Try It Tuesday : Still Trying!

I'm a total slacker, I know. Last week was just a bit overwhelming for me as the weekend before I took both my littles to a family reunion by myself as Todd couldn't go. Sure the weekend ended, but the aftermath was what threw up all for a loop. Somehow kids just seem to think that when they have the run of whatever they want for a couple days, that it'll last forever! So all last week we dealt with some behavioral issues, giant meltdowns (mostly the 3yo but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have one!) and all around just trying to keep afloat.

So I didn't try anything new.

But this week I'm trying my hand at fermenting some water kefir!

I'll have my full report next week on how it goes, but if you've tried something this past week, let us know! Leave your link below so we can check it out!

Readers Ask: Cod Liver Oil

Here's a couple of questions I was asked (granted it was months ago during a giveaway) about Cod Liver Oil.

LaurenS asked:

What brand of Cod Liver Oil do you use (if any)?

Well, believe it or not, I actually have never taken it. I know right?! I'm supposed to be all "eat everything that's healthy" right? Well, I really started looking into the cod liver oil just as I became pregnant. And then the thought of taking cod liver oil just grossed me out to much to look into it anymore! But, now that I've done my research I know exactly what I'll be taking and plan on purchasing some soon.

I'll be buying it from Green Pastures. They sell fermented cold liver oil. Why fermented? Well, fermented CLO (yes, I'm getting lazy here. From now on CLO is cod liver oil!) is actually an unprocessed oil while the regular stuff is actually quite processed. And there is the fact that the vitamins A&D are taken out of the regular stuff and synthetic A&D are used instead. Now, I've talked about whole foods vs. synthetic vitamins before and the thing is...not only does your body have a hard time absorbing these synthetic vitamins, they can actually be bad for your health as well. The fermented CLO is also not heat treated at all.

They also sell the CLO combined with a high quality butter oil. Weston A. Price was quoted as saying "One without the other did not do his patients justice, but the two together worked like magic". So basically we're able to absorb and use more of the nutrients when our diet consists of both! Now, if you already consume a good amount of high quality butter there would be no need for this, but I think most people would benefit from the combo!

(and one more great thing about Green Pastures is that they give a discounted price depending on how many bottles you buy. So if you know others who want to give it a try, buy it together!)


and Becky also asked:

I have read at the Weston A. Price site that cod liver oil doesn't do much on it's own, but that it needs to be coupled with a good butter. Due to my son's life threatening allergy to milk, we can't "do" butter. Do you have any suggestions for a suitable substitute to pair CLO with?

I don't, sorry! At this point I've yet to come across something else to pair it with. So I'm throwing this question out to the rest of you. Do you know a suitable pair for CLO that's not butter?

Natural Living/Nourishing Foods Resources

Here is a decent list of companies/site that I frequent in my quest to live a healthier, greener, and more nourishing life. This definitely is not a concrete list and I will add resources as I come across (or remember) them!
(also - if you have any that you think I'd like to know about, send them my way!)

Recipes/Cooking Sites:
AllRecipes - A great searchable site for all kinds of recipes. Includes ratings from those who have tried certain recipes which is helpful to know which ones to try. My most used recipe site, and I just modify to adjust for our nutritional standards.

RecipeZaar - Another searchable site for recipes.

Tammy's Recipes - A blog run by a stay at home mom of 3. She posts some great, easy, recipes.

The Nourishing Gourmet - Lots of Real/ Whole foods recipes!

Sue Gregg - This site includes nutritious and nourishing recipes.

Real Asian Made Simple - Has a great listing of some easy to make Asian foods.

The Pioneer Woman - Seriously, this woman can cook! I personally love her mac and cheese.

Rachel Ray - I love to browse her recipes and I usually alter tham a bit to make them a bit more nourishing or based around our dietary needs.


Beauty/Hygiene Products:
Skin Deep - An awesome database by the Environmental Working Group to search cosmetic products for chemicals, etc. Gives a listing of the most and least toxic products.

Flora Botanicals - They sell handmade body whips and scrubs along with products for mom and baby. (my review here)


Real/Whole/Nourishing Foods:
Weston A. Price - "The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants." Basically a grest resource for all things pertaining to nourishing foods!!

Real Milk - A great site on the hows and whys of drinking raw milk. They also have a search feature to find a local source for raw milk.

Moutain Rose Herbs - A great resource for herbs, spices, oils, and things pertaining to natural body care. I've ordered from them and loved everything I got!

Cultures For Health - A site that sells, Yogurt and Sourdough starters as well as kefir grains.


Finding Local Resources:
Local Harvest - A great site to find farmers markets and CSA's near you.

Real Milk - A great site on the hows and whys of drinking raw milk. They also have a search feature to find a local source for raw milk.

Eat Wild - A great site all about healthy meats with a search feature to find your own local source.

Azure Standard - I've never ordered from them, but know a lot of folks who do. They sell bulk and natural foods.


Green Living:
Neela Bags - Stylish reusable bags. (my review here)

EcoTouch Waterless Car Wash - Wash your car w/o water! (my review here)

EcoStores - eco friendly laundry detergent, dish detergent, bath and body stuff, pet care, etc. (my review here)

Green Lemonaide - offers "green toolkits". (my review here)

Tappening - Offers BPA free water bottles. (my review here)


Pregnancy and Breastfeeding:
Kellymom - A great resource for all things concerning breastfeeding!

The Bradley method - This method focuses on husband coached childbirth and was a great natural childbirth resource for me!

The Best Birth - a nice DVD to watch to get yourself ready for birth. This seemed to help my husband really know what was going on 'down there' since we chose not to take actual classes. (my review here)

The Christian Childbirth Handbook - A wonderful book about natural childbirth from a Christian perspective. The website also has some wonderful information on it as well.

Giving Birth Naturally - A site all about natural childbirth. Even has online childbirth classes.


Babywearing:
The Kylie Wrap - *Handmade* wrap style carrier using jersey knit fabric. (my review here)

Wrap and Wear - Another wrap style carrier using crinkle cotton fabric. (my review here)

Ring Sling - *Handmade* ring slings by Kangaroobabe. (my review here) She also sells tutu's and baby leggings.

Mei Tai - *Handmade* Mei Tai from Jellie Babies. (my review here)

Ergo - A soft structured carrier. (my review here)

The Peanut Shell - A pouch type sling. (my review here)


Cloth Diapering:
Cotton Babies - a great resource for learning about and buying cloth diapers. I've ordered a few things from them and never had any customer service or shipping issues. Everything was as stated on the website.

Nicki's Diapers - another great place to buy diapers and supplies. I've also ordered from this site with no problems!

Wooden Toys:
Ogunquit Wooden Toy - Super cute *handmade* baby rattles and toys for kids.

Play Child Toys - A great source for Melissa and Doug, Wooden Thomas the Train, PlayMobile, pretend play toys, Uncle Goose blocks, and they even have a made in the USA section.


Free Stuff:
LaBump - A great place to search out free maternity and baby clothes. Not yet available in every area though.

Paperback Swap - A great site in which you list books you have that you no longer read and can then pick out another book from someone else that they want to pass along.


DVD Swap - Same premise as the Paperback Swap but with DVD's.


SwagBucks - A search engine that rewards you for using it with "points". These points can then be turned into online gift certificates to all sorts of online stores. I've earned $15.00 in Amazon.com cards in about 6 weeks!




Freecycle - A website with locally based groups where you can both offer free items or look for them yourself.

Try It Tuesday : Thai Food

Since I've decided to start trying new things, stuff has just either been falling in my lap, or I start seeing it everywhere! Last week we tried our hand at making some Curry Chicken after I was asked to do a review for Thai Kitchen.

Perfect.

I've only tried Thai food one time and it was at a wedding reception and I didn't want to seem rude, so I ate it. But it just wasn't something my picky palate ever wanted to seek out again.

You can read my full review here (plus there's a Thai cookbook giveaway as well!) but we all liked it! I should have taken a picture, but it just happened to be one of those meals where I had to make it with a baby in the carrier. And then had to eat while nursing her. So finding my camera was not at the top of my list! But it was a pretty meal! And tasty too! I'll actually be making this again later this week.

You know...I'm kinda starting to really enjoy all this "new to me" food!!

So do you like Thai/Asian food? If so, what's you favorite recipe?

And if you've tried something new this week, link up and share all about it!!

Try It Tuesday : Green Smoothies

Alright. So I'm sure a lot of you, and from your e-mails I mean a lot, a lot of you, love sweets. So eating plenty of fruit is never a problem, right? And when you make smoothies, fruit most likely is the first thing that goes in. Well, what if I told you that you could stick veggies in there too?

Yup, they're called Green Smoothies. And they are delicious!

A green smoothies is basically just a mix of fruit with a bunch of leafy greens blended in as well. My personal favorite right now is a combo of spinach, blueberries, and banana along with the yogurt and milk. A good mix is about 60% fruit to 40% veggies. And you can mix it up and change around what you "drink" everyday! Variety is the spice of life you know! Later this week I'm hoping (actually I have to) to get to the farm and pick some strawberries so those will be a wonderful "in season" addition. Next week I'll be headed to the farmers market (this week I'm out of town that day!) and I'm gonna make sure I pick up a lot of in season leafy greens!

The benefits of Green Smoothies

• they contain lots of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and chlorophyll
• you consume essential amino acids that are the building blocks for protein
• they enhance digestion by stimulating enzyme production

I always blend up my greens in with the yogurt and milk before adding the fruit. This seems to help get them blended up well.green goes purple!

And after the blueberries are added, you can't even tell there are leafy greens inside! I made these a few times before my husband even noticed. hehe.Of course if you use some green fruit like kiwi's they get really green! And if you use pears (also super yummy) you get a nice light shade of greeness.

This has been a great way for me to consume more veggies as I've been severely lacking in that area as of late.

So do you drink green smoothies? If so, tell me your favorite combinations!

And if you've recently tried something new, whether it's a new recipe or some natural living stuff to better your health, blog about it and post your link here! Just make sue you post the permalink to the post and not your blog url, as well as leave a link back here in your post!

Journey Through Infertility: A Guest Post

Today I am honored to bring you a guest post by Michele from Frugal Granola. She's a mom of a sweet little girl and expecting a new little baby later this summer. If you haven't visited her blog yet, you need to! She blogs about everything from simple living to natural living, and nourishing foods to raising her little one.

So without further ado here's her post.

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Journeying through years of infertility, we read through every "how to get pregnant" book we could get our hands on. So many anecdotal "tips and tricks" abounded on message boards and in conversation, but would just send us roller-coasting from hope to disappointment each month.

Doctors diagnosed us with "male factor infertility," but then when I got pregnant and miscarried a couple times, it was labeled "unexplained infertility." We continued our dream of pursuing adoption (something we had hoped for whether or not we were blessed with biological children), while still learning about new healthy life choices.

After 2 years with our sweet little girl, and were beginning to consider life as "just the three of us," we were blessed to find out that I was pregnant again.

When I announced our pregnancy, I received quite a few inquiries regarding any information that may have "helped" us become pregnant. One of the reasons I have hesitated to write such an answer, is that I believe our fertility is ultimately in God's hands.. Repeatedly throughout the Bible, we see God's hand putting families together in many different ways- which has often included infertility!

However, pursuing good physical and spiritual health is important in being good stewards of the bodies and resources God has given us, and can help provide a healthy foundation for Him to place a new, growing little life.

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of our lifestyle changes/choices over the years, but it is more of a quick "overview." (I know Donielle has elaborated on the reasons for many of these concepts on her blog (or intends to), so feel free to ask questions! I won't attempt to explain all the hows/whys of everything here.)

SUPPLEMENTS

• We both decided to start taking "natural" multivitamins, to fill any potential "gaps" in our nutrition.
• During various seasons, my husband especially focused on taking at least a zinc supplement (and eating foods rich in zinc), and pycenogenol or grapeseed extract (both antioxidants reputed to possibly help sperm health).
• When I noticed my once long- but predictable- cycles becoming irregular and more uncomfortable, I was able to help regulate my cycles with Evening Primrose Oil for the first 2 weeks of my cycle (I did this for about 3 months).

FOODS

• After spending years as vegetarians, we began adding some naturally/humanely-grown meats to our diet.
• We switched from non-fat dairy products to drinking whole raw milk and eating hormone-free whole-fat dairy products (yogurt, cheeses, etc).
• We eliminated white "all-purpose" flour, white sugar, and corn syrup from our foods, in favor of more whole-grain flours and natural sweeteners (such as raw honey).Note: the sugar cravings during this stage were pretty intense, and showed us how necessary this was for us! We now find that we sweeten things drastically less, as our "taste buds have adjusted." :)
• Our previous vegetarian diet had been very high in soy (TVP, tofu, etc.). At one point, as we increased the soy products in our meals in an attempt to save money, we noticed a significant decline in our health. We eventually eliminated soy from our meals, except for an occasional dash of tamari in a stir-fry.
• I began to realize that I had an intolerance for gluten, and discovered celiac. I radically adjusted my diet to eliminate gluten.. (Note: celiac is often a cause of unexplained infertility/miscarriages, and is actually quite prevalent, but under-diagnosed.)
• We made a point to add more seasonal fruits and vegetables to our meals, and discovered a wealth of delicious options at Farmer's Markets. (Previously, canned or frozen vegetables were our staples.)
• We eliminated canola oil, in favor of "healthy fats" such as coconut oil, and the butter made from raw milk.
• I began following the "Brewer Diet" as a way to help make sure I was actually eating enough nutrients to support a pregnancy.
• Calvin reduced, then basically eliminated, coffee, in favor of more natural herbal teas, and lots of water. (I already was not a coffee-drinker.)
• We added cultured items to our diet (such as kefir and lacto-fermented vegetables).
• We eliminated sources of MSG and other additives/preservatives in our foods, and started using real sea salt and herbs as seasonings.

EXERCISE/REST

• I began regular forms of exercise, with walks outdoors a couple mornings a week, along with yoga or pilates one or two evenings a week at home. I pushed our daughter in a stroller for our walks. I didn't have a need of weight loss, so my yoga/pilates routines focused on a combination of strength, stretching, and relaxation.
• I have noticed that my body has always responded to the concept of "lunaception". This may not necessarily be a "proven concept", but I did notice a difference. Plus, our rest was definitely better once we put up some dark curtains!
• Focusing on eliminating a constant state of stress was a significant challenge. I had come from high-stress work environments, to being a stay-at-home mom, and my body took awhile to stop being in an ongoing "adrenaline state!" The relaxation exercises, along with restful baths, occasional naps, and regular prayer times really helped.

SPIRITUAL

• God began to teach me more about relinquishing my fertility to Him, as Lord of my life. Instead of trying to "control" it myself, and being "addicted" to all the fertility message boards and latest fertility publications, I needed to place the control in His hands. In response, I gave up all fertility-related reading (online and print) for a season of Lent. This added such a new peace to our situation- and by the end, I had no desire to go back!
• We were encouraged by reading Mary Pride's book "All The Way Home," as she has wonderfully written on healthy marital intimacy and fertility. It provided a much-needed Biblical focus in that season of our lives.
• God began to teach me more about His love for me, as His beautiful creation. Instead of being ashamed or frustrated by my body/infertility, I began to prayerfully embrace His work in my life. This Above Rubies article really encouraged us as we focused our prayers: "Protect Your Womb."
  
• I chose to embrace the season God had placed us in, and chose to be content.. I knew that even if God blessed us with more children in the future, I didn't want to be stuck in the "debilitating" spiritual state of always wanting more. We would love to see God grow our family, but believe that a contentment in His provision is so important in every area of life- not just with fertility. We can embrace His blessings, without allowing our desires to be consuming, and taking His place of headship in our lives.

LIFESTYLE

• In our world full of electronics, we began taking a closer look. The cell phone came out of the front pocket of my husband's jeans, and was placed in his bag. The laptop computer stayed on the table- not on our laps! We gave away our microwave, and got a $5 toaster oven (both on craigslist).
• We switched from commercial cleaning products, detergents, and cosmetic/hygiene items to more natural choices. Many solutions can be homemade with natural ingredients (such as baking soda, vinegar, and essential oils), along with chemical-free soaps. I got rid of my collection of hairsprays, makeups, etc., in favor of a more natural routine. (Note: we've now noticed a high sensitivity to the chemicals/perfumes that we used to use regularly! We now feel "overwhelmed" by smells of commercial laundry detergents, soaps, & perfumes just by walking through store aisles or visiting others homes.)

I wish you blessings in this season of your life!

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Thanks again Michele! And for those of you who have taken steps to increase your health in hopes of benefiting your fertility, tell me - what have you done?

Readers Ask: Raw Milk

As kind of a followup to my raw milk post from the other day, I thought I'd answer some of the questions I got from it and the readers ask series.

Anna asked:

I agree that raw milk is the best for you, however, I can't get past the fact that it has so much fat in it! I've been trying to drop about 5-10 pounds while at the same time trying to conceive. It seems impossible if I'm eating full fat dairy. And I know the non-raw stuff is just processed anyway, so what do you think of organic fat free pasteurized milk and other low fat products such as yogurt?

Personally? I won't touch low fat dairy to save my life! Alright, so maybe that's a bit extreme, but honestly, I won't do it anymore. What you have to realize is that your body needs fat. In really simple terms, if you aren't eating enough, your body stores what it does has! I would totally recommend you reading the book "Eat Fat, Lose Fat". And it's also not the fat that makes you gain weight, it's the sugar. And if you're anything like me, you eat to much of it on a normal basis! And the great thing about switching over to a whole foods diet is that your body will regulate what you need. You don't have any of that nasty MSG and other flavor enhancers telling your body you need more while they quite down the 'I'm full' feeling. As an added example. I actually lost 10 pounds after switching from lowfat everything to full fat products!!

she also asked:
At what point would you consider it safe to give raw milk to babies?

I fully believe that the milk we consume is safe. I know my farmer and I know it's clean. For this reason everyone in my family would consume raw milk no matter the age. I started my son on raw milk at 17 months. If for some reason I was ever unable to nurse my baby, we would give her homemade raw milk formula. Now I know that seems shocking to some, but I would feel much better knowing she was consuming something raw and healthy rather than that gross powdered formula that causes all sorts of allergies and health issues. But again, that's just me. Every family needs to make their own choise on what they would consider safe for their family.

WannaBeMommy asked:

I've been really curious about raw milk, and tempted to buy it a few times. But, what's the shelf life like? We don't drink a ton of it in my house so I'm afraid it would go bad before we drank much of it.

Raw Milk will last about 7-10 days on average. But like another commenter, I've had it go more like 10-14 days. I personally buy it only a half gallon at a time since our farm is so close and if we do ever have extra and it begins to smell sour I turn it into yogurt or kefir or even cream cheese and whey. You can also freeze it. (personally I only do this with goats milk as it's naturally homogenized and I've heard cows milk can change texture a bit when frozen)

And I was also asked to share my thoughts on drinking it during pregnancy:
I didn't drink raw milk during my first pregnancy - but that's only because I wasn't buying it yet. I recently just had a baby 10 weeks ago and consumed raw milk as well as kefir, yogurt, smoothies and ice cream made from the raw milk and I of course think it's totally safe!! Your body and the babies need all that good stuff found in raw milk, so as long as the milk comes from a clean source and you're not drinking it out of dirty pails, drink up!!

And doctors...well, I've learned not to listen much when it comes to my nutrition. :-) It all comes down to "As long as you know your source"! A lot of what 'they' say is to protect the uninformed. Like those of us who have not done our research or who are a bit careless about their food choices.

Pasteurization of milk only started around the 1910's/1920's and it was only because the cows were being fed distillery slop and were unhealthy and had such poor milk. It was so bad that the poor babies and children put on it suffered from "failure to thrive" and the death rate was unreal. The farmers also were practicing dirty farm management and the milk was getting contaminated.

I get my milk from a farmer that has healthy cows and practices good farm management. And personally, I feel that a young child is more able to fight off any infection when they have a great immune system (aka-drink raw milk)

Now as to how much we drink, what I buy and all that:
I buy a half gallon of goats milk per week (on average). The only one who actually drinks it is my almost 3yo son. And he normally gets his cup filled up in the morning and has it with breakfast and dinner for a total of maybe 8 ounces. For lunch and everything else, he gets water. My husband can't tolerate milk much at all, although he can consume goats milk without much issue so we make ice cream from it on occasion. I don't sit down and drink a glass of milk either. Sure, I make myself some hot cocoa from it once a week or so, but with my meals, I drink water. This half gallon is more than enough for us to go a week and I also use it in my baking, etc.

I also buy half gallons of cows milk about twice a month to use for making yogurt, kefir, and butter. Sometimes the cream gets used in my coffee if I so decide to treat myself to some!

I've really gotten to the point thought where I don't think milk is really needed. A lot of traditional cultures never consumed milk the way we do today. They used the cultured milk (yogurt, butter, etc.) but rarely drank tall glasses of it. So for us, a little goes a long way!