Have you seen the new show on ABC? It is about Jamie Oliver's quest to help a town change the way they eat at home, in their schools and in their restaurants. He wants it to spark a revolution in our country and he's already done a lot of work in his home country of England. Of course, it is a TV show and there is editing and they want to get good ratings, but overall I'm glad to see the discussion happening even on prime time TV.
It really feels like so many things in our society are out of control right now and one of the best things we can do is to take back control of what we eat, how it is grown and where it came from. When you think about it the food we eat is what fuels our bodies, helps us fight disease, heals us when we are sick or hurt and is the basis of how we live our lives. It is hard to believe that any mega-corporation is going to take that responsibility as seriously as we should. However, to make that happen we have to be awake, aware and willing to ask hard questions and make hard choices.
I'm not one to claim perfection or even claim to be in the same ballpark as perfection, seriously not even the same town as the ballpark. We love chocolate, we eat a lot of desserts, we like A&W root beer (OK, Mike loves it!), and our pantry is far from free of all white flour, white rice, or even the occasional processed item. In fact, we are still finished up the conventional meat in our freezer. See, soooo not perfect!
I am a mom who is committed to continuing her baby steps in trying to do better. I am making better nutritional choices overall. I did a lot of canning and am going to do my best to do that again this summer, even with a new baby. I am researching other meat options and we will only be buying meat I feel good about feeding my babies and my husband and myself. I am working on getting better and better, but we'll never be perfect. My husband will always prefer my homemade white bread to my homemade wheat bread. (Or maybe not if I get my own grain mill...they say fresh ground tastes more like white bread! Here's hoping.) We will go out to eat once in a great while and we will probably eat conventional meat there and at other people's homes. I'm not worried about perfection, but I am working to make many, many changes over time. One baby step at a time!
I really hope that more and more families start to demand better of those who grow our food, those who process it, those that prepare it. Hopefully more people will be doing all three themselves at least in part! I think that as we demand more information and hold ourselves and those that help us feed our families to a higher level that we'll see changes. We should be able to know about genetic modification of our food, irradiated items, conditions that animals are kept in, byproducts, hormones and antibiotics fed to them and just be able to make our own choices based on knowledge. It shouldn't be so hard to become educated, it should be on the labeling. The food lobbies shouldn't be more important than the families who eat the food that is produced.
I'm rambling and ranting, but I just feel like we are at a point where more people are waking up to the reality that just because the chicken looks like it did 50 years ago, doesn't mean that it is the same. The carrots raised organically and conventionally may look identical (other than the prices) but there are real chemical differences. We are all doing the best we can and I hope we keep making baby steps that will end up causing changes in a big, big way. To paraphrase Food, Inc. we all vote on this issue three times a day.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Anyone else struggling to balance their love of great deals and low budgets with better, more sound choices? Anyone else feel like change may be in the air?
Happy Weekend!
Heather
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Love is Plumbing Issue Fixes
or at least attempts at fixes.
Today Mike took some time to help me address a few plumbing issues that have popped up in our life recently. I know I just mentioned our teeny, tiny half bath a few days ago. Wouldn't you know it, the toilet started having a tiny bit of water around the base. Not good.
Turns out after some Googling that it is most likely due to a failure of the wax ring under the toilet. Thankfully I once installed a new toilet and am familiar with how the wax ring goes on and how to place the toilet once it is done. Unfortunately I am 29 weeks pregnant and am not able to (nor should I) pull up a toilet, carry it and then later replace it. Just not that flexible and pretty sure the midwife would suggest that I not try it on my own.
Mike is many wonderful things, but a fix-it-up-handy-man type he is not. Or at least not so much. However today he put his faith in me and the link I found and went to work replacing a wax ring. The handy man site we were on said it would take about 45 minutes and we were in pretty good shape about 45 minutes in. It ended up taking a little over an hour and that problem seems to be fixed. Unfortunately we seem to have loosened one of the bolts from the tank to the bowl and now we have a leak there. So more searching will begin and hopefully we can get it fixed. This pregnant momma doesn't want to have to go downstairs three times a night!
Then tonight we put on a shower decholorinater. We've had it for a while and had never put it on. I think Mike was hesitant, but after some muscle to get the shower head unscrewed he was able to do the rest pretty easily. Thankfully I knew we had some teflon tape and knew how to use it so the job was done in an easy 20 minutes or less! We got our shower attachment when we ordered our Royal Berkey and I am excited to see if there is a difference in our skin and hair after we use it for a while.
I am grateful for a husband who is willing to take on challenges that are outside his comfort zone. All his acts of service speak to his love for me in ways that I never knew I'd love!
Have a great Tuesday,
Heather
Today Mike took some time to help me address a few plumbing issues that have popped up in our life recently. I know I just mentioned our teeny, tiny half bath a few days ago. Wouldn't you know it, the toilet started having a tiny bit of water around the base. Not good.
Turns out after some Googling that it is most likely due to a failure of the wax ring under the toilet. Thankfully I once installed a new toilet and am familiar with how the wax ring goes on and how to place the toilet once it is done. Unfortunately I am 29 weeks pregnant and am not able to (nor should I) pull up a toilet, carry it and then later replace it. Just not that flexible and pretty sure the midwife would suggest that I not try it on my own.
Mike is many wonderful things, but a fix-it-up-handy-man type he is not. Or at least not so much. However today he put his faith in me and the link I found and went to work replacing a wax ring. The handy man site we were on said it would take about 45 minutes and we were in pretty good shape about 45 minutes in. It ended up taking a little over an hour and that problem seems to be fixed. Unfortunately we seem to have loosened one of the bolts from the tank to the bowl and now we have a leak there. So more searching will begin and hopefully we can get it fixed. This pregnant momma doesn't want to have to go downstairs three times a night!
Then tonight we put on a shower decholorinater. We've had it for a while and had never put it on. I think Mike was hesitant, but after some muscle to get the shower head unscrewed he was able to do the rest pretty easily. Thankfully I knew we had some teflon tape and knew how to use it so the job was done in an easy 20 minutes or less! We got our shower attachment when we ordered our Royal Berkey and I am excited to see if there is a difference in our skin and hair after we use it for a while.
I am grateful for a husband who is willing to take on challenges that are outside his comfort zone. All his acts of service speak to his love for me in ways that I never knew I'd love!
Have a great Tuesday,
Heather
Saturday, March 20, 2010
100 and going....
strong? Ummm, not so much. Wanting to go strong...yes, please.
I just realized this is my 100th post and I can honestly say I am a bit surprised at my lack of posting for the last few months. I really look forward to spending more time documenting those great moments that happen in our family that I'm afraid I'll forget, the awesome deals that make my adreneline sing, and the kitchen adventures that are always happening around here. However, for the last few months I've been focused on growing a baby, raising a toddler, and being a wife. Beyond that I try and keep the house somewhat liveable, spend more time at my part-time job than I'd like and try and keep in touch with friends and family. These last three things have been pretty sad lately, too.
I know I'll get back into posting more regularly and hope that those that enjoy what I write will stick with me. I know I love reading about others I know in life and on-line...blogs are awesome and I want mine to be that way too! These days I am just doing the best I can and that has to be good enough for now. As the poems all say, the babies don't keep and pretty much everything else does.
The last couple of weeks we've been able to do a few fun things as a family that I should document here at some point. I am all about keeping things frugal as we raise our kids!
We attended the Insider's Weekend at the zoo. We were able to return a Christmas gift that wouldn't work for us and used the money to buy a zoo pass. We got in and parked for free. Most of the tours were beyond Little Guys grasp, but the two we did were very interesting. We saw the animal's winter/night quarters, heard about what they ate, how they are cared for, and got really, really close to a moose's nose and met a creature that was very curious about us. We need to look up what it was, but it looked somewhat like an anteater on steroids without the long tail. It was a bit cold and snowy, but that meant the crowd was minimal and Little Guy could get up close to see the animals that were out and about. (Savings $34.50)
We went to Neighborhood Night at Betty Brinn's Children's Museum. We just learned about this from a birth class buddy. The third Thursday of every month the museum is open from 5-8pm for free. Parking is in a city garage, but you get $2 off with a voucher from the museum making it only $4. We had no idea what to expect as Little Guy can be quite shy in unfamiliar settings lately. We met up with the other mom and her little guy and went into the 3 and under area. What a ball! After a few minutes playing at the sand table with us right behind him Little Guy was comfortable heading out all over the place. There were times we could hardly keep up with where he was! He loved the hose wheel in the potting shed, the mushroom drums by the tree, the two slides, the sand table and pretty much everything the area offered. We walked through the rest of the 'museum' on our way out and discovered some areas that he would really enjoy at this point. Technically they are for older kids, but he is into trains and train tables and also anything musical so those areas work for him even at a younger age. What a great resource this is for the community and I'm so grateful that we will be able to enjoy it often without spending much money. (Savings $20)
Tomorrow we are heading to an event at a local candy factory after church. They are doing tours, handing out there famous whipped creme eggs, and doing pictures and activities with Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny. Since we didn't do anything like this at Christmas we figured we'd give it a whirl. And free chocolate always interests us. They do not normally give tours unless in groups of 10 or more and children under 10 are not admitted. If not for this event, it wouldn't be a family friendly place for us at this point. However, tomorrow it will be! (Savings $10, actually more since we'd need to get a sitter too)
I love spending time as a family doing unusual (for us) things that do not cost a lot of money. The pressure is off and we can have a good time, but if things melt down we do not feel like we have to stay. Wonderful when you have a toddler!
Have a great weekend,
Heather
I just realized this is my 100th post and I can honestly say I am a bit surprised at my lack of posting for the last few months. I really look forward to spending more time documenting those great moments that happen in our family that I'm afraid I'll forget, the awesome deals that make my adreneline sing, and the kitchen adventures that are always happening around here. However, for the last few months I've been focused on growing a baby, raising a toddler, and being a wife. Beyond that I try and keep the house somewhat liveable, spend more time at my part-time job than I'd like and try and keep in touch with friends and family. These last three things have been pretty sad lately, too.
I know I'll get back into posting more regularly and hope that those that enjoy what I write will stick with me. I know I love reading about others I know in life and on-line...blogs are awesome and I want mine to be that way too! These days I am just doing the best I can and that has to be good enough for now. As the poems all say, the babies don't keep and pretty much everything else does.
The last couple of weeks we've been able to do a few fun things as a family that I should document here at some point. I am all about keeping things frugal as we raise our kids!
We attended the Insider's Weekend at the zoo. We were able to return a Christmas gift that wouldn't work for us and used the money to buy a zoo pass. We got in and parked for free. Most of the tours were beyond Little Guys grasp, but the two we did were very interesting. We saw the animal's winter/night quarters, heard about what they ate, how they are cared for, and got really, really close to a moose's nose and met a creature that was very curious about us. We need to look up what it was, but it looked somewhat like an anteater on steroids without the long tail. It was a bit cold and snowy, but that meant the crowd was minimal and Little Guy could get up close to see the animals that were out and about. (Savings $34.50)
We went to Neighborhood Night at Betty Brinn's Children's Museum. We just learned about this from a birth class buddy. The third Thursday of every month the museum is open from 5-8pm for free. Parking is in a city garage, but you get $2 off with a voucher from the museum making it only $4. We had no idea what to expect as Little Guy can be quite shy in unfamiliar settings lately. We met up with the other mom and her little guy and went into the 3 and under area. What a ball! After a few minutes playing at the sand table with us right behind him Little Guy was comfortable heading out all over the place. There were times we could hardly keep up with where he was! He loved the hose wheel in the potting shed, the mushroom drums by the tree, the two slides, the sand table and pretty much everything the area offered. We walked through the rest of the 'museum' on our way out and discovered some areas that he would really enjoy at this point. Technically they are for older kids, but he is into trains and train tables and also anything musical so those areas work for him even at a younger age. What a great resource this is for the community and I'm so grateful that we will be able to enjoy it often without spending much money. (Savings $20)
Tomorrow we are heading to an event at a local candy factory after church. They are doing tours, handing out there famous whipped creme eggs, and doing pictures and activities with Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny. Since we didn't do anything like this at Christmas we figured we'd give it a whirl. And free chocolate always interests us. They do not normally give tours unless in groups of 10 or more and children under 10 are not admitted. If not for this event, it wouldn't be a family friendly place for us at this point. However, tomorrow it will be! (Savings $10, actually more since we'd need to get a sitter too)
I love spending time as a family doing unusual (for us) things that do not cost a lot of money. The pressure is off and we can have a good time, but if things melt down we do not feel like we have to stay. Wonderful when you have a toddler!
Have a great weekend,
Heather
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sunday Thoughts
I've noticed that Little Guy seems to be getting more interesting and more funny and I am afraid that I'll forget these moments, so today I'm going to record one of them!
With the time change and due to a late night gig with the band our family decided to go to 11 am mass today instead of our normal earlier one. Little Guy was antsy even before we left so we were pretty sure that mass would be loads of fun! We were right :)
We've gotten into the bad habit of snacks during church and he is taking full advantage of this. Today we sat down and he immediately started saying and signing for crackers. This wouldn't be so bad, but he was saying it louder and louder. We ended up feeding him crackers throughout mass in an effort to distract him. He did okay, but it was not his best day ever.
The funny part happened during the final blessing. The priest held up one hand and was saying many different parts of the blessing. Everyone was saying "Amen" and Little Guy was busy squirming and looking around. When he say the priest was holding up his hand he held his up and yelled "Dah!" Dah happens to be what he says when he gives high 5's to people. We have no idea where it picked it up, but he is very consistent with his use of the word. Of course, his choice of yelling it out came when only the priest was talking and no one understood it but his Daddy and me. We both had to fight back the giggles!
After mass we went to tell the priest what happened and (of course) Little Guy wouldn't do high 5 or anything. Figures. Either way the priest got a chuckle out of it and it made the end of mass pretty cute.
Heather
With the time change and due to a late night gig with the band our family decided to go to 11 am mass today instead of our normal earlier one. Little Guy was antsy even before we left so we were pretty sure that mass would be loads of fun! We were right :)
We've gotten into the bad habit of snacks during church and he is taking full advantage of this. Today we sat down and he immediately started saying and signing for crackers. This wouldn't be so bad, but he was saying it louder and louder. We ended up feeding him crackers throughout mass in an effort to distract him. He did okay, but it was not his best day ever.
The funny part happened during the final blessing. The priest held up one hand and was saying many different parts of the blessing. Everyone was saying "Amen" and Little Guy was busy squirming and looking around. When he say the priest was holding up his hand he held his up and yelled "Dah!" Dah happens to be what he says when he gives high 5's to people. We have no idea where it picked it up, but he is very consistent with his use of the word. Of course, his choice of yelling it out came when only the priest was talking and no one understood it but his Daddy and me. We both had to fight back the giggles!
After mass we went to tell the priest what happened and (of course) Little Guy wouldn't do high 5 or anything. Figures. Either way the priest got a chuckle out of it and it made the end of mass pretty cute.
Heather
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Catching Up
Do we ever really get 'caught up?' In my world that would be a big NO. So, now I'm focusing on catching up. Much more attainable. Or at least in the realm of possible!
We've moved our little guy's room downstairs. It is the first time that we have slept with him more than about 3 feet from us. We live in a Cape Cod style house which has an 'area' out side of our bedroom. Some people call this area a 'loft' or 'other room' when trying to sell there homes, but really it is an area. It has a sloped roof on one side, the staircase on the other and basically you just walk through it to get to the bedroom at the end. Oh, and it is not very long so I wouldn't classify it as a hall. When Mike bought the house there was a discussion about turning part of it into a closet, but with the slope and lack of handy man skills he decided against it for the time being. (Why a closet, you ask? Because the only closet in the bedroom was turned into a bathroom. The world's tiniest half bath. Seriously, no man can use the facility as they would have to duck to get in, duck to actually use it and just won't put up with the nonsense that a pregnant female will!)
When Mike decided to leave it as is for a while it became a pass through area. It held my stuff as we moved it over in preparation for our moving in together. It was where all the wedding presents got put until we could open them and find them homes. Basically, it was the only area that could just hold stuff in the little house. Fast forward to a few weeks after our wedding and we find out we are pregnant...where will we put the little one? One bedroom downstairs is Mike's office and the other is our guest room/my computer/scrapbook table/everything else we own room. And I don't think I want to be that far away from our new baby. And we'll use a co-sleeper for a while (about 4 months it turned out) but he will need a spot for a crib, a dresser, and I'd really love a glider for rocking and nursing. That area started looking promising!
Turns out a glider fits in the corner with a little table next to it. That is right up to the crib which happens to fit underneath the slope of the ceiling. A smallish dresser fits on the wall and there is even room for an older, small swing down on the other end of the dresser. Tight? Yes. Unconventional? Yes. Super cozy, lovely way to keep little guy close, make night time nursing easier and calm a new Mommy's fears about her baby boy being all the way downstairs all by himself? YES.
Now we are getting ready for Baby 2 in June. So we are rearranging our little house again. I've given up 'the stuff' room and Mike made room for my computer in his office. We moved the crib, the dresser and almost all the toys into Little Guy's room. We set up an awesome train table we were blessed with from Freecycle. We've moved the scrapbooking table upstairs under the slope for now and I'm charged with dramatically paring down and reorganizing. (UGG!) We are leaving the full sized guest bed in there (for now) and may move Little Guy into it when he decides the crib is something to jump out of, rather than sleep in.
The room isn't finished, but it is full of fun things and I see the potential for a really fun kid's room. He already loves being in there and hasn't had any issues with sleep or adjusting to being downstairs. I found myself reading (with a light on!) in bed before sleep last night. I think this is a step in our family's growth. I really thought it would be harder to make this change, but I'm finding myself really excited about the next 3 months. Mike and I will have our room back to ourselves for a bit as we prepare for this next little one. I'll be able to get things settled for a newborn again and the co-sleeper will be coming out of retirement. With Little Guy downstairs I'll be able to use his nap times (when I'm not napping after work) to get the scrapbooking stuff under control.
We are transitioning in so many ways and it is good. We are adapting our little house to our little family's needs. I just feel like life is good right now and I want to remember this feeling when life is more stressful. We've had a few things come up lately that are crazy, but in truth are just inconveniences, not catastrophes. Life is good. Life is good.
Heather
We've moved our little guy's room downstairs. It is the first time that we have slept with him more than about 3 feet from us. We live in a Cape Cod style house which has an 'area' out side of our bedroom. Some people call this area a 'loft' or 'other room' when trying to sell there homes, but really it is an area. It has a sloped roof on one side, the staircase on the other and basically you just walk through it to get to the bedroom at the end. Oh, and it is not very long so I wouldn't classify it as a hall. When Mike bought the house there was a discussion about turning part of it into a closet, but with the slope and lack of handy man skills he decided against it for the time being. (Why a closet, you ask? Because the only closet in the bedroom was turned into a bathroom. The world's tiniest half bath. Seriously, no man can use the facility as they would have to duck to get in, duck to actually use it and just won't put up with the nonsense that a pregnant female will!)
When Mike decided to leave it as is for a while it became a pass through area. It held my stuff as we moved it over in preparation for our moving in together. It was where all the wedding presents got put until we could open them and find them homes. Basically, it was the only area that could just hold stuff in the little house. Fast forward to a few weeks after our wedding and we find out we are pregnant...where will we put the little one? One bedroom downstairs is Mike's office and the other is our guest room/my computer/scrapbook table/everything else we own room. And I don't think I want to be that far away from our new baby. And we'll use a co-sleeper for a while (about 4 months it turned out) but he will need a spot for a crib, a dresser, and I'd really love a glider for rocking and nursing. That area started looking promising!
Turns out a glider fits in the corner with a little table next to it. That is right up to the crib which happens to fit underneath the slope of the ceiling. A smallish dresser fits on the wall and there is even room for an older, small swing down on the other end of the dresser. Tight? Yes. Unconventional? Yes. Super cozy, lovely way to keep little guy close, make night time nursing easier and calm a new Mommy's fears about her baby boy being all the way downstairs all by himself? YES.
Now we are getting ready for Baby 2 in June. So we are rearranging our little house again. I've given up 'the stuff' room and Mike made room for my computer in his office. We moved the crib, the dresser and almost all the toys into Little Guy's room. We set up an awesome train table we were blessed with from Freecycle. We've moved the scrapbooking table upstairs under the slope for now and I'm charged with dramatically paring down and reorganizing. (UGG!) We are leaving the full sized guest bed in there (for now) and may move Little Guy into it when he decides the crib is something to jump out of, rather than sleep in.
The room isn't finished, but it is full of fun things and I see the potential for a really fun kid's room. He already loves being in there and hasn't had any issues with sleep or adjusting to being downstairs. I found myself reading (with a light on!) in bed before sleep last night. I think this is a step in our family's growth. I really thought it would be harder to make this change, but I'm finding myself really excited about the next 3 months. Mike and I will have our room back to ourselves for a bit as we prepare for this next little one. I'll be able to get things settled for a newborn again and the co-sleeper will be coming out of retirement. With Little Guy downstairs I'll be able to use his nap times (when I'm not napping after work) to get the scrapbooking stuff under control.
We are transitioning in so many ways and it is good. We are adapting our little house to our little family's needs. I just feel like life is good right now and I want to remember this feeling when life is more stressful. We've had a few things come up lately that are crazy, but in truth are just inconveniences, not catastrophes. Life is good. Life is good.
Heather
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Where's the Beef?
Or more correctly...where is our beef going to be coming from?
I've been doing a lot of work trying to figure out the best source for our family's meat. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? We've decided to forgo meat from typical grocery store and are going to start buying farmer direct. And as long as we were taking that plunge we thought we'd give grass-fed, no grain, no hormones or antibiotics beef a whirl. Our thought is that we'll do this first. Buy the very best that we could imagine and see how it stacks up. If it turns out that we have access to a grain finished animal next then we'll evaluate how they compared in the way the animal was treated, the taste, the cost and figure out which is going to work for us. So I've been on-line trying to track down a farmer.
It sounds pretty easy to do and really if we had no budgetary constraints we would be in great shape. There are farmers that have 1/4s ready right now and some that will be coming up. Most grass fed beef does get butchered in the fall in order to have had the maximum time on pasture without the expense of hay all winter for the farmer. In SE Wisconsin you quickly find that grass fed beef is not cheap. As in so not cheap that I could EASILY spend my entire grocery budget for last year just buying a 1/4 or 1/2 from a farmer right now. There are some that charge upwards of $8/lb for their beef. No judgement, but that is so seriously expensive protein!
I'm starting to find farmer's that are more in the $4/lb range and may even have a lead on one in SW Wisconsin that may be closer to $3/lb when all is said and done. This is still a huge new pill for me to swallow, but it is one that I think is important for my family and for my conscious. We'll continue to take baby steps in other areas and I'm hopeful that I'll keep other costs down, but the chances of spending $1300 for groceries for the year are pretty low. (That's been our total the last two years, but now we are splurging on our meat and our family is growing...so's the grocery bill!)
As of now we haven't been big beef eaters. Mostly due to the higher cost of beef at the store. I'd often find great deals on chicken, turkey and pork, but beef deals (other than ground beef) were few and far between. I know my husband will like the new change to our diet and I'm confident that I'll be a good steward with the freezer full of beef. In many ways it will be like eating when I was a child. We always raised a steer when the freezer got low. He would run with the horses and was typically a big pet for a while. Then he'd get really big, get pretty unfriendly and our freezer would get bare. The next step was his first taste of grain as we got him used to coming to the barn. After a few treats there would come a day when he'd come to get a pan of grain and while his head was down there would be one shot to end it all. My friend's dad had a butcher shop and he would take the steer away to process, although we'd go on the day the meat all got packaged and help wrap the meat and tube the ground beef.
I know some would consider it crazy to have kids that involved in their food, but really I think we were lucky. We knew what it meant to have meat on our plate. We knew our steers were treated well (as were the neighbor chickens whose eggs we ate and dairy cows across the road who often provided our milk). We knew their lives ended quickly, humanely, and while they were doing something they enjoyed. I never really realized how unusual it was to have that close of a connection to our food, but as an adult I've never known the animal or even the person who raised the animal. Our family is changing that. We cannot raise our own animals right now (and Mike would prefer we didn't ever raise pigs or steers), but we can know the person who raised it.
Wish me luck as I find a farmer who is doing good work! And help me remember that it is right to pay a fair wage to them for raising the food that feeds my babies, and my husband and me :) Our budget will be okay...right?
Heather
I've been doing a lot of work trying to figure out the best source for our family's meat. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? We've decided to forgo meat from typical grocery store and are going to start buying farmer direct. And as long as we were taking that plunge we thought we'd give grass-fed, no grain, no hormones or antibiotics beef a whirl. Our thought is that we'll do this first. Buy the very best that we could imagine and see how it stacks up. If it turns out that we have access to a grain finished animal next then we'll evaluate how they compared in the way the animal was treated, the taste, the cost and figure out which is going to work for us. So I've been on-line trying to track down a farmer.
It sounds pretty easy to do and really if we had no budgetary constraints we would be in great shape. There are farmers that have 1/4s ready right now and some that will be coming up. Most grass fed beef does get butchered in the fall in order to have had the maximum time on pasture without the expense of hay all winter for the farmer. In SE Wisconsin you quickly find that grass fed beef is not cheap. As in so not cheap that I could EASILY spend my entire grocery budget for last year just buying a 1/4 or 1/2 from a farmer right now. There are some that charge upwards of $8/lb for their beef. No judgement, but that is so seriously expensive protein!
I'm starting to find farmer's that are more in the $4/lb range and may even have a lead on one in SW Wisconsin that may be closer to $3/lb when all is said and done. This is still a huge new pill for me to swallow, but it is one that I think is important for my family and for my conscious. We'll continue to take baby steps in other areas and I'm hopeful that I'll keep other costs down, but the chances of spending $1300 for groceries for the year are pretty low. (That's been our total the last two years, but now we are splurging on our meat and our family is growing...so's the grocery bill!)
As of now we haven't been big beef eaters. Mostly due to the higher cost of beef at the store. I'd often find great deals on chicken, turkey and pork, but beef deals (other than ground beef) were few and far between. I know my husband will like the new change to our diet and I'm confident that I'll be a good steward with the freezer full of beef. In many ways it will be like eating when I was a child. We always raised a steer when the freezer got low. He would run with the horses and was typically a big pet for a while. Then he'd get really big, get pretty unfriendly and our freezer would get bare. The next step was his first taste of grain as we got him used to coming to the barn. After a few treats there would come a day when he'd come to get a pan of grain and while his head was down there would be one shot to end it all. My friend's dad had a butcher shop and he would take the steer away to process, although we'd go on the day the meat all got packaged and help wrap the meat and tube the ground beef.
I know some would consider it crazy to have kids that involved in their food, but really I think we were lucky. We knew what it meant to have meat on our plate. We knew our steers were treated well (as were the neighbor chickens whose eggs we ate and dairy cows across the road who often provided our milk). We knew their lives ended quickly, humanely, and while they were doing something they enjoyed. I never really realized how unusual it was to have that close of a connection to our food, but as an adult I've never known the animal or even the person who raised the animal. Our family is changing that. We cannot raise our own animals right now (and Mike would prefer we didn't ever raise pigs or steers), but we can know the person who raised it.
Wish me luck as I find a farmer who is doing good work! And help me remember that it is right to pay a fair wage to them for raising the food that feeds my babies, and my husband and me :) Our budget will be okay...right?
Heather
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Valentine's Day traditions
The big, lovey-dovey, Hallmark holiday is coming! How do you celebrate?
I used to like Valentine's day when I was a kid. There were valentines for the class, maybe a treat and some hearts from our teacher. Pretty low key and kind of fun after a month of snow with no break in sight. Then I got to Jr. High and High school. Oh, how things change! There was the drama of wanting to have a Valentine. There were flower sales and candy-grams and balloon deliveries and sometimes even the occasional huge bouquet from the professional florist in town delivered to the office. This brought about the endless longing to be one of the people getting all of these things. Or anyone of these deliveries. Or just some acknowledgement by someone that you were special!
My friends and I tended to send things to each other, but we often spent the day dressed in black to protest all the red. Mature it wasn't, but when you have no boyfriend it is a way to get through it all. College was pretty much the same deal. Unless you had a guy who was into the spoiling you factor Valentine's day became a day to spend with your best girlfriends. We complained, we whined, we protested and we longed...call us crazy.
Now I'm married and I enjoy the thought behind the holiday (really I always have), but I do not want it to be about huge amounts of money or overly showy expressions of feelings that should be expressed everyday. Luckily my hubby and I set things up well when we were dating. Our first Valentine's day was the first time Mike cooked for me. He was going to cook dinner, but I ended up helping him along. Cooking dinner for a girl may not be a big deal to some men, but at the time my husband was living at home. His mom always did all the cooking and Mike had never made anything other than a bowl of cereal. Really, he had never cooked at all. That week he had his mom teach him how to make mac 'n cheese (the kind in a box) for the first time.
So, our valentines day menu consisted of mac 'n cheese, some boxed garlic bread, a salad, root beer, and he brought me a frosted big cookie. Fancy it was not, but sweet and meaningful it was! We've made it our tradition to have almost the same menu every year. Now I do the cooking and it is all homemade. I love the fact that it is pretty simple (although I have made some pretty awesome mac 'n cheese and salad) and that it is frugal and that it is meaningful to us. It is a meal that will be fun to share with our kids every year and they'll probably hate hearing the story over and over again, but that is just too bad! Family stories are what make holidays fun :)
This year I think I'm going to make Pioneer Woman's Fancy Macaroni. Mike LOVES bacon and this dish will probably become a new favorite for him. I still need to get some salad ingredients and make some fresh bread, but the A&W is already in the fridge, the mugs are in the freezer and I've got the ingredients to make a hot fudge cake which he really loves. We don't really do gifts, but I did get a big Hershey's kiss (a red one) after Christmas for 75% off and that will be waiting at his place come breakfast time. I'm thinking that lunch may even be a heart shaped homemade pizza. We love our pizza and lots of places are advertising heart shaped ones...if they can do it so can I!
What are your traditions? Any fun gifts happening this year? Any other great food ideas for me for Sunday? And last, but most importantly, does anyone have Mrs. Field's Original Cookie recipe? It is Mike's favorite bought dessert and they do not make them like they used to...it would blow his mind if I made one of those sometime!
Happy Valentine's Day,
Heather
I used to like Valentine's day when I was a kid. There were valentines for the class, maybe a treat and some hearts from our teacher. Pretty low key and kind of fun after a month of snow with no break in sight. Then I got to Jr. High and High school. Oh, how things change! There was the drama of wanting to have a Valentine. There were flower sales and candy-grams and balloon deliveries and sometimes even the occasional huge bouquet from the professional florist in town delivered to the office. This brought about the endless longing to be one of the people getting all of these things. Or anyone of these deliveries. Or just some acknowledgement by someone that you were special!
My friends and I tended to send things to each other, but we often spent the day dressed in black to protest all the red. Mature it wasn't, but when you have no boyfriend it is a way to get through it all. College was pretty much the same deal. Unless you had a guy who was into the spoiling you factor Valentine's day became a day to spend with your best girlfriends. We complained, we whined, we protested and we longed...call us crazy.
Now I'm married and I enjoy the thought behind the holiday (really I always have), but I do not want it to be about huge amounts of money or overly showy expressions of feelings that should be expressed everyday. Luckily my hubby and I set things up well when we were dating. Our first Valentine's day was the first time Mike cooked for me. He was going to cook dinner, but I ended up helping him along. Cooking dinner for a girl may not be a big deal to some men, but at the time my husband was living at home. His mom always did all the cooking and Mike had never made anything other than a bowl of cereal. Really, he had never cooked at all. That week he had his mom teach him how to make mac 'n cheese (the kind in a box) for the first time.
So, our valentines day menu consisted of mac 'n cheese, some boxed garlic bread, a salad, root beer, and he brought me a frosted big cookie. Fancy it was not, but sweet and meaningful it was! We've made it our tradition to have almost the same menu every year. Now I do the cooking and it is all homemade. I love the fact that it is pretty simple (although I have made some pretty awesome mac 'n cheese and salad) and that it is frugal and that it is meaningful to us. It is a meal that will be fun to share with our kids every year and they'll probably hate hearing the story over and over again, but that is just too bad! Family stories are what make holidays fun :)
This year I think I'm going to make Pioneer Woman's Fancy Macaroni. Mike LOVES bacon and this dish will probably become a new favorite for him. I still need to get some salad ingredients and make some fresh bread, but the A&W is already in the fridge, the mugs are in the freezer and I've got the ingredients to make a hot fudge cake which he really loves. We don't really do gifts, but I did get a big Hershey's kiss (a red one) after Christmas for 75% off and that will be waiting at his place come breakfast time. I'm thinking that lunch may even be a heart shaped homemade pizza. We love our pizza and lots of places are advertising heart shaped ones...if they can do it so can I!
What are your traditions? Any fun gifts happening this year? Any other great food ideas for me for Sunday? And last, but most importantly, does anyone have Mrs. Field's Original Cookie recipe? It is Mike's favorite bought dessert and they do not make them like they used to...it would blow his mind if I made one of those sometime!
Happy Valentine's Day,
Heather
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