OK, I don't do giveaways but lots of other super amazing bloggers do! And here's a great one from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking. Envibum, a very cool cloth diaper company, is giving away a super cute, soft diaper to 3 lucky winners. You can read her review on this particular brand. Check it out at the link below if you are interested. If you want to read my link on our fave diaper, Fuzzi Bunz, to get an idea about cloth diapering, click here. I entered because they look awesome and her review had me sold. It's so fun to try new cloth diapers. Good luck if you enter!
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/02/envibum-giveaway.html
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A Snowy Treat
So what else do you do with 3 feet of snow on the ground?
A little bit of this...
A little bit of this...
A little bit of that...
And a whole lot of...
And when you're all done with that (OK the kids are never done with playing in the snow but their mama is),
you can make some snow ice cream!!
What? Really?
Oh, yes, I was a bit skeptical. But it was oh so yummy!
And of course, it was not my recipe or my idea. Check out Laura from Heavenly Homemakers for all the details (Thanks, Jennifer, for the reminder). And yes, it really works! And it is REALLY tasty!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Food, Inc. Just See It!
I'm devoting this blog entry to encourage all of you who have not seen the move, Food Inc., to see it! I can't believe it took me this long to finally watch it!
If you haven't heard of the movie, here's a description directly from their website.
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
I wouldn't be able to do justice to the actual content of the film. I think it's best to see it for yourself and take it all in. Here are a few "highlights" to hopefully spur your interest a little. Nerdy me, of course, took some notes while watching so I could, as directly as possible, quote parts I felt were important to motivate you to watch.
"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you're eating because you wouldn't eat it."
They don't want you to know that a small group of multinational corporations control our food supply. It's a "world deliberately held from us."
The goal of meat companies to to make a lot of food on a small amount of land and sell cheaply so you buy it.
One hamburger patty you buy might contain over 1,000 different cattle.
We want to pay the cheapest price for food, BUT the price to pay for that is big companies and a cheap labor force. (By the way, all major corporations where intereviews were requested, declined ).
These large corporations use their POWER against farms, workers, and consumers. We are deliberately kept in the dark about what we eat and what it does in our bodies.
While much of the information in the movie wasn't new to me, it was eye opening to actually see with my eyes things that I've only read about as far as meat packing plants, large cattle farms, treatment of poultry, etc...
This movie might come as a shock to you, if you are unfamiliar with a lot of the facts presented. It might depress you, anger you a little, and hopefully above all, inspire change. If it doesn't make you change the way you look at food and go shopping, I would be surprised. Every small change you make after seeing the movie is a step in the right direction. I've heard some people say they wanted to become a vegetarian after seeing the movie. While I don't ever picture myself a vegetarian, I was certainly even more grateful for the small farms where we are able to purchase our meat.
I hope that you can see beyond just the meat industry, to how only a few small companies, basically control almost all the foods you would typically buy at the supermarket. How eating a bowl of cereal and milk or pulling into a drive through seems so innocent, and yet, how unhealthy it is and the sacrifice our nation's farmers have had to take.
Eating well does cost more. I've said that before. And while most of us are trying to spend less, food is one area where spending less has larger costs to our bodies and our world.
If you've seen the movie, or see it in the future, please share your feelings! And let others know about it. The more you know, the more power you have to make decisions about what you eat!
If you haven't heard of the movie, here's a description directly from their website.
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
I wouldn't be able to do justice to the actual content of the film. I think it's best to see it for yourself and take it all in. Here are a few "highlights" to hopefully spur your interest a little. Nerdy me, of course, took some notes while watching so I could, as directly as possible, quote parts I felt were important to motivate you to watch.
"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you're eating because you wouldn't eat it."
They don't want you to know that a small group of multinational corporations control our food supply. It's a "world deliberately held from us."
The goal of meat companies to to make a lot of food on a small amount of land and sell cheaply so you buy it.
One hamburger patty you buy might contain over 1,000 different cattle.
We want to pay the cheapest price for food, BUT the price to pay for that is big companies and a cheap labor force. (By the way, all major corporations where intereviews were requested, declined ).
These large corporations use their POWER against farms, workers, and consumers. We are deliberately kept in the dark about what we eat and what it does in our bodies.
While much of the information in the movie wasn't new to me, it was eye opening to actually see with my eyes things that I've only read about as far as meat packing plants, large cattle farms, treatment of poultry, etc...
This movie might come as a shock to you, if you are unfamiliar with a lot of the facts presented. It might depress you, anger you a little, and hopefully above all, inspire change. If it doesn't make you change the way you look at food and go shopping, I would be surprised. Every small change you make after seeing the movie is a step in the right direction. I've heard some people say they wanted to become a vegetarian after seeing the movie. While I don't ever picture myself a vegetarian, I was certainly even more grateful for the small farms where we are able to purchase our meat.
I hope that you can see beyond just the meat industry, to how only a few small companies, basically control almost all the foods you would typically buy at the supermarket. How eating a bowl of cereal and milk or pulling into a drive through seems so innocent, and yet, how unhealthy it is and the sacrifice our nation's farmers have had to take.
Eating well does cost more. I've said that before. And while most of us are trying to spend less, food is one area where spending less has larger costs to our bodies and our world.
If you've seen the movie, or see it in the future, please share your feelings! And let others know about it. The more you know, the more power you have to make decisions about what you eat!
Pass Me a Cup of Joe, Part 1
I love a good cup of coffee! Anyone else out there?? While I don't consider myself a coffee snob, I'm particular about how I drink my coffee, as most coffee lovers are. No sugar, only cream (has to be half and half, NOT milk). While half and half is not a health food by any means, I'm fortunate to have a source that only makes pasturized half and half versus ultra-pasturized (the same place where we buy our raw milk). Coffee is not something I've eliminated from my diet or have any intention to and I have no interest in drinking it black. Because of this, I try to buy fairly traded organic coffee or coffee roasted as close to home as possible from independent coffee companies. And yes, while Starbucks calls my name on occasion because we don't have many independent places in my area, I try to not frequent their store very often.
I asked my brother, the closest expert on the subject I know, to share a few thoughts on coffee in a short series. Hopefully, you'll find the topic as interesting as I do!
Coffee....the word that everyone knows, likes, loves, hates, takes with cream and sugar, is a snob about, or knows what their taste buds tell them.
My sister asked me to write a few things about the subject of coffee and share some thoughts. These thoughts come from 2.5 years of being a barista and a year of roasting experience, both for independent businesses whose owners care a great deal about coffee and providing it for their community.
While the subject of coffee can take many different roads, I'll start with the why. Why do you drink coffee? Is it a caffeine addiction? Do you like how it tastes in the morning or after dinner? Is it pleasurable to drink or have you formed a habit and merely kept it up? Do you like the many aromas and tastes you experience in the cup or is thinking about drinking a cup of hot liquid not really of interest to you?
Unless you answered that this subject is of no interest to you, then regardless of just having a caffeine addiction or enjoying the tastes and aromas of coffee, your experience with this well known drink can be more than you thought. Coffee is often compared to wine and chocolate in the sense that while it may seem simple (take a grape, smash it up and make a drink) the complexities of the whole process from start to finish have many factors, all contributing to the quality and experience of drinking it.
Our general enjoyment of coffee is dependent upon the region between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, which—except for Hawaii—we in the United States do not fall in. Therefore, the process begins far away from our kitchen counter. Because of this, when we buy coffee, our act is based on at least our preference of a certain kind, but it also involves a host of issues such as farmer relations, care of the roaster and why the coffee is sold (just for profit or a care beyond that). But when you think about it, these kinds of questions come or should come to mind no matter what we buy whether it's a new shirt or a pint of strawberries. The point is understanding and discerning how as a consumer you impact and care for what you buy. Don't worry, I'll stop there and just focus on coffee.
Let's take this in a 3-part series. Like part I, part II will be focused on coffee facts that will hopefully help you appreciate your next cup of joe, and in part III, I'll answer any questions you might have.
So if you have specific questions, feel free to comment or send an email.
I asked my brother, the closest expert on the subject I know, to share a few thoughts on coffee in a short series. Hopefully, you'll find the topic as interesting as I do!
Coffee....the word that everyone knows, likes, loves, hates, takes with cream and sugar, is a snob about, or knows what their taste buds tell them.
My sister asked me to write a few things about the subject of coffee and share some thoughts. These thoughts come from 2.5 years of being a barista and a year of roasting experience, both for independent businesses whose owners care a great deal about coffee and providing it for their community.
While the subject of coffee can take many different roads, I'll start with the why. Why do you drink coffee? Is it a caffeine addiction? Do you like how it tastes in the morning or after dinner? Is it pleasurable to drink or have you formed a habit and merely kept it up? Do you like the many aromas and tastes you experience in the cup or is thinking about drinking a cup of hot liquid not really of interest to you?
Unless you answered that this subject is of no interest to you, then regardless of just having a caffeine addiction or enjoying the tastes and aromas of coffee, your experience with this well known drink can be more than you thought. Coffee is often compared to wine and chocolate in the sense that while it may seem simple (take a grape, smash it up and make a drink) the complexities of the whole process from start to finish have many factors, all contributing to the quality and experience of drinking it.
Our general enjoyment of coffee is dependent upon the region between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, which—except for Hawaii—we in the United States do not fall in. Therefore, the process begins far away from our kitchen counter. Because of this, when we buy coffee, our act is based on at least our preference of a certain kind, but it also involves a host of issues such as farmer relations, care of the roaster and why the coffee is sold (just for profit or a care beyond that). But when you think about it, these kinds of questions come or should come to mind no matter what we buy whether it's a new shirt or a pint of strawberries. The point is understanding and discerning how as a consumer you impact and care for what you buy. Don't worry, I'll stop there and just focus on coffee.
Let's take this in a 3-part series. Like part I, part II will be focused on coffee facts that will hopefully help you appreciate your next cup of joe, and in part III, I'll answer any questions you might have.
So if you have specific questions, feel free to comment or send an email.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)