred years ago and more) many of the diseases we see now would disappear. But the even bigger shocker is that, according to what I have read, this would not happen overnight. We have hurt our bodies so much through our food that our children and grandchildren will suffer, even if they eat right! I think, if that statement does not motivate you to research and change your eating habits, nothing will!

I also think that researchers today are sometimes blinded by the fact that "the government" or "experts" have said that particular foods are healthy or safe so they do not even look at food as a cause for so many of our diseases any more. From my reading, many modern diseases including many cancers, diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure problems, obesity, and heart disease are soley caused from the food we eat. We need to change our eating habits. We need to eat real food. We must demand better for our children, our nation, and our world. Eat Food, Naturally.

Food, Naturally: Vegetable Oils and Bad Fats

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Almost all vegetable oils today are recent foods. They are not found in traditional diets, and for good reason. What are these industrial fats? Soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and any oil or fat (including lard) that is hydrogenated. These fats can cause major problems when eaten in large or small amounts as stated below.

Both omega-6 fats (found mostly in vegetable oils) and omega-3 fats (found in fish) are essential to good health, but the problem is that we should be eating equal amounts of these two types. Instead our grocery stores are bombarded with “low-fat” vegetable oils in every processed food available and we are told to use vegetable oils in cooking instead of saturated fats so we end up eating too much of them.

Because of their properties, too many omega-6 fats cause inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, premature labor, infertility, blood clots, and depression. They also constrict blood vessels and encourage platelet stickiness and clotting leading to heart disease.

On the other side, our diets are also lacking omega-3 fats found in seafood and fish. Not enough omega-3 fats can cause major problems such as dyslexia, poor motor skills, ADHD, even depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Because of the amount of vegetable oils we consume, consequences of imbalance can affect even breastfed babies as shown here in the quality of breast milk:

• Ideal ratio of omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats = 1 to 1
• 2 studies done in the US show ratios of 67.4 to 1 and 175.0 to 1

Another problem with vegetable oils is their fault with heating. Unsaturated fats are easily oxidized during cooking. Oxidized fats contribute to cancer and heart disease. They can also cause diarrhea, poor growth, loss of hair, skin lesions, anorexia, emaciation, and intestinal hemorrhages. The best fats to fry in are beef fat, butter, or coconut oil because they are highly saturated and therefore stable during heating.

We all know trans fats cause health problems. We should avoid them at all costs as they have no health benefits and are dangerous in any amount; even the government health agencies will admit that point, but have you ever looked at the processed food you buy from the store? You will quickly see how they are nowhere near eliminated from our diets as they should be. All hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oils ARE trans fats. (I will talk more about food labels later.) Most pretzels, tortillas, crackers, cookies, cakes, and other baked goods are full of hydrogenated oils. Go ahead, look at your labels. I’ll wait.

The problems with trans fats:

• Lower HDL
• Raise LDL
• Raise Lp(a), which promotes atherosclerosis and clotting
• Reduce blood vessel function
• Promote obesity, diabetes, and hypertension
• Alter fat cell size and number
• Reduce fat content of breast milk (a necessary nutrient for babies’ growth and brain development)
• Reduce fertility and correlate with low birth weight
• Increase asthma
• Reduce immune response
• Interfere with conversion and use of DHA and EPA (omega-3 fats)
• Disrupt enzymes that metabolize carcinogens and drugs
• Damage cell membranes
• Create free radicals

When we eat the foods we are supposed to, and avoid all these new man-made concoctions, we will avoid many of these debilitating diseases that now plague our society. It is only when other countries start incorporating the “American way” of eating that they begin to see problems in their health. So what do we do? Eat real food, naturally!

For more information on vegetable oils and other fats, please read the books listed here.

Food, Naturally: Meat, Eggs, and Good Fats

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Because there is so much controversy and false information out there, I will again start my post with a reiteration (from the introduction):

“There are so many false sources out there that it can be hard to sift through them, but one of the most important things to remember is this. Do they have a political, financial, or other gain that may be obtained by making these remarks regarding what we eat?”

And I will also remind you to read this article talked about in my last post, if you haven’t already.

One of the most important things I learned through my reading is that all traditional fats are healthy in moderation. Not just neutral or “unharmful”, but rather beneficial.

What are traditional fats? (Fats that God gave us)
Lard, beef and pork fat, poultry fat, cream, butter, extra virgin olive oil, unrefined palm oil, and unrefined coconut oil

All these fats have been eaten for thousands of years and yet heart disease was rare before the 1900s and the first heart attack in the United States was not until 1912. Then by mid-century, heart disease became the number one killer! What did people start eating around that time? Trans fats (in the form of hydrogenated oils) and an excess of refined vegetable oils. Yes, these are the killers and I will talk more about them in the next post.

As talked about here, the so-called research evidence stating that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease is false. Please read Real Food by Nina Planck (listed here) to discover more about this.

What are some benefits of saturated fats?
They are required for the absorption of calcium and other minerals. The body is better able to retain omega-3 fats when saturated fats are also eaten. Saturated fats build the immune system by fighting harmful pathogens. They lower blood levels of lipoprotein (a)—which leads to clotting and atherosclerosis. And when you eat too much saturated fat, the body converts it to monounsaturated fat which lowers LDL and does not affect HDL. How’s that for reasons to eat more bacon and butter?!

As always, for more information on good, traditional fats, please read the books listed here.

Food, Naturally: Raw Milk and Other Dairy

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

I have talked about the benefits of raw milk previously, so I did not want to repeat myself, but much of this is too important not to share again.

I feel like I should start off with a realization. Raw milk is almost a completely different product from pasteurized milk. In pasteurized milk, all the enzymes and beneficial bacteria and almost all the vitamins have been “scorched” out of the milk. The A and D vitamins found in store bought milk have been added back in. The enzymes found in raw milk help the body digest the sugars and proteins found in the milk. This is why many people who are lactose intolerant find they are able to drink raw milk without any issues. The bacteria found in raw milk help the digestive system and immune system similar to how yogurt works.

Many people think drinking raw milk is unsafe, but this is not true. When cows are fed a natural diet, (read: free-grazing, eating pasture) they rarely get sick compared to cows given a space not much bigger than they are, required to stand and lay in their own waste, and fed an unnatural “grain” diet (i.e. usually corn which a cow would rarely, if ever, eat in nature). This combined with other factors including small farms where the farmer takes care to make sure he does not contaminate the milk means that drinking a local source of raw milk is safe.

Drinking raw milk actually means drinking whole milk. We should be drinking the fat with the milk as this is where the fat-soluble vitamins are found and also because some vitamins require fat in order to be used in our bodies. I will talk more about fat in the next post.

Other dairy products that are good for you and should be eaten regularly (daily) include raw (or at least organic) cream, real butter (preferably made from raw cream or at least organic cream), yogurt or kefir, crème fraiche (sour cream), and raw milk cheese.

For more information on dairy please read the books listed here.

Food, Naturally: Why You Will Feel Better Eating It

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

The easiest answer goes back to what was stated in this post: “God made our bodies to function using the food that He gave us and people ate this way for thousands of years.” If God made cholesterol, saturated (and unsaturated) fat, natural vitamins and minerals, plants and animals, then our bodies will not only survive, but thrive from eating these things.

Some nutrients that our bodies need are found only in animal products. Even cultures that are traditionally vegetarian will eat dairy, eggs, or even bugs because of the necessary nutrients found there. No culture is traditionally vegan. That form of eating is unhealthy and even deadly without manmade supplements. With animal products, you cannot separate the necessary nutrients from the cholesterol; with dairy, you cannot separate them from the fat. Those are the places where the nutrients are found.

Let’s start out with a research example: “In 1996, researchers noted that Israeli Jews followed the recommended diet for preventing obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. They ate fewer calories, more carbohydrates, less fat, less saturated fat, and more polyunsaturated vegetable oils than Americans. Their diet closely resembled the USDA food pyramid, including generous amounts of fruits and vegetables” (Real Food, 206). We would assume, this being the recommended diet, that they lived longer and healthier than anyone in the world. “The reward for this dietary discipline? Higher rates of obesity and diabetes than Americans and similar rates of heart disease” (206).

So, if we shouldn’t eat the USDA recommended diet, what should we eat? And how do these things benefit our body? We should eat traditional foods, prepared in traditional ways. These are the foods God gave us. And this is the way it should be: Food, Naturally.


**I will elaborate on each food or group individually in their separate post.

Food, Naturally: Why Eat Real Food, Part II

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Like I discussed last post, “experts” and “researchers” can deceive us. This is for the reason previously stated in the introduction:

“There are so many false sources out there that it can be hard to sift through them, but one of the most important things to remember is this. Do they have a political, financial, or other gain that may be obtained by making these remarks regarding what we eat?”

Most things are done and said today for the sole purpose of making money.

• Poorly-conducted studies are carried out just so companies have “proof” that their product is safe to use or consume, even if it is not (and long-term effects can never be studied quickly—which means most food products on the market today have not been tested for long-term side effects).
• Companies make claims on their packages that have never been confirmed and may even be false. Our government has made multiple laws stating what can and cannot be advertised on packaging, but there are still many things which are not yet regulated.
• Many large businesses employ lobbyists whose sole purpose is to pressure the government with the idea their product is safe, but their concern is money, not safety.
• Government officials are swayed by kickbacks or campaign funds instead of actual facts and figures done by legitimate double-blind, random, large research studies.
• Most companies hire lawyers for lawsuit-protection instead of chemists and chefs to change their “formulas”. (Real food doesn’t need a chemist or a lab.)
• Companies buy the cheapest ingredients so their foods are more profitable and then enhance the flavor with artificial ingredients and add “nutritional value” by fortifying/enriching with manmade vitamins and minerals.

If you don't believe me, read this article linked on a later Food, Naturally post.

As you can see, the consumer must always remember the old phrase “buyer beware”. We cannot and should not trust the companies making the food—their concern is profit. We cannot and should not trust the government to regulate our food—more laws means less freedom. (Big government is bad.) We must control the market ourselves by voting with our food dollars. We should buy safe, local products—real foods. We have a right to be able to speak in person to the farmer and ask questions about the products. We have a right to see where our food is grown or raised. We must demand more for ourselves and our families. And it all starts with what we are buying … it should be Food, Naturally.

Food, Naturally: What is Real Food?

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Many people may tell you different things about what real food is to them. I will tell you my definition first and include some others as well.

My perfect definition of real food encompasses locally grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables; locally-raised, pastured beef, pork, and chicken and eggs; raw milk and raw milk cheese; and freshly milled whole wheat breads. Some people may include an emphasis on plant foods or one on animal foods. Others focus on raw foods and sprouted or soaked grains. And others worry about humanely raised animal products, no genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or simply just organic foods.

I believe the most important, yet simplest definition of real food is food in its whole form, as close to nature as possible and made into meals from scratch in our own kitchens instead of processed in a lab (literally, in some cases) and packaged in a factory.

My goal for my family is to eat as much:

• locally grown produce (from my own garden or bought from local farms/farmer’s markets)
• locally-raised, pastured beef, pork, and chicken and eggs
• raw milk from pasture-fed cows, which can be skimmed for cream and made into butter
• raw milk cheese or at least whole-milk cheese
• freshly milled whole wheat breads and other flour products
• canned (or possibly even lacto-fermented) fruits and veggies for use when out of season
• butter, cream, extra virgin olive oil, coconut and palm oil, lard, and meat fat as possible.

And eliminate as many:

• industrial fats (trans fats/hydrogenated fats, margarine, vegetable oils, and shortening)
• refined grains and sugars, and artificial sweeteners
• and even raw/natural sweeteners as possible.

I was working toward this in Washington, but am currently taking it slow during this transition in our lives. I still try to eat as many whole foods and traditional fats as possible while including as much organic as possible since we are not eating local.

Hopefully, I will help you achieve this with your family (if you so choose) and help you understand why this is important throughout this Food, Naturally series.

New Series Coming! Food, Naturally

I am finally getting around to posting about food which I stated as a topic when I first started writing again this year in May! The good thing is I have read more and know more about it now than I did when I mentioned it previously. This is going to be a short series about what I have learned regarding true nutrition and health. Like I mentioned previously, you might be shocked by what you find here, but I urge you to read and research for yourselves.

These are the books I have enjoyed reading thus far.

• Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck
• Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig

Other books that I would like to read on this topic include:

• The Untold Story of Milk, Revised and Updated: The History, Politics, and Science of Nature’s Perfect Food: Raw Milk from Pasture-Fed Cows by Ron Schmid
• Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol by Mary Enig
• Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon
• Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby’s First Foods by Nina Planck
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
• In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

Many of these books you may be able to find at your local library, but I would recommend buying Nourishing Traditions because of its depth of knowledge and recipes.

I have some topics that I am currently planning to write about, but I may add more as I go along, which is something I seem to do often with these series! Posts for the series are (currently):

• Introduction
• What is Real Food?
• Why Eat Real Food, Part I
• Why Eat Real Food, Part II
• Why You Will Feel Better Eating It
• Raw Milk* and Other Dairy
• Article I
• Meat, Eggs, and Good Fats
• Article II and More
• Vegetable Oils and Bad Fats
• Real Whole Wheat
• Article III and More
• Natural Sugars and Eating Less of Them!
• Eliminate Processed Foods
• Know Your Ingredients, Read Your Labels
• Article IV
• “Natural” Can Be Deceiving
• Why is Organic Better?
• Not all “Organic” is Good Food
• So What About Snacks and Dessert?!

* I previously wrote a post about raw milk, the first from my Back to Nature series, but I plan on writing another one to include the information I have read and learned since.

I wanted to add two links to my favorite blogs to read for nourishing, real food recipes: Heavenly Homemakers, and Kitchen Stewardship

A Bit of Randomness

Well, it's almost a new year and my blog is sorely lacking in updates. It kind of went to the wayside (along with house cleaning) after Robert came home. It seems like I have more time to do things when he's gone (or working) than when he's home all the time!

I am finally back into meal planning -- and hoping/praying that we can finally stick to our budget this year so we can save more money. Saving has (sadly) been a lower priority lately with all our eating out, buying Robert some new clothes, and purchasing our lovely piano (more about that below)!

It's amazing how much money you can save when you go into the grocery store with a plan and a list instead of just thinking of "meals" (if you can call them that) as you go. Our first planned meal was last night - homemade ham and bean soup (using dry beans). Very delicious. Robert loved it. I made homemade corn muffins to go along with it, which was a nice compliment.

I made some sandwich bread yesterday as well - but I think I took it out of the oven too soon, so I'll have to try again next time. I want to start making all of our bread again. I bought some wheat gluten, hoping that will help the bread become less "crumb-y" ... hoping anyway. I might try a small amount of bread flour if that doesn't work, because my italian bread recipe turns out so nicely.

I would also like to start making all of our desserts from scratch. I made some wonderful butter toffee, caramels, and candy bar treats with the help of my mom when my parents were visiting earlier this month. We still have some toffee left over but everything else has been eaten. The candy was so rich and so delicious. I can't wait to make the caramels again to try to improve on them. (They were a bit hard, probably from boiling too long.)

And I've even started making cinnamon rolls from scratch. I've made two batches now (the second was much better), but they are delightful! And they are made with baking powder, so they're fast and easy. The link is on my recipe page.

And last but not least, my new piano! Well, I should say our piano. Robert and I have been eyeing pianos since before Benedict was born (maybe for almost a year now). We considered one, but they were a little out of our price range. I was set on buying a full sized keyboard if we were going to spend the money. There's no use buying one (in my opinion) if I can't even play all my favorite songs on it! So we finally broke down and bought one as our Christmas present to each other this year. It came with an attached stand, pedals, weighted keys, and a bench. I'm so thrilled with the purchase!

Well, if you're still with me, I'm going to try to update once every week or two from now on so that I have a little motivation to stay on track, but also to share with you what I've been up to in the kitchen as well as any new updates with Benedict.

Homemade Chicken & Noodles

This recipe is a little bit my own, a little bit my mom's, a little bit my MIL's, and a little bit BHG cookbook. All-in-all, it's excellent! (But that's my own biased opinion!)

Chicken and Noodles
**my own recipe**
Makes: 4-6 servings Cook: 1 hour

2 c	flour
½ t	salt
2	eggs, beaten
⅓	water
1 t	cooking or olive oil
6 c	chicken broth
1 can	cream of chicken soup
2 c	chicken, chopped
	salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In a small bowl, combine eggs, water, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir to combine.

Sprinkle clean kneading surface with flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes total - I never knead that long). Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion until about ¹⁄₁₆" thick (about a 12" square). Let stand, uncovered for about 20 minutes. Cut the noodles to approximately ¼" - ⅜" wide (length about 6" but doesn't have to be perfect). Lay noodles on drying racks or cooking sheets with parchment paper (don't forget the paper, they will stick!) to dry.

I usually let my noodles dry out for about two to three (or more) hours before cooking. You can take them immediately to the pot but they only need to cook for a couple minutes this way (according to BHG - I've never done it).

Put chicken broth and cream soup in (at least a 4 qt) stock pot or large sauce pan on medium-low heat. Stir to combine. Add chicken and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally.

Add half the noodles to the pot and continue to cook until al dente (about 20 minutes). You should stir frequently after adding the noodles because they have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan if you don't. If adding all the noodles, add about one or two cups of water to the pot.


** You can also freeze the noodles if you make extra. Lay them on wire cooling racks for about five hours, turning once or on parchment paper on cookie sheets to dry overnight. Place in a freezer bag or freezer container. Can be frozen for up to 8 months (according to BHG). Thaw before cooking.

Cheesy Potato Soup

This was so delicious, and perfect this time of year!

Cheesy Potato Soup
**my own recipe**
Makes: 4-6 servings Cook: about 40 minutes

1 c	onion, diced
1 c	celery, diced
4	carrots, peeled and diced
2	large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
2	chicken bouillon cubes
4 c	water
1 c	half-and-half
2 c	sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ t	dried dill weed
¼ t	garlic powder
1 t	parsley flakes
⅛ t	ground cayenne pepper (this really sets it apart!)

In a stock pot or large saucepan over medium heat, combine onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, bouillon cubes, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender (time will depend on how large you chopped your potatoes). Do NOT drain.

Puree potato mixture in a blender or food processor. (If using a food processor, don't overfill - it makes a BIG mess!) Return to pot over medium heat. Stir in half-and-half, cheese, dill, pepper, salt, and cayenne. Bring to a low boil and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened.

Frugal Chicken

Last Sunday, I cooked a whole bird for the first time in my life. I've never had people over for Thanksgiving, so I always just cook those little turkey breasts. I didn't know if I could handle doing it at first because I have this thing about not eating/looking at food that I can "tell" was alive once. Like oysters, squid, calamari, crab or lobster still in the shell, or a whole bird. When I started picking out the bones, I got a little freaked, but I kept at it and thought to myself, "what about those women who used to have to kill the chicken before they could cook it?" After that, I had a new-found sense of "I can do it".

It was easy, cheap, and not too time consuming. I paid $4.10 for a 5-lb bird at the commissary. The price was the kicker for me. When I saw it I almost didn't believe it. I've paid over $11 for 3-4 lbs of chicken breasts before!

I used this post (but she just recently posted a better "version" on her own site), plus some Q&A with my mom to cook it. Plus we get fresh, no-preservative chicken broth out of it too! I got about six-seven cups of broth total after I simmered the bones (wish I would've read that second post before I cooked it!). I got about three cups from cooking the chicken itself. I got about six cups of chicken meat out of it too! The worst part, if you want to call it that, was that by the end of the eight hours in the crock-pot, I couldn't take the chicken out in one piece. It completely fell apart on me! And the best part? Now my whole house smells absolutely wonderful!