Not even a few hours later...

     SO, I posted all my great ideas for fabulous thrifty living, and shortly thereafter found this most interesting article and website.



from the blog http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com




"According to theCampaign for Real Milk website,
"Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer."

So, what about lactose intolerance?  It turns out that raw milk is wonderful food that naturally comes with the lactase enzymes needed for digestion of lactose.  The act of pasteurizing milk kills the lactase enzymes.  That's right, problems digesting lactose occur when people are drinking pasteurized milk, not raw milk!”


WOW! I have been struggling with this for-EVER! Not really sure where to go from here. Especially as I looked up more info about this gal, she is part of her local chapter of the Weston A. Price foundation. Wanna know more? Check out http://www.westonaprice.org to find out all about what they call a “nourishing and traditional diet”. From what I have found out, it includes animal meats and fats as long as it is the correct kind... i.e. pasture/grass fed animals, raw cheeses and milk, of course the vegg, fruit, bean/legume and healthy grains. My favorite part of course was that you can and should have butter etc. Sounds like everything I am looking for, just more specific to what TYPES. Any thoughts? This discussion will continue as I have contacted my local chapter out here and am starting a little more research into it all!
Wish me luck! :o) 

The Chicken is Optional...

     Hi friends! Long time no see. Or talk. Or share. Whatever! So, we have been out of town twice in the last two weeks, the hubs has been gone and back, and I am happy as clam to be home doing nothing but little bits of yard work, NOT taking care of ANY puppies (we decided to sell them all), eating food, and NOT worrying about everything I put into my mouth. Why is this? Where is my new found wisdom to once AGAIN reduce (my time spent) reuse (whatever I have in my fridge) and recycle? Okay, recycle might not really apply, (other than to recycle the packaging I pull food out of) but hey. Experience. And demand, as in, my life demands I cut the extra work and stick to the basics! This last month has just taught me that there are a million and one new foods or ways to eat them out there, and as much as I enjoy learning about each one of them and finding new exciting ways myself to utilize them, I am severely lacking in time let alone creativity. My list of 5 basics? (and this is coming a LONG way baby from where I was 1 year ago)
     1. Pure; eat as pure and clean as you can get. Water, bread, boxed foods, whatever. Try to keep them as much to their original form as possible
     2. Less; eat as little meat in a week as I can. Nothing specifically wrong with it, it all just depends on what you read of course. Personally I feel better when I eat less, and I spend less too! skip meat at lunchtimes, go for the organic once a week if you can, and EAT MORE BEANS!
     3. Even less; Dairy, watch it if you can. Stick with hormone free, organic where you can, mostly un processed etc. (pure butter, basic simple cheese once in a while, that kind of thing) Also less money, less hormones etc, and of course less fats and such. I don’t worry about this as much with my kids but I just try to get back to more of the other good stuff and less of the animal fats.
     4. SMOOTHIE! yup, I am convinced that a raw veggie/fruit smoothie a day keeps the Dr. away.
     5. Sweat; as in don’t sweat it. Even the pediatricians are now telling moms not to worry so much about what your child gets everyday, but what they get every FEW days. So today might be out the window, but tomorrow we’re going for gold!

Now that I have once again preached to the choir, I must add another quick reference as to why. As in, my frame of mind when deciding to spout food nonsense again. It is because I have found everyday brings so much, and so much that is new and great, I cannot stress about things anymore. Not that I did that much to begin with, but it just isn’t worth it to me to slave over a bean and rice lentil casserole thing with hidden veggies painstakingly chopped as fine as I could muster the time and attention to incorporate,  all for a few bites, obnoxious gagging motions and at times even tears later. Kids will get used to it if is a lifetime of change, and I teach them moderation while they enjoy life too! I’d like to think a cheeseburger really was invented for a reason, and that our tastebuds should get their own opportunity to enjoy food without guilt. So maybe you will only hear from me once in a great while when I share my newest find and fav, some is still better then none! And we can all go on living our great lives of accomplishment, with a little side dish of  nutritious-ness to boot.  


This recipe is from a friend I just made out here, I added to it of course, but I SO love this for the ease, the different ways to serve it, and that it totally qualifies as one of those yummy meals you can make at the beginning of the week and eat as fab healthy leftovers throughout the week with out much work.


Spinach and Chicken Pasta Salad


Sauce;
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp dried chili flakes
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 c rice wine vinegar
1/2 c canola oil
3 Tbsp sesame oil

Whisk til completely emulsified. I actually soaked the chicken breast in a few tablespoons of this, then sauteed the chicken up.

1 lb angel hair pasta cooked and rinsed
1 lb chicken breast (I used WAY less, as in maybe 1 large breast) cooked up and chunked

Toss all above with the sauce. Serve with chopped fresh spinach, matchstick carrots and bean sprouts (all in convenient bags in the store!) Keep the fresh ingredients separate so you can pull it out and throw it together anytime during the week.
For a tasty and hot mid-week lunch idea, add 1 Tbsp of peanut butter to the noodles and give them a quick zap in the microwave to heat. Then stir it all up good and add more fresh veg for the the top. Makes kind of a quick Thai noodle thing.
Enjoy!