Anyone need a kitchen makeover? I know I could use one! Here’s your chance!
Register for the “Great Food Find“, find the products from various organic companies put them in your “tote”. If your one of the first 50,000 entries, you’ll receive coupons! Then be entered to win a $15,000.00 new kitchen and food to fill it up!
Good Luck in the Stonyfield Organic Sweeps!
This was the first time I visited Organic Valley’s Website! Shame on me, right!?
We are all trying to keep our families happy and healthy, well Organic Valley will help. They have a fantastic website and even two apps for Apple devices (Organic Valley and Organic Moo Can), they are FREE and you can download them from Organic Valley’s Site! **Sorry, they don’t have it for Android at this time**
On this site you can Find your Farmer, Organic Valley Products, Recipes, Reason to Choose Organic Products, and more. Organic Valley’s website is full of wonderful information.
Head to the Tab “Community” – on the right you can a subscribe section. Enter your email and zip code. It will then take you to where you can sign up for newsletters and the “Farm Friends Welcome kit” – “The Kit contains Rootstock Magazine, a Kid’s Activity Booklet, a Go Organic! bumper sticker, and a booklet of useful Organic Valley coupons.” Sound good to me!
Head to Organic Valley and start your next organic journey!
Unbeknownst to me and perhaps to most of the world, last Thursday, April 19 was National Garlic Day and I came across this on Facebook via @Momversation…and she shared this video of how to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds. Pretty cool and fast!
Speaking of garlic…I need to order more for the fall…determined to get it planted this year!
You know you are a farmer when…….
you are excited to get a box of seed potatoes! 
I am always hesitant to read parenting books because after being a parent for so long you kind of get into your own groove. Our groove tends to be very different from most, as it should be because every family, every child and every parent is different. None of us are cookie cutter parents or we shouldn’t be! We each have to develop our own style of parenting that fits us as individuals and our children.
Book Reviews
You all know that I do a fair amount of book reviews, but I do not do a lot of parenting books. Guess they scare me! Ha! No seriously. When I was a young mom I tended to want to do what every good parenting book said but parenting just does not work like that. I gradually learned that we get ideas from other parents, books etc. but we tweak them to make it work for our individual family.
Food Fights
Food Fights is the book I mentioned at the beginning of the week and shared a juicy update about. It offers parenting tips on how to pick food battles, dealing with the mine fields of TV dinners, fast food, eating out, sick kids and so much more. This book is written by two pediatricians, Dr. Laura A. Jana and Dr. Jennifer Shu. I know how picky some children can be and thought this book would be a great one to share.
What I Liked
The facts they shared throughout the book were very interesting and helpful.
It has a beautiful cover of a darling baby.
Spoke out against feeding kids junk food, soda pop and sugary juices.
Encouragement to feed your children fresh fruits and veggies.
Supportive of breastfeeding.
They were concerned with childhood obesity, but our food system has a huge part in that! Read labels!
What I Didn’t LikeBeware I go into a tangent!
The book discourages breastfeeding your child at bedtime/naptime. This one gets me riled up! I have breastfed eight children for 1-3 years each and have breastfed them all to sleep at some point or another and it DOES NOT make them dependent. Babies and children are already dependent for pity sake! Arggggh……..’Nough said.
Ok, I realize this next one is a can of worms in certain circles – what kind of milk do you serve your children? Rhetorical no need to answer, however, have you ever heard of not feeding children over 2 whole milk, only skim? Hmmm…..that’s a new one to me. Raw milk is better, but even our family doesn’t buy raw milk because of the price. That’s why we need a cow!
Another myth the book advises against is drinking well water. Oh really? I grew up in the country and that is the only water we had and I am fine (ok that’s debatable sometimes! Ha!) as are my parents, my sisters and all those that lived around us. Since moving to a rural area we now drink well water. Ummmm….so far none of us are any worse for doing so, but the authors claimed it was dangerous to drink well water. Did you know that Chlorine and Fluoride are NOT good for you and that they are chemicals? Just do a little research and you’ll learn ALOT.
The last two items are certainly personal choice but ones I happen to disagree with. First one, you shouldn’t make your children eat if they don’t want to both hunger wise and what you serve them. I understand and agree that if they are referring to not being hungry, but not when it comes to what is being served. We are a family of ten and neither my daughters, who now cook, nor I will make ten different meals. That is ridiculous. Therefore, our kids are required to eat whatever they are served. Period. If they really dislike it then they are required to eat bites according to their age. For example: If our four year old did not like what was for dinner he would be required to eat four bites, our six year old would need to eat six bites and so on.
The book has merit and will be helpful to those parents searching for a solution to “food fights”.
Enter to Win!
If you are interested in owning a copy we are hosting a giveaway and I will mail you your copy in a 2-3 of weeks, whenever I close the giveaway. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. Thanks!
Remember when I told you about KIWI Magazine’s New Allergy – Friendly Cookbook?
Why not try and win it first? When I read the rules they are only giving away 3, but hey you never know! Hurry because the contest ends on April 13th, which is tomorrow! Log onto Facebook – here’s the direct link!
https://www.facebook.com/KIWIMagazine/app_208195102528120
Mysterious (or should I say juicy? ;)) blog title, eh? Here are a couple excerpt from an upcoming book review and giveaway….
A Juicy Update
The answer to whether or not young children should be allowed to drink juice on a regular basis has been a bit of a sticky one for years. After all, the fight against childhood obesity has most definitely included a focus on limiting sugary liquids. And juice—whether it is delivered in a box or carton, sippy cup or straw—most definitely contains sugar. In fact, when we set out to write the first edition of Food Fights, the latest research at the time had us all but convinced that fruit juice was almost as much to blame for childhood obesity (not to mention tooth decay) as soda pop. Sugar was sugar, after all, and it was hard to look past the fact that a 12-ounce serving of 100% grape juice had been shown to have 11/2 times the calories as grape soda. Additionally, a few small initial studies suggested a worrisome connection between obesity in young children and their fruit juice consumption. But unlike soda pop and its utter lack of redeeming nutritional qualities, 100% fruit juice has since proven itself significantly more worthy of further nutritional consideration. Several subsequent large national studies have revealed some interesting findings about kids, juice, nutrition, and obesity, not the least of which has been the lack of an association between drinking 100% fruit juice and an increased likelihood of children being or becoming overweight. These new findings have led us to reassess our take on juice, and to reformulate our own juice-related advice for parents accordingly.
A Convenient Juice Box
If and when you plan on incorporating juice into your child’s diet responsibly,we suggest the following approach:
• Make sure it’s pure fruit juice. Fruit drinks that aren’t 100% juice typically
contain added sugars and/or sweeteners that can up both the cavity and
calorie counts.
• Hold off on introducing your child to juice for at least his first year and
refrain from serving it in a bottle.
• Avoid letting your child sip on juice (or any other sugar-containing liquid,
for that matter) for prolonged periods. Whether by bottle, sippy cup, or
cup, bathing one’s teeth in sugary liquids can cause serious tooth decay.
• Consider diluting it with water.
• Encourage your child to eat fresh, whole fruits whenever available.
• Whenever possible, serve juice that contains pulp for added fiber.
• Make sure juice doesn’t entirely drown out your child’s interest in drinking
milk and water.
• Buy only pasteurized products (shelf-stable juices, frozen concentrates,
or specially marked refrigerated juices) to avoid potential diarrhea-causing
infections.
• While the American Academy of Pediatrics does suggest 100% fruit juice
as an acceptable part of a healthy diet, be aware that it’s wise to offer it in
age-appropriate moderation (none under 6 months of age and no more
than 4 to 6 ounces a day for older infants and children).
• Keep an eye out for warning signs of excessive juice intake, such as tooth
decay and “toddler’s diarrhea.” Not only do young kids tend to suck on
sugary liquids for prolonged periods when allowed, thus putting their newly
acquired teeth at considerable risk., but kids
between the ages of 2 and 3 tend to have the highest juice consumption—
in some instances enough to cause persistent diarrhea.
Come back Friday to learn more about the book and giveaway!
Love this poem by Rachael Brown Lee. One little paragraph about beer was edited out due to my personal preferences since I do not drink alcohol, nor do I promote it.
A Note to My Politicians
Hear me now:
Your pursuit for safety is as false as your concern for our health.
While you shake hands and lie in bed with chemical producers
and drug distributors
you cry out in the name of food safety,
to pasteurize, bleach, boil, package and inject
everything which passes our lips.
You can’t serve it raw
because it is too dirty and dead.
You have never worked in real soil.
You have never washed earth off your food before preparing it.
You have never shaken sleepy bees from dewy blooms early in the day.
You are afraid of people who eat from their garden,
because their minds
are still their own.
Subsidize.
Pasteurize.
Sanitize.
Kill the small farmer.
Then sell us drugs
and flu shots.
Give us antidepressants.
Tell us to wear sunscreen and never go out into the sun.
Eat from a bag
or box
that’s sealed and clean.
No I won’t vote for this.
I have cast a different ballot,
and it is waiting at the end of my fork,
seared rare,
and dripping with unpasteurized cream sauce.
My hens will continue to lay warm eggs right into my fry pan
without your permission first.
I will give what little is left of the diminishing American dollar to my neighbor
in exchange for pastured pork
and raw milk.
I will spend time collecting seeds.
I will use butter liberally.
I will go out in the morning to harvest.
I will not drink your corn syrup.
I do not want your sterilized meat.
I don’t want your drive-thrus and chains.
In the name of all that is patriotic,
I will drink milk straight from the happy cow.
Keep your red #40,
your food safety modernization act,
your myths.
Smoke your cigars and drink your scotch.
Sign your papers.
Legislate.
Your “safe” food
is a life lived behind bars.
If this is safety
keep it.
What you need
is some real food
my dear,
fear ridden
politician.
What you need
you will find
in raw milk cheddar
melted over homemade sourdough.
You will find peace
in slow roasted root vegetables,
dipping your crisp
thick-cut
pastured bacon
into your poached fresh egg.
Slurp a raw oyster
fresh from the sea.
Pass the butter.
Smell the herbs.
Drizzle the honey.
Break the bread.
I welcome you
to my renegade table,
my hungry politician.
But be prepared
to become
blinded
by the light.
Rachael Brown Lee
We tend to eat a lot of soups and casseroles during cooler days and we’ve had some cooler weather the past couple of weeks. My husband found frost on the car yesterday morning! We have been working on cleaning up the garage in anticipation for our turkeys arrival on the 18th, so the car has had to sit in the driveway. Gotta finish this project this weekend!
The other night we made barley soup with Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock. It comes in a package of four little cups, each cup yielding about 3.5 cups of stock. We used all of them for our big stock pot of soup. It was tasty and seriously you could not tell it was packaged chicken stock, but I couldn’t imagine using less than we did. We usually use powdered chicken seasoning to make our chicken stock.
The packaging got thrown out before I could make note of the ingredients so I cannot verify if all of them were on our “good” list and Knorr’s website does not seem to list them, which is disappointing. There is no MSG though, so that is a plus! I know I read them when I received the package but am suffering a memory lapse. I had to look them up on another site:
Water, Salt, Modified Palm Oil, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Sugar, Carrots, Chicken Fat (Adds A Dietarily Insignificant Amount of Cholesterol), Lactic Acid, Leeks, Maltodextrin (Corn), Xanthan Gum, Potato Starch, Garlic, Chicken Powder (Adds A Dietarily Insignificant Amount of Cholesterol), Beta Carotene (For Color), Parsley, Locust Bean Gum, Malic Acid, Thiamin Hydrochloride, Natural Flavor, Disodium Phosphate, Ascorbic Acid, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Caramel Color, Succinic Acid, Spice, Mustard Oil, Coconut Oil
Not so bad, but Caramel Color, Natural Flavor and can mean many things and may mean hidden ingredients, including MSG, unfortunately. 
This is why we need an overhaul done in food labeling!
And I thought we had leftovers so I could take a photo, but it must have been gobbled up because there’s not a bit left. As long as the ingredients are ok, I would probably recommend this product for smaller families. Bulk chicken seasoning is more economical and will last longer for larger families, as this little package is $3.99.
Visit Knorr’s website for more information about their chicken flavored Homestyle Stock.
Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.
In my online travels, I found Pasta Prima on Facebook. I went to Pasta Prima’s site and was very excited about my finds! My house LOVES pasta, so finding this brand was a huge plus for me. According to Pasta Prima’s site they are 100% natural and they are a Green Company! LOVE IT!
To make it better! On Pasta Prima’s Facebook site they have a giveaway! 5,000 people will get coupons for FREE Pasta Prima Ravioli! They sweepstakes ends April 20th. Once you submit your information, you get a $1.50 coupon!
