Contributors

Rach

I'm daughter to Lissie, sister to Jess, wife to Brien, mom to Hannah, Lily and Eleanor. I am a stay at home mom to my girls, and my free time is dedicated to gardening (I confess I'm still a novice and look to Lissie and Jess for advice), baking and cooking, and card making. I'm doing my part to make the earth a bit greener, trying hard to avoid processed foods and HFCS, and find the "slow food" movement intriguing and inspiring. I love visits to my local farmers' market, fresh produce, reading, getting out in nature, and spending time with my family.

Jess

Catholic, homeschooler, lover of books and great wine and an amateur gardening addict.

Lissie

I'm Melissa aka "Lissie", mother of Rachael and Jessica, and grandmother to a passel of the sweetest children on the planet. I'm a semi-retired public educator and professor who works from home for a small publisher. I am a lover of all things beautiful ... flowers, the mountains, nature scenes, the innocent faces of children, and my rock and fossil collection, to name a few. I enjoy shopping at the farmers' market for fresh foods and then experimenting with new recipes. Good food and good wine delight me. I love to travel so my suitcase is always packed. Like my daughters, I take pleasure in simple things ... clothes drying on the line, tomatoes so fresh they are still hot from the sun, good books, and interesting movies. I'd like to know everything before I die.
An Introduction of Sorts

I feel as if I'm taking over Jessie's blog! You see, Jess, Lissie and I are all very anxious about our environment and our effect on it. We are interested in sustainable agriculture, buying local and organic and feeding our families wholesome, healthful meals.

Jessie had begun this blog as a way to document her ideas, her gardening, anything that didn't quite fit with Tangential Thoughts. This morning, while we were chatting, she decided we needed to document our family's journey into the world of food and more. She decided (and I agreed) a blog would be a lovely place for us to post our favorite family recipes as well as new ones we come across that look yummy.

I have been striving towards simplicity in our foods and food choices. I have long thought organics are a much better choice for my family for many reasons. Yes, they are more expensive, however, they are produced without the use pesticides, often on smaller, family-run farms. Ukrop's provides me with local organic produce whenever possible. I prefer organic dairy products and meats. I have long held that little girls are maturing and developing faster than ever because of all the hormones that are pumped into the cows. I may be full of nonsense, but, what if I'm not? Additionally, we don't need to ingest all the antibiotics that are pumped into the cattle, poultry and pork. Besides, organics just TASTE better! :o)

I also have a theory about all the preservatives and additives we're pumping into our children through all the processed foods available today. Our lives are SO busy we fall into the trap of purchasing items that are quick and convenient, whether it's fast food or pre-cut packaged apples. If we're going to homecook meals, they often come from boxes and cans. I wonder how much of this contributes to AD/HD, ADD and childhood obesity? I'm sure the research is out there, I just haven't found it yet.

I don't remember much of the cooking from my childhood coming from boxes and cans. We ate fresh produce from the garden and from our friends' and families' gardens. Mom and Papa both prepared food from scratch and, quite frankly, Jessie and I were quite trim and healthy children. I'm working toward more healthful cooking and eliminating HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and trans fats from our diet as well as processed foods. I want us to be healthy and happy together!


--Rach

 

2 comments:

Jess said...

I'm so glad you've joined me. :-)

Sarah said...

Considering how busy you are, it's amazing you can take the time to nurture yourself and your family this way. (I read your other blog.) I also am trying to move away from processed and packaged foods, but since I stay at home with my homeschooled children, taking the time for extra food preparation becomes part of their education and not so hard to fit into our day.

Keep up the good work!





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