The Pressure's Off, Moms!

No mother in all of history was able to protect her child from everything. And no mother in all of history parented without ever making a mistake.

So why am I bombarded with the message that I am guilty of being a horrible mother if I don't do everything I can to guard my child from harm? And when I say harm, I don't mean war and wild animals. I live in a suburb of San Francisco. The "harm" I encounter is non-organic produce, dirt, and allergies. I constantly feel the pressure to keep up with what I read on the Internet and hear on the news: sunblock is good, sunblock is bad; co-sleeping is good, co-sleeping is bad; protein is good, gluten is bad, milk is both good and bad. Trying to keep up with this trivial minutia can be more discouraging than helpful! I am already mindful of my children's safety, trying to feed them a variety of good foods, educate them, keep them healthy and rested… and still, it's not enough. Somehow, if I miss something, my children will either get cancer or not be admitted into the college of their choice (which means they will become unhappy, unproductive members of society, homeless or living in my basement).

I am grateful that when I am plagued by thoughts of failure, I can lean on the ultimate Source of peace and wisdom. Didn't God promise that He would provide all that we need, from physical needs such as food and clothes to spiritual needs such as faith and wisdom?

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ~Matthew 6:25

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence… ~2 Peter 1:3

Jesus tells us to give our worries and anxieties to him and  to trust Him with the details. Our children are in His hands all the time. Which means that I don't need to live like a fearful mother hen or an ever-watchful, Super Mom robot. Yes, my children will get sick. Yes, they will fall down. Yes, they will eat dirt. Yes, they will encounter bullies. And yes, they will eat something that contains high fructose corn syrup and articial flavoring. My fears will still come and go, but I don't need to live in fear. God will give me calmness and peace in any circumstance, which allows me to spend more time actually enjoying my children. One of my favorite verses right now is this:

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. ~Matthew 11:28-30

My husband and I were up all night with a vomiting child for the second time this week. We are definitely feeling weary today. But these words are a comfort! We can find rest in God's arms– not just rest for our bodies, but rest for our souls.

More DIY Cooking Fun

Sometimes, I just want to get crazy in the kitchen and make everything from scratch, because I want to know what's in the food I eat, and if food really does cost less if I make it myself.

Good thing author Jennifer Reese did this for me already. Her little, chubby cookbook, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, documents her experiments in the kitchen, from making cheese to raising (and butchering) her own chickens to canning. She discovered that some things are worth doing (making your own bagels) while others are not (making your own pop tarts). The book includes the cost of making versus buying (based on prices in 2011) and recipes on how to make many foods, from the most basic (pancakes and salad dressing) to the most complicated (which is, arguably, the cheese). 

Flipping through the book, I have learned how easy it would be to make my own yogurt and beef jerky. Today, I made the granola. Oh, was it good! I had it as a snack with some milk and leftover quinoa. And I already had all the ingredients in my pantry! I will never go back to buying granola, or maybe even breakfast cereal, again! For those of you who are interested, I will share this recipe and the recipe for cocoa mix with you. They are both easy enough to do as a project with a toddler, or use as a homeschooling math exercise in fractions and measuring. And... they make great Christmas presents. One year, my friend Elizabeth made granola, put them in decorated jars, and blessed us all with a delicious Christmas present! 

(One note: Reese's calculations are based on the cost of ingredients and time, not the cost of home-made goodness versus pre-packaged, preserved foods. There are a few items, like burritos, where she concludes that it is cheaper and less hassle to purchase the food item than make your own. I am not always in agreement with that.)

GRANOLA:

(According to the book, this granola costs about $1.10 per cup to make.)

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds, slivers or roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup sweetened flaked or shredded coconut
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
(tweak as you like: add dried fruit, try different kinds of nuts, use honey instead of maple syrup, add cinnamon or orange zest. Chocolate chips, if desired, should go in after the granola is cooled.)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Mix all ingredients and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and break apart and large clumps. Store in a sealed container.


COCOA MIX: 

(One ounce of homemade costs about $0.18. A one-ounce packet of Swiss Miss mix costs about $0.38.)

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Whisk or sift all ingredients together. Keeps indefinitely in a lidded jar.
To make hot chocolate, use 2 tablespoons per cup of hot milk. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.

The Fruits of our Labor

Or should I say... the vegetables of our labor!

Our first attempt at gardening is producing exciting and delicious-looking results! I love hearing the children's cries of "Look how tall the corn is!" and "We have a baby squash!" My children have never been excited about squash before.

And we have learned so much. The children take care of the daily chore of watering the plants (never with complaint). I'm loving my role as Mother Nurturer, making sure each and every plant is healthy with plenty of sun, water, food, and room to grow. Gardening is not as daunting as it used to be!

See the baby corn?

The zucchini squash did well growing in the old sandbox.

The snow peas are so lovely and delicate. 
I like the way their vines wrap around everything.

A Summer of Healthy, DIY Cooking

I like to borrow cookbooks from the library, especially ones that show you how to do-it-yourself instead of buying the prepackaged version. These cookbooks usually start with an introduction that say something like this:

When I was young, I would look longingly at my friends as they ate their Wonderbread sandwiches and drank Kool-aid. They went home to cookies from a box, while I had snacks of homemade seaweed chips or zucchini brownies. Now that I'm older, I thank my mom for filling me with what she thought was best.

Maybe someday my kids will write something like that.

In the past five days, I've made a gluten-free quinoa chocolate cake, quinoa strawberry-banana muffins, vegan apple bread, a polenta pie, a vegan noodle casserole, and spinach-strawberry-banana-orange smoothies. Don't worry, we've also had steak, chicken, frozen yogurt, popsicles, and other more normal sounding foods.

But I'm sure my kids are really missing their boxed macaroni-and-cheese right now. And I haven't totally given up on that yet.

That's because, after reading several books, talking to several people, and observing others, I've decided not to conform to any particular diet. Not the low-carb diet, not the high protein diet, not the veggies-only diet. I've decided not to make food my idol. When the 'experts' all claim something different, I think moderation and good-ol'-fashion- homecookin' is the best answer. Besides, by limiting what my family eats, it also limits our interactions with other people. I'm accommodating to people when they come over for dinner, but I can't expect everyone to do that for us. And what I have seen are moms tensing up at other people's houses because they don't know "what's in the food," or isolating themselves from gatherings (eating out is almost impossible on a strict diet) because they can't eat what other people eat.

And I don't want that.

But I still want to cook healthier this summer by cutting back on meals centered around meat and diary (my husband has high blood pressure, and his doctor's solution is to put him on medication for the rest of his life) and learning how to make yummy, healthy snack foods for the kids (like DIY cheese crackers! check out this link: cheese-crackers-recipe).

So let me share with you a recipe that my friend Amanda gave me. She is a mom, a vegetarian, and one of the best DIY at-home cooks I know! She likes to double this recipe and put the extras in the freezer for a quick grab-and-go snack for her husband or daughter. Last week, I made a single batch, fed half to the kids, and now have the other half reserved for a busy day.

Enjoy! And I hope to share more recipes as I play around!

NUTRIGRAIN BARS

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups oats

1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

strawberry preserves (or any other type of fruit jam)

Cream sugar and butter together. Mix in flours, oats and extract. Press half of mixture into a greased 9x13 dish. Spread fruit filling onto the mixture, then spread the rest of the mixture on top (you can crumble it too).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Thinking More About What I Eat

I almost picked up a bag of those strange, crunchy, snap pea things at Costco yesterday. Then I thought, "Are we just replacing unhealthy processed foods with healthier-looking processed foods?"

We like convenience. And if the packaging claims 'organic', 'less fat', or 'minimally processed', we feel better about putting that food into our bodies. But can't I just give my kids an actual snap pea to eat, or carrot sticks, or an apple?

My goal this summer is to expand my cooking repertoire and make a habit of making more strawberry-spinach smoothies and kale chips and reaching less for a bag of packaged crackers or granola bars. My family will venture into more vegetarian and vegan cooking (after watching only the last twenty minutes of the whole-foods, plant-based diet documentary "Fork Over Knives", my meat-loving husband actually said, "Maybe we should give it a try.") I'm not making drastic changes in our diet (to be on the safe side, for my children's sake), but I am thinking more about how God designed our bodies, and I am willing to explore how our diet plays into that.

There will be more to come! I'm excited about sharing recipes and writing about what I learn!

Summer Treats

Summertime for our family is when we indulge in certain fruits and vegetables: corn on the cob, watermelon, peaches, cherries, and berries of all sorts! I never buy these foods when they are out of season, because of the price and that most of them are imported in the winter. But come summer, we support our local farmers and taste the goodness of the California sunshine! And, they really are a treat when we allow ourselves to enjoy them only a few months out of the year!

We are blessed to live near Brentwood, a small town that is still off the beaten path and offers many fruits and vegetables for us to pick. We went on Memorial Day weekend to pick sweet cherries. They were round, ripe, and ready for us to take them home!

We are also blessed to have friends who grow berries in their backyard (it doesn't get more local or organic than that!) The Oppermans have not only an abundance of raspberries, boysenberries, and blackberries, but also beautiful flowers and vegetables to share with their friends. Every year, they invite the children and me to help pick (and eat) their bountiful harvest! The fence is covered with red and black gems, so many that when you think you're done with one area and turn to another, you would swear that berries had sprouted during the time your back was turned! We braved the small thorns and filled our containers, then I went home and made a berry cobbler. For whatever reason God decided to make berries, I'm glad He did!

And our other favorite summer fruit is yellow peaches, also available in Brentwood. Yesterday, I picked enough for eating and freezing (peel, pit, and slice peaches, put 4 cups in a freezer bag with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1/4 cup of sugar). Then our family enjoys peach cobbler all winter long! (I've included the recipe for all who are interested)                                                                                    

Picking fruit always reminds me that God takes care of us, birds and people alike. He nourishes us with food that is not only nutritious, but colorful, delicious, and a joy to eat!

If you're interested in finding u-pick farms, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, or Christmas tree farms in your area, go to the Pick Your Own website. It also has a calendar showing when crops are in season, and tips on picking and canning. 

PEACH COBBLER

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons shortening or canola oil (I prefer oil)

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk (you can also substitute soy or almond milk)

For the peaches:

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Cook until boiling. Boil and stir for 1 minute. (If you are using your frozen prepared peaches, just thaw peaches, then mix in saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Cook and boil likewise.)

Pour peaches into an ungreased 2 quart casserole dish.

For the topping:

Mix flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder and salt together in bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender, or mix in oil. Stir in milk. Drop dough onto peach mixture by spoonfuls.

Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees F (preheated).

Organic Help

I thought, since I wrote about wanting to eat healthy and organic foods, that it would be good to share with you what I have learned. Compared to some, I only know a little, so I hope those who have input will share their knowledge with us!

For great organic fruits and vegetables, visit your local farmers' market. Oftentimes you can also buy bread, eggs, and local honey there.

If you cannot go to a farmer's market, most grocery stores have an organic produce section. Try to buy vegetables that are in-season and bought locally (versus out-of-season and shipped in from Mexico or South America).

Friends in California can try Farm Fresh to You. They are a family-owned farm in the Sacramento area (with a second farm in Southern California) and they will deliver to your home a variety of organic produce. My family has enjoyed their produce for the past six months. They are a great alternative for those who would love to go to the farmers' market,  but can't. They are also affordable. Boxes come in a variety of sizes, and can be delivered weekly or bi-weekly. Their website is www.farmfreshtoyou.com.

Another useful website is www.pickyourown.org. It lists farms in your neighborhood that are pick-your-own (it's aptly named.) It also has a calendar of the best times to pick your choice of produce. This is always a fun family adventure!

As for meat, a friend recently recommended grass-fed beef from Miller Ranch in Oakdale. You buy 1/4, 1/2, or a whole cow, and you get the best price for great beef! We didn't have the freezer space for 1/4 of a cow, so we split it with my mother-in-law. Their website is www.millerranchenterprises.com

I believe the best price for organic milk is at Costco, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. And I'm still unfamiliar with the best sources for free-range chickens and eggs.

And lastly, organic teas and coffees are now available at many stores (including Costco). I recommend buying organic teas and coffees because leaves and beans are greatly affected by chemicals used on them. If you can, look for the fair trade logo (or the words 'fair trade') on the label. This means that the tea and coffee was bought from a farm that pays its workers fair wages, as opposed to poverty-level wages, or in worst cases, salve workers. This also applies greatly to chocolate. Organic chocolate is safer (again, it's made from beans) and organic fair-trade chocolate is even better. Whole Foods is the only store I've found to carry both organic/fair-trade chocolate for eating and baking. Raley's/Nobhill and Trader Joe's do have milk and dark chocolate bars.

That is the extent of my knowledge, but I would like to learn more. If you know of a good source of organic food, please share it with us!

Back to the Grindstone

I've been looking into grinding my flour.

WHY?! you may ask. Is Rita trying to live out her childhood dream of being Laura Ingalls?

No. (And that is not why I braid my hair either.)

Nor am I jumping on the 'green-is-hip-save-the-earth' bandwagon.

The things is... grinding one's own flour is not a new thing. Neither is hanging one's clothes on a line to dry, or letting a cow roam and feed in a pasture (yes, innovative, isn't it?) My mother-in-law used to grind her own flour because it was cheaper. She made her own bread because store-bought bread was a luxury. Now, pre-cut white bread is cheap, and the fresh-straight-from-the-oven one is the luxury. And it used to be that white sugar and white flour (both bleached) were expensive, and now they are the common items on a store shelf. How is it that with modernization, we've gone backwards?

I am a mother who wants to give her children the best she can, and save money while doing so. I grew up half on home-cooked Chinese foods, and half on American fast foods and baked goods freshly made 'from the box.' I don't know if my parents knew better. Hong Kong is a great place to eat, but you could find almost anything conveniently packaged in plastic for the 'on-the-go' lifestyle of that metropolitan tropic.

But with the release of books and movies like 'SuperSize Me' and 'Food, Inc', I'm realizing that the way things were in my childhood was not necessarily the best. Somehow, our decision to make everything bigger, faster, and cheaper has turned Mother Nature on her head. Plants are genetically grown, animals spend their lives in cages, and even water is 'boosted' with added nutrients. This is all based on the assumption that God made a mediocre world and Man must improve upon it. I'm trying to approach it from the opposite angle: God made the world perfectly suited for us. Our bodies are designed perfectly to interact with the world, even on cellular levels.

So I hope to grind my own flour soon, and master the art of making a beautiful tall loaf of bread. If I could raise my own chickens again, I wouldn't even hesitate. I'd even be willing to try raising a goat for milk if I had to! I want to explore God's plan for nourishing our physical bodies, and rediscover the Garden of Eden that is right in front of our noses.

If you eat organically or make your own foods, I would like to know why you chose to do so. Please comment!