My Food Revolution

I say it started in May, but it really started much earlier than that. I just lost my way.

I Read.
I read a lot.
I read books.
I read blogs.
I read studies.
I read knitting patterns.
and now
I read food labels too.

Earlier this year I told you about Mrs. Q. the teacher eating school lunches for a whole school year. I told you I was worried about her health. Well, she is doing okay, amazingly after eating half a year of school food. She has learned a lot and those of us who have been reading her blog have been learning right along with her. Sometimes she gets me fired up. If you haven't checked her out I encourage you to do so. This weekend she is having a blog party.

This year I have learned so much about food and deception and the USDA and unfortunately about the school lunch program. My child doesn't even participate in the program. She doesn't even go into the lunchroom. Not that I really blame her. I'd take a quiet room with a teacher and a few other students over the loud echoing walls and processed food any day.

I've read books by Michael Pollan, Chef Ann, Nina Planck, Marion Nestle and others. My eyes have been opened. If you only have a small amount of time and you want to help yourself first, read "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. It might just change your life. It is short, you can read it in an hour. Then read it again. Then pass it on to a friend and change their life. Then go to the library or bookstore and check out some of those other people.

Did you know that the Average American Adult eats over 141 pounds of sweeteners a year. (That is SUGAR.) Most drink 53 Gallons of soda a year!

That is a lot of HFCS. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in Everything. If you are eating a processed meal chances are it is in there. If you are eating fast food it is in at least 2 or 3 items on your tray.

In May, I decided that I would stop eating HFCS. First to go were soft drinks. I never drank diet soft drinks anyway, because of reactions to the artificial sugar substitutes. So no more Soft drinks. I lost 8 pounds in 1 month.
Then we stopped eating out so much. The money we have saved is amazing.
We don't buy processed food. I'm cooking more. I've lost over 12 pounds this Summer. I fit in my clothes better. I feel better.

Summer is easy.
There are tons of fresh veggies in the Summer. Farmers markets with seasonal foods and fresh eggs. The true test will be back to school this Fall. When I'm tired at the end of a day. Will I be able to hold out on the no processed foods? We will see.
Breakfast for dinner is always an option right?

What does this have to do with your kids and the way they eat at school? It has to start at home. You have to start with yourself and your family. You have to educate yourself. You can not believe everything the USDA tells you. That food pyramid was bought and paid for by big business. (Beef, corn and milk)

It all starts at home. Once you have the knowledge then you can start working on the schools.

My child, my family eats well. What burns me up is that it is the kids that need those school meals the most, the ones that don't get a good breakfast at home or even a good evening meal at home, are the ones that are losing so much. The ones that count on good food to help them grow not just physically, but mentally are not getting it through the Federal School Lunch program. What started off as a program to help our children during the depression has been hijacked somewhere along the way. All parents should care about this but in order to have change we Must know what we are talking about. We must educate ourselves.

Label Confusion

I've been reading a lot this Summer.
I've read Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and "Food Rules". Both are excellent.

Earlier this year I read “Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children” by Ann Cooper & Lisa M. Holmes . Then I read The Gospel of Food: Everything you Think You Know About Food Is Wrong” by Garry Glassner.

Then I picked up Fast Food Nation and Chew on This by Eric Schlosser after seeing the movie Food Inc. (these books are being donated to a friend’s classroom he teaches health to 9th graders and is glad to add them to his class library)

Now I'm almost finished with Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck(highly recommend). I've skimmed though What to Eat by Marion Nestle. I've drooled through Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carrol and The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

It has been quite a foodie adventure. I've learned a lot. I've even lost a few pounds. Some of the things I've read are life changing. I'll save them for another post.

I was talking to my mom over coffee the other day. We do that a lot. She walks her dog to my house for coffee almost every morning. That morning the discussion was about labeling and meat.
You know you go into a grocery store, a regular grocery and you know that most of the meat you can buy there will be the same meat that is raised for the fast food industry. It is true.
So Mom asked how can you tell by looking at the labels even at Whole Foods if the meat is factory meat or old fashioned farm raised.

Well here is what Nina Planck has to say about that. Hope it helps you figure out what to eat.
The following is taken from Real Food What to Eat and Why pages 117 - 119.

Organic
means the food was produced without synthetic fertilizer, antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, genetically engineered ingredients, and irradiation. Organic does Not mean animals were grass-fed or pastured. Organic beef, pork and poultry eat organic grain, but most commercial versions are not raised on grass, or their access to pasture is minimal.

Conversely, Grass-fed and Pastured don't mean animals were raised to organic standards, But the grass farmer who uses antibiotics, hormones, pesticides or genetically engineered foods is rare. Grass-fed means animials were raised on grass and hay. How much varies widely the term is not legally defined.

Grass Finished beef was raised on grass and fattened with grain.

Pastured applies to pork, poultry and eggs. when animals are raised on pasture. Pastured chickens eat corn, insects and sour milk as well as grass. (my note: and other leftovers and vegetation.)
On eggs or poultry the label Vegetarian feed is misleading. It means chickens were not fed other ground-up chickens(in the feed) and that's good. But chickens are not natural vegetarians. What it does mean is the birds never went outside; if they had, they might have eaten a grub or two. Free-range poultry and eggs says nothing about grass. It means the birds aren't in cages, but they may be in barns or on bare dirt. Grass is the key source of beta-carotene, CLA and omega-3 fats in pastured poultry and eggs.

The label Natural says nothing about the animal's diet. It means the product contains no artificial flavor or color, chemical preservative or any other artificial ingredient.

According to the USDA "all fresh meat" qualifies as "natural"

So that chicken I've been buying from Whole Foods is barn raised, fed a vegetarian diet, but no hormones or antibiotics were added to the feed.
The eggs I buy from the Zimmerman's are pastured. The chickens get to eat bugs and grass and scratch in the dirt like happy chickens.

It is discouraging to me that we have so little control over our food. That we have to research in order to know just what we are putting into our bodies. It is so easy Not to question that it is scary.
Viki

It's been Forever

This part of a swatch I knit for the Kauni sweater I'm knitting using the Damask pattern.

This is the ribbing for the actual sweater.

Facebook and RL have eaten all my time.

I am actually knitting a Kauni sweater. . The corrigated ribbing took a bit of time(picture above), but once I learned a few tricks the actual color work is going really well.

Not that I will finish quickly.

The Biggest News of course is that DD1 who is nearly in her 28th week of pregnancy has been put on modified bedrest for the next month. All good positive thoughts and prayers are much appreciated. Her last ultra sound showed that the baby really is a boy and weighs in at 2 lbs 6 oz.

I have joined Kelly Kilmers Memories and Reflections online class. Haven't started yet but I have joined. I did actually do an art journal page last week and cut out a few images this week.

Progress!

Viki

HFCS vs Table Sugar

One man takes on big business. Check it out:
http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2010/05/the-impact-of-one-mans-outrage/

He has a group on facebook.
He offers no opinion he just posts links to articles and studies.
The above link is to an article in the Organic Connection Magazine.
I found it very interesting.
I found it disconcerting that HFCS is found in baby formula. WHY do you need to put
it in baby formula?

HFCS is in almost everything! Just pick up a box in your local grocery and look at the ingredient list. It is probably listed either 2nd or 3rd.

I'll rant more when I feel better.

Viki
at the tail end of a sinus infection.

out like a lamb

It is the end of March!

How did that happen?

It could get up to 75 degrees today. It will probably snow next week.

I have flowers blooming and buds on all the lilacs. The redbud tree is about to burst too.

I don't have a lot to show for the first three months of the year.

I've knit a bit.

I've read a lot.

I've made a few art journal pages.

I've got lamb for Easter dinner and then a trip up North for a few days. Ah, Spring Break.

Anyone want to bet me that Mariah will have homework?

I'm looking forward to stopping by The Mannings, finding a Trader Joes to explore and seeing family. I'll listen to books on the trip and thanks to my iphone, I'll be able to check email.

Yes I am plugged in.

LOL

Now for the real stuff, I'm worried about healthcare. What makes the government think they can run healthcare when every other big social program they have started has always failed?

I'm tired of writing my representative and getting a form letter back that pats me on the head and tells me he knows what is best and let him and the government take care of it all. Seriously, why aren't our representatives doing what the people want?

Yes, healthcare needs an overhaul, but not this kind of overhaul.

Didn't Thomas Jefferson once say that " A government big enough to give you what ever you want is also big enough to take it all away."

Viki

Staying Hydrated + BPA = Confusion.

I was catching up on my blog reading this morning and came across some interesting video's on one of my friend's blogs. It is The Story of Bottled Water. What it boils down to is that the Soft drink companies told us Tap Water wasn't good, drink bottled water and like good little drones we have taken their advertising as Truth. Very few of those bottles actually get recycled and those that don't get dumped in landfills or sent to India to pollute there, instead of being recycled.



What is more amazing is that in taste tests most tap water beats bottled for taste.



I found it all very interesting. I have been hauling my own water to school for a while now. I used to use a Sigg aluminum bottle(and a few look alike's), but then there were all those news reports of Sigg bottles having trace amounts of BPA and I stopped. Boo Me.



I have since learned that SIGG bottles made prior to August, 2008 still test at "no detectable levels" of BPA. AND SIGG bottles made since August, 2008 have a new lining that does not contain any BPA and does not use BPA in its manufacturing processes.



So now I feel that I can carry my Sigg bottles. However, the knock offs from China I'll not be using as they do give off minute traces of BPA.



It is now Spring, and I'd like to have an insulated cup that would keep my water cool. I have a very nice one from a local coffee place, Highland Coffee, but now I wonder about BPA in the plastic from it and straws...do they contain BPA. A little research on the web and I have found that the cup is a ThermoServe and they say those are BPA free. Whew!



What about the straws? I usually use a disposable plastic straw, because my cup didn't come with a straw. Hum...another search.


Here is what I found out, most current straws are made from either #2 or #5 plastic and that concern about chemical exposure is low. That is the good news.

The bad news is that although these straws are recyclable, most are not recycled. The sheer number of straws from MickyD's alone starts to look like those bottle mountains in India from the first video that started this post. Who thinks about recycling straws?



What to do. I'm using safe bottles (Sigg and some Stainless steel) and my Highland Coffee cup is safe too, but I need a straw to drink from it as the screw on lid has a straw hole in the middle.

Evidently a few companies have thought about the straw problem. I have found steel straws by RSVP (4 to a pack for about $9.), Hardened Glass Straws by Glass Dharma, Pyrex glass straws by Glass Paradise, both are dishwasher safe. Strangely I also found paper straws in many sizes from Aardvark(if you want to buy 400) and Bamboo straws which have to be boiled in vinegar and water to clean. Both the paper and the bamboo would biodegrade easily. I even remember paper straws from when I was a little kid. They collapsed easily, I wonder about Aardvark, but not enough to buy 400 straws.

I called my local Amazing Green Planet store and they have a set of 4 stainless steel straws for under $12. and I wouldn't have to pay shipping. So I may go that route to drinking cool, clean, safe water while on the go. Although those cobalt blue glass straws from Glass Paradise are calling to me.

Viki

Interesting blog

I just found a blog about a teacher who has decided to eat a school lunch every day she teaches in 2010. Frankly I'm kind of worried about her. Seriously.

My girls have never bought a school lunch. I'm not saying that they ate everything I packed and one didn't take a lunch at all in high school. However, eating pretzels and a tangerine or apple every day has to better than the lunches that are shipped in to the school every day.

If you want to check out this teacher's blog...http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/
click on this link. What I think is interesting is that SHE is actually learning more about the food she is eating. At this point after a month and a half, I'd be thinking about what it may be doing to her own health. I wonder if she has gained weight. If she is getting more headaches.
I know she is noticing how food affects the kids she teaches.

Viki

January was so Busy!

I've talked to a lot of people who are with me on this one. Why was January so hectic?

I don't really know but here are a few things I was doing in January.

I made a journal from the Remains of the Day (ROD) class by Mary Ann Moss.
I created my first journal of 2010 in Kelly Kilmer's A life made by hand class.
I knit this cute little hat for me. Pattern is from the Tikkuntree Project, It is a Binah-Bukharan Kippah. It fits well, but doesn't lay flat on the top like the pattern indicates, I get a little pointy bit, but I still love it. Knit from Cascade 220 and Noro.
My friend digitaldurga has written a pattern for a Mobius cowl that may be in the Knit Picks catalog in the future. Knit Picks sent her alpaca lace weight to use and she is allergic so I offered to help her out. This is a closeup of the lace.
Here is a picture of it blocking. I might have been able to block it bigger, to make a shoulder shawl, but....I was really unsure of how to block this baby!

So I have been keeping busy in January on the craft front. The weather fronts have been interesting too. A bit of ice, a bit of snow and cold temps. I just wanted to curl up and sleep the month away.

For the most part, I'm glad it is February! Although it is going to be pretty busy too.

Already this week the dog had a visit to the vet and is on meds and a special diet for a few days.

It hurts to swallow a sharp bit of dog bone evidently. My birthday is this week, Jordan's next, Mariah has play practice and the due date for paper work for Gatton is coming up too.

I think I'll go take a nap.

Viki

We have Snow!

Okay, it wasn't a blizzard.

School did let out early on Thursday. Mariah walked the 2 blocks to Norton hospital to stay with her father. Yea, I didn't have to drive downtown in the mess.

Friday was a snow day. Mariah and I watched the movie "Julie and Julia" I LOVED it. I was so afraid I wouldn't, but it was great.

I took a picture of Mariah in the backyard in the snow.

Mariah took some pictures too. Bailey doesn't look to happy with the photo session does he?
This is the one she took out our front door.
We have had some flurries off and on today, but nothing significant. Total is probably under 5 inches. I'm thinking soup for dinner.

Viki

Been awhile...

not much, how bout you?"

Wow it's been a few weeks. December is such a busy time what with Birthdays and Christmas and all the busy busy days leading up to the 25th.

Some knitting has been done, even a bit of spinning has been accomplished. I've been looking into toy cameras and while looking for them, found a camera like Papa used to use. An old Argus C3, commonly referred to as "the Brick" Very heavy. It looks like it will even work. I haven't started cleaning it up. The poor thing is mostly dirty from the case starting to disintegrate while it was sitting inside for the last 30 years or so. Seriously. If you click it to make it bigger you will also see that the fake leather is starting to curl and chip off. It is very tempting to just take it all off and make it a flashy chrome. I could also dye the chrome...I have the technology to do that.
Some new decorations were acquired. I like this star because of the way the light bounces off of it.
Mariah turned 16 over Christmas Break. Lucky for us someone was in the office at her school so we could pick up the required paperwork that says yes she is enrolled in school and passing.

Then we went to the DMV and she got her permit.
That is Bailey with her. He had just been groomed so he looked and smelled good for Christmas.

School starts back up for both of us tomorrow. Neither of us are happy about that. The end of sleeping late for awhile.

Viki

finally FLAK

Years ago...Feb. 2006 (I think) I joined a KAL (Knit ALong) to knit this cable sweater. I bought the yarn. I knit the swatch. I had Anita The Fiber Artist measure me at an odd Tuesday knit night. I started the sweater.

And then I would let it hibernate. Every year I'd knit a bit more, but it did more hibernating.

Well It is finished. Except for blocking.

It is a cranberry color no matter what the picture looks like, it is a dark red. I'll see if I can get someone to take a better picture of me in it at Odd Tuesday tonight.

Viki

Santa Baby...

Okay, the people across the way have set out dozens of different lights and a big blow up merry-go-round. They play Alvin and the Chipmonks constantly on a speaker. The lights flash, the merry-go-round moves and those high pitched voices go on all night. (they don't even have small children to which this might be appealing!)

In stark contrast and perhaps in retaliation the neighbor 2 doors down from the above monstrosity of high pitched songs and blinking lights has set up his Christmas display. It has been a few years since he has had a bike small enough to actually bring inside for this display.

This is what it looks like in daylight.
This is the picture I took this evening. Of course I couldn't hold that still for the exposure...is it still an exposure on a digital camera? (click to make big to see the cool light squiggles) Anyway, after an afternoon of shopping with Jordan we arrived home to the chipmonk's flashing lights and it was actually soothing to see the silent Santa Baby on his "crotch rocket".


Viki
wondering if she should suggest some Trans Siberian Light Orchestra music to the neighbors.

Howling wind= Ringing bells

Well not really a howl, but I can hear it as it whips through the bare trees and around the corners of the house. Glad we got rid of the casement windows a few years ago. Mostly I know the wind is high when I hear the bells and chimes outside my bedroom window and the back door ring constantly. The bells are ringing. AND yep that was just a small limb hitting the roof.

So far the very large water maple in the neighbors yard is holding together. I told her if it started to break up we were popping corn and watching. It could of course just as easily smash our house as theirs.

Really, I think I'll go Christmas shopping, at least I wont be in the house if the tree falls.

It is actually Sunny out while this wind storm is going on. The picture above looks washed out because of it.

I tried to find something to photograph that would really show the wind blowing, but my camera isn't that great and the trash cans blowing around the yard are not very pretty.

Viki

Woke up to a bit of snow!

Just a bit. It melted fast.

Viki

Fuzzy warm goodness

Fuzzy Warm Yarn.

I took this shot at Grinny Possum Fiber Arts yesterday. I have been trying to stop by at least once a week to sit and knit with Ann, the owner. The shop is right across the river from Louisville and I am only a few minutes away from the Brown School. So picking up Mariah is easy.

Plus, I've knit a pair of socks in just a few weeks of sitting in the shop!

It has been a busy week and I am very behind on projects that I want to complete. I have my album started for December Daily, but haven't posted any pictures yet. I finally put together my art journal for December yesterday and painted 6 pages. Page 1 - 3 on flickr now.

Weds. marked our 26th anniversary. Dave was on call and worked late and I wasn't feeling well. So we'll celebrate this weekend.

At this moment Mariah is taking the SAT. Send good wishes her way. Yes she is kind of young to be taking it, but she is trying to get into Gatton for her last two years of high school. This is the second time she has taken the SAT. She is taking the ACT next weekend.

Jordan came for dinner last night. Potato soup. We played around with her cell phone camera and a Jelly Lens...the 6 image mirage lens. Too much fun! Unfortunately shipping cost as much as the lens.

Viki

What's in the Mail Today...

I must have been one of the first 5000 to order this last Weds. morning. I Feel like doing a little dance.

Wonder how long this one will age before I make it?

The FLAK continues on at a slow pace.

The goal is to finish and block the FLAK cable sweater in time to wear to the Christmas party on Dec. 16.

Viki

Dec. 1 Ice on Windshield.

It frosted heavy enough that I will have to scrape my windshield this morning...where are those mittens?

In other news today is ODD Tuesday which means Knitting and fiber fun at the local Barnes and Noble cafe. I look forward to these Tuesdays.

I have finished objects to show and tell and one that I picked back up. I've been knitting on the FLAK cable sweater off and on since 2006. I think it is time I finished it. One more inch or so of ribbing and then I'll pick up stitches for the neck...

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can finish this sweater!

Viki

Actual Finished Objects

I'm posting this page because it looks so interesting from a distance. Is there a name for an Autumn Green man?
Alpaca cowl. I loved knitting this quick project. The alpaca yarn feels so nice in my hands! Hope my sister in law likes it. My friend Sally tried to get me to give it to her yesterday when we met for coffee.
This little pillbox hat was an experiment using leftovers from other projects. I got the pattern from Pamela Grossman's site. It is the pattern called keppie. It was modeled after a Bukharan style kippah or a Turkish pillbox cap. The top is in gray woolease and the sides are noro silk and woolease in a slip stitch pattern so it looks woven. I like the inside better than the outside, the colors show up better. Pamela didn't use the slip stitch pattern in her pattern, that was me experimenting.

I blocked the hat on a needle felting foam hat form and it fits me and actually looks okay. I have a problem wearing hats. The hat I made a few years ago is from the same noro silk and is very loose and doesn't give me "hat head".

Viki

Catch up

Life has been on fast forward, but I have gotten a few things done. A few art journal pages, though I'm not caught up. Hand spun & hand knit socks for me...the fall colored ones.

The other pair is for Mom's birthday. (Which was yesterday, Happy Birthday Mom!)

The good looking guy with the cute dog is my DH Dave and our Dog Bailey. Dave had been dealing with the leaves in our yard. We live on a corner...I think most of them are from neighboring yards.

Hats are starting to intrigue me again, so I should have pictures of a hat or two soon.

Viki

That time of year

It is that time of year: October! Oh I love October. The chill in the air, the apples, the squash, the smashed pumpkins all over the neighborhood. I'm trying to put a bit of the season into each Prompt a Day journal page. A bit of Halloween themed paper in the background or a stamp or sticker...this one is obvious.

The colder weather has me wanting Fall foods. In the last week I've made Soup and a Potato & Kale dish made with curry spices. I bought a winter squash at the grocery and the Apples at Paul's Market are Wonderful. Honeycrisp is my favorite this year.

The cooler weather has me actually picking up the knitting needles. I have been seriously neglecting those. I vow to pick up that sweater that has been on the needles for years! Of course socks are always on the needles and I just had to start something new that is mindless for those evenings the TV is on all evening. It is called Baktus and if you click on that link you can see a picture of one colorway and the pattern too. I found this on Ravelry. I've spent quite a bit of time on Ravelry looking at pictures of things other people have knit.

Viki