Real Food: Organically Nurtured

I recently had a conversation with a friend regarding Mark's and my decision to feed Jack organic foods and it made me realize how much our way of thinking has changed in the last year. 

Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I'm very cheap thifty and I abhor paying even pennies more for something that I can find cheaper elsewhere. 

So, it may come as a suprise that Mark and I have decided to feed Jack organically grown foods. 

I know it surprises me. 

I'll be honest here, because we're all friends, right?  If you had ask me what I thought about organic food a year ago, I would have told you that I thought it was a fad for people who enjoy paying more for things just for the heck of spending more money.  Or maybe for dirty, tree-hugging hippies.  But, certainly not for me! 

And then I began to educate myself about food and I now understand the importance of eating organically.

Over the last several months, I have spent a considerable amount of time researching food.  It's actually an amazing topic once you start getting into it and understanding how things are produced and why.  There is a TON of information out there that I never knew and would never have known had I not started digging. 

My reason for digging?

This gorgeous, perfect little boy, whose complete care has been entrusted to me. 

Like other parents, I want the best for my child.  I don't think that "the best" is any one thing.  All families will likely define "the best" differently and it's certainly something you have to decide for yourself based upon your beliefs. 

Organic foods are just one of "the best" things that we want to do for Jack.

It's certainly not the cheapest option. 

The cost is something that I struggle with.  When I'm in the grocery store, it's hard to reach past that conventionally grown apple that's on sale for $0.99 per pound for the organically grown apple that looks EXACTLY the same, but costs $1.99 per pound.  Everything that I stand for is screaming at me saying, CHOOSE THE CHEAPER OPTION! 

But at this point, my conscience won't allow me to justify skipping organically grown items just because of cost.  Because there's more to it.  There are good reasons for why the organically grown apple costs more than it's conventionally grown counterpart.  And I've found those reasons to be very important.

So, why have we decided that this is "the best" option? 

There are certainly many benefits to organic farming, but to sum it up:  Pesticides scare me. 

Pesticides are utilized in conventional growing techniques in order to produce the most crop for the least cost.  Although there are clearly benefits (hello, cheap food!) there are also serious consequences.  More is known about pesticides today than when they first came into use.  Although we now know more than we used to, I don't think we fully understand the impact of these chemicals on our bodies. 

As of now, we know pesticides have been linked to serious health problems such as cancer, lung disease, reproductive problems, endocrine and and immune system disorders, asthma, and both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.  Testing has also found that pesticides can cause permenant changes in brain chemistry that may contribute to Autism spectrum disorders, behavorial disorders such as Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, as well as other learning disabilities. 

The more research that is done on these chemicals, the more we find that they are bad for us.

One just has to take a look around our society today to know that there is a higher incidence of chronic diseases.  (I recently read that more than 25% of youths are on long-term prescription medication along with 51% of adults who have medical insurance, which could be a whole separate post.)  The truth is that it's often hard to pinpoint the exact cause of many of these problems.  I don't think that eliminating the use of pesticides would eradicate all disease, but I'm of the opinion that reducing their use could certainly improve the situation. 

Pesticides are scary for anyone to consume in my opinion, but they are especially bad for children.  Here are some reasons why: 

• Children consume more food relative to their body weight than adults do.  This means, that they have to process and eliminate more chemicals from their small, underdeveloped systems.

• Children's bodies and brains are immature and still developing making it easier for their body to absorb pesticides and other chemicals, but harder for them to elimiate from their system. 

• Pesticides actually block the absorbtion of vital nutrients that help children's bodies to grow and maintain a healthy immune system.

Even if we don't currently know all the answers, I think it's safe to say that what we as a society are currently doing isn't working.  Chronic diseases are on the rise, the health of Americans is declining, and although "they" like to blame it on individual diet and lifestyle choices alone, that can't be the whole story.

I know that as hard as I try, I can't keep Jack's little body from being exposed to all nasty chemicals, toxins, and pesticides.  There are just too many of them out there.  And I know it's not the end of the world if he eats some birthday cake, or a snack at a friend's house that's not necessarily something I would feed him at home, but I want to do the best that I can with the parts of his life that I do have control over. 

I want to make sure that as much as possible of the food that he consumes every day is as healthly and safe as it can be. 

The foods that are fed to a baby or a small child are vital to their growth and development.  It's the fuel that allows their systems to mature, their bones to grow, and their brain to achieve higher function.  That's a tall order from some humble green beans or squash and this is why I want to make sure that the fuel I'm introducing to my child's body is the best that I can provide.


Interested in the Real Food Movement? 

Here's some recommended reading:

Nina Planck's Real Food: What to Eat and Why and Real Food for Mother and Baby
Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals
Barbara Kingsoliver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life


And watching:

Food, Inc.
Foodmatters
The Future of Food

For Your Health: Vitamin D

I've recently been doing some research into the benefits of vitamin D.  Specifically, vitamin D and it's relation to the immune system in hopes of keeping our family healthy during the upcoming cold and flu season.  This is some information that I learned from various places during my research.

As many as 1 in 2 individuals in North America are vitamin D deficient.  [source]

"Humans make 90 percent of our vitamin D naturally from sunlight exposure to our skin – specifically, from ultraviolet B exposure to the skin, which naturally initiates the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3" [source]

The only vitamin that humans bodies can make on their own is vitamin D.

Vitamin D is stored in our bodies.

The most effective way to obtain vitamin D is through 10-15 minutes of daily sun exposure.  This involves bare arm and leg exposure to the sun when it is highest in the sky.  However, this poses a problem for obvious reasons during the cold weather months.

Vitamin D naturally occurs in very few foods including oily fish and eggs to a lesser amount.  Vitamin D can also be obtained to some degree through fortified dairy products.  However, in order to obtain the daily recommended amount of vitamin D via fortified milk an adult will need to consume 50 8 oz. servings.  [source]

"Current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more."  [source]

"Studies over the past few years show vitamin D can prevent (and often treat) cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, depression, asthma, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and many other conditions. In fact, high levels of Vitamin D have been linked to a reduction of death from any cause. (The nutrient has such a wide ranging effect, says Dr. Cannell [President of the Vitamin D Council], because it targets more than 2,000 genes -- 10 percent of the human genome.)"  [source]

Based on recent research, the medical community is beginning to believe that lowered vitamin D levels during the cold weather months may be a cause of the annual cold and flu season.  In fact, maintaining proper levels of vitamin D may better protect us from cold and flu season than getting a flu shot as vitamin D strengthens our immune systems against ALL viruses versus the 2 that we are inoculated against with an annual flu shot (this year the shot contains H1N1 and whatever other seasonal strain they are anticipating.  There are other flu strains out there as well as the common cold, which spreads like wildfire this time of year!).

HERE is a great article which goes into detail on how vitamin D controls your immune system.

So, what can you do to protect yourself and your family?

The Vitamin D Council recommends adults take a vitamin D supplement in the amount of 5,000 IU per day.  The best kind of vitamin D supplements also contain magnesium and zinc as the body needs these minerals in order to properly utilized stored vitamin D. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a daily value of 400 IU of vitamin D per day for infants, children, and adolescents.

Formula-fed babies should get the recommended daily amount of vitamin D from their formula.  Check your specific brand, but the formula that we use (currently Target's Up & Up brand) contains 50 IU of vitamin D per 5-ounce serving.  So, as long as Jack eats 40-ounces of formula per day (between 6 and 7 bottles as he usually takes 6-ounces at a time) he should maintain proper stores of vitamin D.

The AAP currently recommends that breastfed babies be supplemented with 400 IU of vitamin D per day due to deficiencies in the maternal diet.  They do not comment on if supplementation is still necessary for the baby if the mother is getting adequate vitamin D through taking her own supplements.  Definitely discuss with your pediatrician before giving your baby anything!

Older children consuming less than 1 quart of vitamin D fortified milk per day should be supplemented with 400 IU of vitamin D per day. 

[source]

I definitely plan to start taking a vitamin D supplement in hopes of warding off the seasonal yuckies this year and to maintain proper vitamin D levels throughout.  From the research I've done, it is my opinion that the medical community may be just beginning to understand the importance of vitamin D to our health in relation to many diseases and ailments and taking a few pills a day seems like an easy thing to do for so many benefits.

Farmer's Market Purchases!

Our first Farmer's Market experience was last weekend. I scored an amazing tomato ($1), blueberries ($4 pint), and a HUGE bunch of fragrant basil ($2.50).  The prices were comparable to those in the grocery store, but the produce was SO. MUCH. BETTER!  And it was a fun family excursion.

Here is what I used my purchases for:

Saturday afternoon, when we returned home I used the beautiful blueberries to make a homemade blueberry pie.  I just couldn't resist cooking those plump berries into a sweet treat!




Blueberry Crumble Pie

Ingredients:

1 recipe Basic Pie Dough (see recipe below)

3/4 cup plus 5 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. granulated sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

5 cups blueberries (Note: I used 1 pint of fresh blueberries and most of a small bag of frozen mixed berries that I needed to use up.  I really wish I had made the pie with just fresh blueberries as they were really the star of this treat!)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 3/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, the 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp. of the cinnamon and the salt. Scatter the butter pieces on top and toss with a fork or your fingers to coat with the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the ingredients together until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of large peas. Set the topping aside.

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar, the remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon and 4 Tbs. of the flour. Stir gently to coat the blueberries evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 Tbs. flour and the 1 Tbs. granulated sugar over the bottom of the prebaked crust. Pour the filling into the crust, spreading it evenly.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the blueberry filling. Bake the pie until the topping is golden brown and the blueberry filling just begins to bubble, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature. The pie is best served the day it is baked. Makes one 9-inch pie




Basic Pie Dough Recipe:  

Ingredients:


1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

8 Tbs. (1 stick) COLD unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

3 Tbs. VERY COLD water


Directions:


Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400°F

Add flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor and pulse until combined. 

Add cubed butter to the food processor and pulse just until the butter begins to get cut into the flour mixture.  Then, slowly stream in very cold water while continuing to pulse until dough forms.

Immediately roll out dough using a rolling pin and a sprinkle of flour as needed.  Make sure to handle dough minimally as you do not want to melt the butter in the dough.  Cold butter and water will result in a delicious, flaky crust!

Transfer rolled dough to a 9-inch pie plate and pop into the fridge/freezer for a few minutes to allow it to chill.

Line piecrust with a piece of aluminum foil.  Fill with dried beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights.  Bake until the crust dries out, about 15 minutes; to check, lift an edge of the foil. Carefully remove the weights and foil. Reduce the heat to 350°F. Continue to bake until the crust is lightly browned on the edges and dry-looking on the bottom, about 5 minutes more. 

Allow crust to cool slightly and then add filling.

Pie and crust recipes adapted from Sugar & Spice by Celeste.

For dinner Sunday I made pizza with homemade crust.  Mark doesn't like tomatoes so I made 2 different kinds of pizza.  I'll give you both recipes :)




Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough


Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat flour1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white sugar

1 (.25 ounce) package (or 2 1/4 teaspoons of bulk) active dry yeast

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)


Directions:

Add yeast to water and mix.  Allow to activate for approximately 5 minutes or until you see bubbles/froth forming.

While yeast is activating: Measure all dry ingredients to the bowl of a mixer fitted with dough attachment.  Stir for a minute to make sure that all dry ingredients are combined. 

Add EVOO and water/yeast mixture to the bowl of mixer and turn mixer on low speed to combine.  Scrape sides of bowl with spatula as needed. 

Once all ingredients are combined turn mixer to a medium to medium-high speed and allow to knead dough for 8 minutes.

Once dough is kneaded, mixer bowl with a towel and set in a warm/non-drafty place.  Allow dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Dough can be baked or grilled.

Adapted from AllRecipes

Margherita Pizza

Ingredients:

1/2 above recipe for whole-wheat pizza dough

EVOO

Finely minced garlic

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Sliced, ripe tomato

Feta Cheese

Fresh Basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.

Spray pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray and press dough out to approximately 10-inches in diameter.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Drizzle par-baked crust with EVOO and sprinkle with garlic and mozzarella cheese.  Top with tomatoes and a sprinkle of feta.

Bake for 10 minutes or until  cheese is melted and bubbly.  Pull from oven and sprinkle immediately with fresh chiffonade of basil.

Serves 1; a Confessions of a Trophy Wife original! 

Barbeque Chicken Pizza  

Ingredients:

1/2 above recipe for whole-wheat pizza dough

Favorite BBQ Sauce

Grilled Chicken, Sliced  (I usually utilized leftovers for this!)

Shredded Monterey-Jack cheese

Bacon Crumbles (or real bacon pieces)

Thinly Sliced Red Onion

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.

Spray pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray and press dough out to approximately 10-inches in diameter. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Drizzle par-baked crust with BBQ sauce and spread over dough.  Top with sliced grilled chicken, cheese, bacon, and onion.

Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Pull from oven and drizzle with some additional BBQ sauce.

Serves 1; a Confessions of a Trophy Wife original! 




Later in the week, I used the rest of the basil to make homemade pesto.  I used some in pesto chicken (another original recipe!) and froze the rest to use for a later date.



Pesto   

Ingredients:

2-3 cups fresh basil

1/2 c. parmesean cheese

1/2 c. walnuts

2-3 cloves garlic (depending on the size)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

(approximately) 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (just drizzle in until a thick sauce texture forms)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until chopped and combined.  Slowly stream in EVOO (approximately 1/2 cup) until a thick, sauce-like texture forms.

Can be used immediately to flavor pasta, chicken, soups, etc.  Or, freeze for later use in an ice cube tray or in tablespoons on a baking sheet.

A Confessions of a Trophy Wife original!

My Manifesto

If you pay attention to my "what I'm reading now" widget (I don't know if anyone does...) you may already know that I recently finished reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

This book is... amazing... brilliant... eye-opening... life changing... awesome.  I don't think I can say enough good things.  If you haven't read this yet read it!  NOW!  Although, I am going to warn you, it may make you want to move "off the grid" and never trust grocery store food again.  You have been warned. 

This wonderful, educational book, coupled with the horror documentary Food, Inc....

...and in addition to some of my own independent research has led to a change in thinking about food.  The food available to consumers to buy and the food that my family consumes. 

The conclusion that I have reached is we must "Vote with our food dollars" as Pollan says in his book and choose foods that are better for us.  I no longer find the general produce, poultry, and meats available in our local supermarket sufficient and I, the cheapest, err... thriftiest person around, am willing to pay more for a better product as that product is so important to the health of my family and especially my baby's - who is hurtling full steam ahead towards solids - delicate system and rapidly growing body.

Honestly, the aforementioned items are too important and in-depth to efficiently summarize here, but what it boils down to is the food industry is just that, industrialized.  We have eradicated small farming in favor of mega-farms which mass-produce cheaper, crappier products.  This has resulted in major economical, social, and health ramifications.  In our society cost is the bottom line, not quality.  And that is a scary thing when we're talking about the vitamins and nutrients that keep us alive and thriving. 

Now, I am a cheap person.  I'm always looking for a way to cut costs and do/get things for a cheaper price.  Why pay more when you don't have to? is pretty much my motto.  But there is a delicate balance between cost and quality.  It's not worth paying less for an item if it's severely lacking in quality.  And based on my reading, and watching, and researching we have been spending our money on far inferior products and I'm not willing to do it anymore.  Not only are the products inferior, but I'll go as far as saying that the products we have been ingesting may even be dangerous to our health.  I am not willing to compromise on the food that I put into my baby's body, so why should I compromise on what my husband or I am eating?  This is the question that has lead to a few changes around here as well as some changes I am planning to make in the near future. 

First, I am doing my best to make processed foods at home.  I already do a lot of cooking at home, but I am planning to start making all of our bread products.  I want to know what goes into our processed foods and have control over the ingredients.  It is possible to buy high-quality breads at the store, but they are fairly expensive (like 3-4 times more expensive than store brand whole-wheat sandwich bread that we usually buy) and this is a place where I have the ability to save some money and I enjoy making bread.  Win - win. 

Second, I am going to begin reducing/eliminating the use of some staples in my baking and cooking. 

     - White refined sugar will be replaced by sucanat, which is an organic whole cane sugar that is unrefined, naturally evaporated, and minimally processed in such a manner that it preserves all the vitamins and minerals.

     - White flour will be replaced by whole-wheat and spelt flours.  I usually bake with at least half white AP flour, half whole-wheat flour, but I'm going to try to cut back even further or completely eliminate the white flour.  In addition, I'm going to try some grain soaking techniques to make the grains easier for our bodies to digest and extract nutrients from.

     - Canola/Vegetable oils will be replaced with olive oil (for cooking) and coconut oil (for baking).  Canola and vegetable oils are not naturally occurring while olive and coconut oils are.  I already use olive oil for cooking, but coconut oil is new to me.

     - Margarine will be replaced by butter.  Margarine is essentially solid, colored, spreadable vegetable oil.  Butter is better for you and tastier.  I already use butter exclusively for baking I just need to use it for cooking and spreading.

Additionally:

     - I want to start purchasing organic produce according to the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 breakdown.

     - I'm going to avoid all processed foods as well as anything with high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, or any derivative of such. 

     - I want to start purchasing local free range eggs and chicken and grass-fed beef.  This is likely something that will happen a little further down the road after we have already made some changes.

     - We are going to start eating locally as often as possible.  This is easy to accomplish in Ohio during the Late Spring/Summer/Early Fall as there are a plethora of farmer's markets all over the place.  There's nothing better than fresh, vine-ripened produce farmed with mindful techniques.  The taste puts imported grocery-store produce to shame and the prices are comparable since you are buying directly from the source.  Also, you have the benefit of being able to speak directly with the farmer who picked your produce for questions and tips, not to mention that produce was picked recently as in yesterday or a few days ago.  And the person selling you the product can answer this question because they were likely there when it happened.  To find farmer's markets in your area visit LocalHarvest.org.  Next year, I hope to talk Mark into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share.

So, that's my plan for improving the health of my family through the food we consume.  Yes, these changes are going to cost more money, but in my opinion, that money will be well spent and that says a lot coming from me. 

Tomorrow, I'll share what I purchased on my first Farmer's Market excursion and what I made with my purchases!