Thursday, December 22, 2016

New Christmas Traditions

For approximately the past four or five years, we've been doing Christmas based on the Wise men's gifts to the Baby Jesus.  We had some friends who had been doing Christmas like the Wise men for several years and I liked what I heard about it.  Gold is a gift that is special or precious to that person.  Frankincense is a gift for worship.  And Myrrh is a gift for the body.  The first year the kids were a bit unsure about the change.  They liked getting lots of stuff at Christmas.  I felt like it was too much and I was spending money on stuff that got tossed aside after a little while.  That made it seem even more expensive.  They felt like they were going to get gypped.  Our oldest was more accommodating than the younger ones.  However, after they opened their gifts that year, they started coming around.  They have enjoyed the past few years and even get excited about what they could be getting.  This change has helped with my shopping because it becomes more focused on something meaningful for each person rather than just getting something because its at a supposedly cheaper price on Black Friday.  I'm purchasing less trivial items.  Some of those years I've knitted a gift or two too. Plus the kids have become less materialistic.  That has made it all worthwhile!

This year we decided to add another new tradition.  I used to buy a gift for each child from their siblings.  This year we decided to have them draw a sibling's name.  The rule is that they have to make a gift for the person they drew.  They have been challenged and they have been excited!  It has added an element of time for me as I act as mentor and teacher for them.  They all came up with their own ideas of what they wanted to do and took great consideration of the person they drew.  Some are making gifts from the kitchen while others are crafting their gifts.  They have been trying hard to keep their secrets and some have been bluffing about who they drew!  What I find really hilarious is that one of them thinks they know who everyone drew!  I just asked her her last suspicions and they were wrong.  I'm trying to figure out if it is really what she thinks or if she's testing me.  I can't wait to see her expressions on Christmas morning!  They are all anxiously anticipating Christmas and hoping that their gift is special!  What do I like about this new tradition?  It is teaching them a skill that they will need in their future when money is tight.  Plus I think it is going to build memories and relationship.  Aside from celebrating the birth of Jesus, I think that these are some of the most important things about Christmas.

Is there an old or new tradition that is special to you?

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Why Did God Let Flies On The Ark?

I'm sure you've seen the cute signs and magnets that ask "Why Did God Let Flies On the Ark?"  I've always chuckled at them because let's be honest, flies are irritating.  And it is not just flies, but mosquitoes and other such bugs or insects.  However, after looking more at nature through the curriculum we are using, I realized something.  Flies actually do serve a purpose.

We use CNN Student News for our current events.  Today's episode talked about the decline of giraffe and frog populations.  The scientist in the segment takes recordings of the sounds of the geographical area he is researching.  He's able to tell if there is a decline in population just from the recordings and comparing them from one year to another year.  His research got me to thinking about how the decline of a species can be affected by changes in the environment and food sources.  What do frogs eat?  Insects.  He's seen a decrease in the frog population.  Hmm...  Is the environment changing?  Is there a change in the food source?  Or is there something else that is the cause of their decline?  I certainly don't know.  I'm sure he's trying to figure it out. Bats also eat insects.  Unfortunately, there is apparently a decline in bat population too.  But that is being attributed to a disease causing fungus and wind turbines.

Now I'm sure that I learned about this in school, but I never really took the time to think about it like this until today.  Maybe I can attribute this thought process to DC's Legends of Tommorrow and how one change in the time line of history affects everything and everyone else.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is this.  Although flies are irritating, they have a place in our ecosystem.  They are decomposers that take care of garbage and dead animals.  And it seems that they are helpful in the forensic field.  Plus they are food for bigger animals.  So as irritating as they can be, if they disappeared, it would leave a big, bad impact on our world.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Halloween Candy - Trick? Or Treat?

First of all, I need to say that I don't go all out for Halloween.  I don't decorate my house for Halloween.  I'd rather put the time and effort into Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.  But, we let the kids go trick-or-treating.  They enjoy dressing up and collecting candy.  I prefer to not spend money on costumes.  $30 minimum per costume is just too much for me to spend when the money could go to regular clothing that they need or other needs that are a higher priority.  So this year I told them that I wasn't spending any money on costumes.  They were going to have to be creative and use what we already had.  They liked the freedom I gave them to use their imagination and use what we had and get creative with it or use what they've worn before.

Then the candy to hand out?  That gets expensive too!  And that's just the junky conventional candy! 

Now, I need to say that I am not in the medical profession - conventional or naturopathic.  I have just taken time to learn as much as I can in the time that I have available to do so.  I have learned a lot from my IRL friend Sarah over at Real Food Outlaws.  The rest I've learned from my own researching and thinking and processing what I've read and heard.

We have spent the last two years (maybe three) changing the way we eat.  I had started noticing the news about TBHQ and other additives in our "food supply."  I watched documentaries about our food supply.  I stopped buying heavily processed foods and starting moving more towards whole foods.  I bought more Non-GMO and started adding some organic foods.  We can't afford to go completely organic right now, so I focus on the Dirty Dozen and try to buy them organic as much as possible.  The rest I try to get Non-GMO if I can.  I buy fresh as much as possible.  The only canned food I buy is tomatoes.   And coffee.  But not regular coffee, because caffeine is bad.  I now buy Swiss Water Decaffeinated coffee, which is decaffeinated without using chemicals.  It's actually really good!  And it doesn't always come canned.

We eat far less sugar than we did three years ago.  We've all been on a nutrition program with my friend Sarah who is not only a whole foods blogger, but an NRT and a Master Herbalist.  Our health has greatly improved!  I've lost weight.  Our kids who were diagnosed with asthma have not been on steroids for over two years now and have not had issues.  Our kids who have had severe food allergies are getting healthier and the allergies are decreasing!

So with all this progress, I dreaded going shopping for Halloween candy and put it off.  Until the day of Halloween.  Because our kids with the food allergies can't even eat most of the candies out there anyway.  I usually get them Enjoy Life chocolate bars or PASCHA due to their allergies.  With just conventional candy being so expensive, there is no way that I can afford to hand out non-GMO and organic candy right now, because that's even more expensive.  My son said, "Mom, get Reese's and Twix, because last time, all the kids were looking for Reese's and Twix and nobody had them."  Off I went, to read labels and make a decision of what we were going to hand out this year.

I walked in the door of Wal-Mart and right there to greet the procrastinating shopper was a row of Halloween candy.  I picked up a bag that had Reese's and read "Shea" in the ingredient list.  I didn't remember seeing shea butter on any of the Reese's products before except for the white chocolate products.  Shea is a tree nut and therefore I can't buy products with shea.  Then I saw TBHQ.  NO!  Yes.  Yes.  It was on the label.  Then I saw a new one I hadn't seen before.  PGPR. I didn't know what this new ingredient was, so grabbed some candy that didn't have TBHQ, but had PGPR.  Just about all of the chocolate candy had PGPR.  As soon as I got home, I started searching for what PGPR is.  This was the first thing I read about it.  For now, I'd almost say that PGPR is the lesser of the evil preservatives, but like I said above, I am not in the medical field and I am not in the science field.  I'm just a concerned wife, mother and consumer.  As I looked for more information on PGPR, I saw this article and this short and sweet article.  They seem to have the same thoughts that I do about changing our chocolate and adding synthetic preservatives.  This very informative post explains the chocolate making process in a nutshell and then goes on to talk about child labor and the issues caused by using synthetic additives.  The articles I've read say that TBHQ affects the immune system and can trigger allergies and contribute to ADHD and behavioral issues and excessive amounts of PGPR causes liver enlargement.

One of the things I've learned over the past year is that when the liver is affected, allergies become a problem and the immune system is compromised.  Now I'm going to try to explain this by using logic.  When the liver or any other organ in our body is affected, it becomes a weak link.  The other organs have to work harder to compensate for the weak link.  When an organ is under stress, it can't do its job effectively.  No other organ can replace the organ that is under stress and therefore cannot do the job of the organ under stress. Think about when you hurt an arm or a leg.  Your other appendages have to compensate for the weak limb.  The good appendages cannot really do the job of the weak limb.  Your mobility is compromised and your body doesn't function at it's prime.

Think about our bodies and what they are designed to eat.  Think back decades, maybe even centuries ago, long before industrialization.  What did our ancestors eat?  Meats, plants, nuts, seeds, unprocessed grains and some fruits.  Some cultures ate chocolate, but it was certainly not the chocolate that is available in the majority of stores today.  Sweets were made with pure sugar and other real ingredients.  Today, most companies are using additives and preservatives to save a buck and add to their profit.  The argument that the preservatives and additives keeps the food from spoiling is fallible in my opinion.  It may keep the food from spoiling, but at what cost?  It changes the food from its natural state.  It depletes any nutrition the food may have had in its natural state.  I think some of the additives create an addictive stimulus that make you crave that "food."  Our bodies are designed to breakdown and use the fuel from real food.  Processed food doesn't fuel our bodies like real food does.

After the trick-or-treating was done I started looking through their candy.   I pulled out a fun size Butterfinger, another former favorite, and saw that the label said, "No Artifical Flavors or Colors, Colors from Natural Sources."  At first I thought, "Great!  This is what we can hand out next year!"  But I wanted to make sure, so I checked the website for the ingredients list.  I'm sad to say that Butterfinger also has TBHQ.  Kit Kat, Mounds, Almond Joy and Twix have PGPR.  Snickers and 100 Grand bars do not have TBHQ or PGPR on the label.  I'm leaning towards handing out Snickers and 100 Grand bars next year along with Dum Dums and Nerds.  Plus, I try to have non-food items to hand out for those with food allergies.  When going through the candy the kids have collected, I swap out the candy that the kids with allergies can't have with something they can have.

I don't shop for these candies on a regular basis anymore.  After the changes we've made to our diet we've noticed that our palates have changed and we can taste the difference.  The foods that have chemicals, taste off to us now.

What about you?  Have you been paying attention to the way you eat?  Have you made any changes to improve your health?  Have you noticed all the chemicals in our foods today?  Has this post inspired you to make changes or do your own research?  With all of these additives and preservatives I'm leaning towards Halloween candy or conventional candy in general, being more of a trick than a treat.  It is my hope that you have found this informative and that it inspires you to pay more attention to the food you purchase for your family.