My baby steps toward health
By Heather Ledeboer | Category: Healthy Living, The Journey of Motherhood
Three years ago I stared taking baby steps toward making intentional improvements in our home for my families’ health.
First step: change the skin care products that we use. It was after reading this Mom 4 Life guest post about skin care that I decided to make some changes in what I purchased and used in our home. I had no idea how porous our skin was and how many common skin care brands had questionable ingredients.
Second step: use less plastic. I became aware of the dangers of BPA and Phthalates in plastics and decided to start using them as little as possible and instead opt for glass or stainless steel whenever possible. Along the way I started looking for and using products that were reusable and eco-friendly.
Third step: Investigate raw milk. I was interested in learning more about the benefits of raw milk and ways I could use it to make butter, buttermilk, yogurt, and ice cream.
Fourth step: help my kids eat healthier. I started playing around with sneaking in extra protein in the everyday foods my kids eat.
Fifth step: drink more water and exercise regularly. I did great during our Get Fit, Have Fun: M4L Challenge but I admit, once I reached my goal weight after giving birth to Quinten, I haven’t been exercising so this is a step I am going back to.
Next step: for 2010 my goal is to incorporate eating a lot more whole grains, nuts and beans into our diet.
To do this:
-I have switched our pasta over to whole wheat pasta.
-We already prefer brown rice.
-I am trying out more whole wheat recipes for my breads. I already make homemade whole wheat yeast bread but it wasn’t 100% whole wheat so I am experimenting with some new recipes for that as well as breads such as banana bread.
-I am stocking up on several different kinds of beans and am going to experiment with different soup recipes. I am also cooking and pureeing white beans and freezing them in ice cube chunks. I have been adding several of these cubes to my sauces (i.e. spaghetti sauce, enchilada sauce) for an easy protein boost.
-Starting with raw almonds I am keeping nuts on hand for snacks and incorporating them in breads, hot cereals, etc.)
Extra credit;):
-I purchased a dry container for my Vita Mix at Costco in order to start grinding my own grains for flour. This is an extra step that I don’t think is “needed” but is one that I am interested in learning more about and excited to explore. I have found a local wheat supplier off of craigslist so that I can grind my own whole wheat flour (did you know that if you store wheat grains properly they can last for more than 10 years and that freshly ground flour has more nutrients?!)–it is also super inexpensive to get your flour this way!
I have another goal for 2010 that I will share in a future post. So what do you think? Have you had any of these steps yourself? Anyone want to join me in my new steps? I want to mention that I think it can be totally overwhelming to make lots of changes at once. For myself picking smaller, manageable things to focus on helps.
Wow, you’ve been busy!!
I would like to do all the things you’ve done. I’ve already started switching from plastic to stainless steel and would like to get more reusable stuff.
I grind my own wheat. I have a wheat grinder and it’s so easy to use, just really loud, lol. You can use dried corn, rice, dried peas, etc for those types of flours and use them in so many ways!!!
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Great plans! Have you ever tried ‘Prairie Gold’ from Wheat Montana? It’s not as heavy as regular hard red winter wheat and has a delicious flavor.
We’ve been inquiring around for raw milk down here. Where do you get yours? We still make our own yogurt from pasteurized (not homogenized) milk, but it would give me peace of mind to know where the milk came from.
On another note, I have to thank you for posting the story about your streaker. It had me laughing so hard. Funny guy!
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Amanda, I haven’t tried the Prairie Gold, this wheat will be the first I try. It is called Hard White Wheat if I remember right and is not as heavy as the red as you mentioned as well. I get my milk from someone local to me who also attends our church (and he delivers it to us at church–handy!). If you want his contact info let me know as he may know of other milk men around;).
Glad you enjoyed the streaker story!
~Heather
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Heather,
We grind wheat flour from wheat my parents grow in Daisy. Let me know if you want some grain and I can probably get you some. My mom also has a very nice wheat grinder by BOSCH. Love that thing. I also put the wheat flour in my homemade soups and everthing. My kids love the “brown” bread. ;O)
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Regarding skin care – I make better decisions for my children than I do for myself, however, have been pondering the continuation of my business with a certain company because of all the petroleum based products. I try to get natural skin care products for my girls, though.
I have switched almost exclusively to natural household cleaning and laundering products.
Using less plastic – I am slowly incorporating more glass and stainless steel into the household. The plastic I do purchase must be BPA and phalate free, and any food I microwave is only in a glass or ceramic dish.
Raw milk – I actually grew up drinking raw milk and never suffered any ill effects. Friends of ours had milk cows and always had extra milk they kindly gave us in gallon pickle jars! I have made butter and whipped cream from the fresh cream that separates at the top!
Helping my kids eat healthier – if I had my way, there would be 75% or more less processed foods in the house, however, I am not the only one that does the grocery shopping =) Luckily, though, I do have control over most of what they eat. I used to think those books that help you “sneak” in healthy ingredients were just bad ways to get kids to eat their veggies. However, I have since decided that even if your child regularly eats his or her fruits and veggies, you can still make recipes healthier by replacing certain ingredients with healthier ones. Why not? I recently went on a 21 day Vegan diet through The Cancer Project and http://www.PCRM.org. Normally, I do eat meat, but I really did like the diet with menu plans for every meal of the week. Even meat eaters could use the menu plans to incorporate more fruits and vegetables, even if they wanted to use animal protein vs the soy-based protein in the diet. Also, the diet lists the nutritional info, but does not limit your intake, so it’s more of a lifestyle change than a traditional “diet.” They are starting another Vegan Kickstart in March, so anyone that’s interested should sign up (for free) by joining the online community at http://www.cancerproject.org/ and looking for the announcemnt about the kickstart in your e-mail inbox.
Drinking more water – I have to get back to this again! The M4L Challenge was great to keep me accountable. Now that my new running stroller is on its way, I will definitely have to drink my fill! Plus, I will finally be able to run with both the girls, and have more flexibility on exercise times!
I have a dry container for my Vitamix, but have not yet purchased any grain for it, though I’ve wanted to for years.
I would encourage anyone trying to make changes like this to check out http://www.healthychild.org – I’ve hosted a party before with their kit, and I think it’s a wonderful way to spread knowledge and awareness.
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