muddy day at the farm

We have been enjoying weekly trips to the u-pick farm down the road from our house. There are so many good things about visiting the farm: enjoying time outside in a beautiful setting, acquiring the experience of harvesting our own food, gaining the health benefits of eating such fresh veggies, and being able to support local business and agriculture.

Riggs loves to sit on the ground and run

his fingers through the dirt while I pick the veggies

It was very muddy on the path between the fields and

poor Riggs tripped over the uneven ground and fell right into

a large mud-puddle. you would think he would have enjoyed

getting a little dirty, but he was not impressed.

After we had paid for our harvest we stripped him down

in the bed of the truck and he had fun pretending to be a puppy

in Tutka's kennel. So silly!

Another benefit of visiting the farm?

It just wears Riggs out!

He lounged on the airbed (still up from visiting family)

for most of the afternoon and early evening.

eye-opener

*The topic I am posting about today could have material that is offensive or judgmental to some people, and I just want to state that it is not meant to be at all.  This is just our experience and opinion and is in no way a judgement of other peoples choices.

the scene of the "crime"

We had quite the eye-opening experience this past weekend.  We purchased a new bed from Costco, a king size memory foam style mattress made in the USA.  It had a very strong odor when we pulled it out of the box, but we thought at first it might be because of how it had been folded and compacted into the box it cam in.  We slept in the other room on our old bed for about six days while the new mattress was airing out in our bedroom.  Finally on Friday we thought it had aired out enough and that we might be able to sleep on it.  So we made it up and all piled in - to our delight it was very, very comfortable.  But Steve was a little annoyed because the smell was still present, just not quite as strong.

In the morning, Riggs woke us up screaming at about 5:50am, which is completely unusual for him.  He didn't want to nurse at all, and his little cry sounded hoarse, as if his throat was raw and sore.  Steve had a headache and a stuffy nose, I had a sore throat and all I could think was, Oh no, everyone is getting sick!  We all got up and started to go about our day.  Riggs took a long nap (on the new mattress), but when he woke up, he sounded even worse.  His voice just sounded horrible, and he wasn't really vocalizing as much, probably because his throat hurt!  I checked to see if he had a fever, but luckily he didn't.  And he seemed to be acting completely normal other than that.

That night, as we were getting in bed, Steve mentioned that the mattress was smelling pretty strong.  We felt pretty uneasy about sleeping in there, and my head was starting to pound from the strong odor.  I decided to do a google search to see if others had noticed this with memory foam mattresses or with this brand in particular.  What we found was pretty horrifying (and we moved right away to our old bed to sleep for that night).

Studies had been done that showed memory foam mattresses were known to emit as many as 61 different toxic chemicals, many of which are known to cause health symptoms!  The glues and foam needed to make the mattress are all toxic, and because foam is more flammable it requires even more flame retardant than innerspring mattresses.  Formaldehyde is one of the toxic chemicals found in these mattresses, as well as polyurethane, a type of plastic that produces chemicals called VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which outgas into the air.  And although VOC's decrease over time as they outgas, the chemicals sprayed on mattresses for fire retardant only increase their toxicity over time (this is true for innerspring mattresses as well).

The EPC has a page on their website which provides some information about formaldehyde being used in household products.  Here's just a snippet, "It has also been shown to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans.  Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; severe allergic reactions. May cause cancer."  The EPC also has a page dedicated to VOCs on their website, which describes in detail the toxic quality of these compounds.  "Many organic compounds are known to cause cancer in animals; some are suspected of causing, or are known to cause, cancer in humans."  And here is some information about the toxicity of fire retardants that are being heavily sprayed on all mattresses sold in the United States (other than those that use wool as a natural fire retardant).  

So my big question is, why are these products being sold without at least some sort of warning label on them about these chemicals which are known to cause cancer?  Thousands of people have reported sore throat, fatigue, chronic headache, bloody nose, swollen red and itchy eyes, and even heart attack-like symptoms just days after purchasing and using memory foam products, like mattresses, toppers and pillows.  How scary!  Steve and I both firmly believe that this is what caused all of our symptoms, as  after returning the mattress yesterday, we are now feeling just fine (including Riggs, whose hoarseness is almost completely gone today).

What frustrates me the most, is the prevalence of all these toxic chemicals in things we are using everyday and the digging we have to do to even find out about it!  It is so irritating and makes me feel uncomfortable bringing anything into the house unless I know, without a doubt, how it was made and what it was made with.  I guess this is just another reason to buy local and handmade items, which is a good thing, but it just saddens me to think of all the people using toxic items out there without having any clue.

We're a bit sad about returning the mattress - it was great to sleep in a king bed for a day as far as size and space goes.  But I guess we'll be saving up our money to buy a safer option, which isn't too bad really.  And we will definitely be purchasing a wool mattress topper for our queen bed, because I found (in my late night "research") that the more inches you put between your bodies and the toxic mattress, the better as far as getting away from the chemicals.

in the kitchen

Today I spent four hours in the kitchen.  I have been enjoying food so much lately, especially learning to cook with some foods that are very new to me.  We have decided to start Riggs out both gluten and dairy free, not because of any known allergies or intolerances, but because it is so much easier on his little digestive system.  Let me explain...

I've been learning so much lately about food and how it reacts with our bodies, for good or for bad.  For example, I love milk and just like the rest of America have been led to believe it is a very healthy choice, especially for kids.  Yet lately I have been reading more and more about how milk isn't actually good for humans, especially for kids.  Research has shown that cows milk actually depletes calcium from our bones and makes fractures more likely (if you're interested, consider reading this article about it, or this or this).  I have been drinking organic milk now for nearly ten years, and I know that it's at least better than drinking non-organic (other than local milk, like Matanuska Creamery) and despite what I've learned, at this point, I am still drinking cow's milk.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to quit cow's milk cold turkey, but I have been slowly eliminating more and more dairy out of my diet, and am pretty happy with my progress. To be honest, I don't really ever see myself as completely dairy free, instead my goal is cut out like 90% of the dairy that I eat now.

nutrition facts on the coconut yogurt I used

Like I said before, we have decided to start Riggs off pretty much dairy free.  What I'm not doing is replacing all cow milk products with soy.  There's probably more soy-related health problems than dairy, they just don't manifest in the same way (here's some info on the problem with soy: here, here, and here).  For now, we are going with coconut products.  This includes organic, full fat, no sugar added, plain flavored coconut milk and yogurt, as well as organic virgin coconut oil (we use this for cooking and for skin problems).  Coconut products are high in fat, but it's good fat that helps to support brain development.  The fats found in coconut products are called medium chain fats or medium chain triglycerides, and they are the same types of fats found in human breastmilk. (here is some information, and here is some more).    

I planned on making most of the baby food that Riggs would eat, but now it's even more important, since they don't really make little packets with coconut yogurt and fruit.  So today I made the first official batch of food for him, from some coconut milk, yogurt, oil, and some organic blueberries and strawberries.  It turned out really well, and he seemed to love it!

I also started some bread for tomorrow night and made a German Chocolate cake for Steve.  Then I made dinner, Creamy Avocado Pasta, which turned out amazing, in case you were wondering.  Overall it was a great day spent mostly in the kitchen, it was almost therapeutic really.  Four hours with busy hands, listening to KSKA and the occasional babbles from Riggs, and just thinking about whatever came to mind while I was working.  Great way to spend a windy Wednesday, if you ask me.

Oh and PS - yes, I realize the irony of including pictures of German Chocolate cake in a post about healthy eating...but Steve has been begging me for some for months and I was in a baking mood.  And if you were wonder, the little slice I had was so incredibly delicious.

sneaky reading

Lately I have been in the mood to do two things, read and crochet.  Unfortunately, you can't do those two things at once...or can you?  Thanks to Audible, I have been able to for the last couple of days, in little snippets of time when I can focus at least 85% of my attention on what I'm doing, and it has been very, very nice.  I am still distracted quite a bit, since anywhere that Riggs is seems to be the place to be for Tutka as well.  

see what I mean?

Riggs is like, "What is this big hairy thing doing on my blanket?"

Despite the interruptions and distractions, I have managed to "read" Simplicity Parenting:  Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids, by Kim John Payne.  I have to tell you, this is an amazing book.  I highly recommend it to anyone who has kids (of any age) or plans on having kids at some point in the near future.

I've kept a notebook nearby as I'm listening, because there have been many sentences and thoughts that especially stood out to me that I wanted to write down and remember.  I wanted to share them on my blog, not only so that readers can enjoy them and maybe be inspired to read (or listen to) the book, but also so that I have them recorded somewhere to help me remember the principles or main ideas of the book.  I'll warn you know they are somewhat random, and are just ideas that I found interesting, and I am in no way suggesting they represent the perfect way to raise children.  So anyway, here you go:

"You can see what a family holds dear from the pattern of their every day lives."

"Will our love and kindness give them [our children] the grace they need to grow?"

"...the sanctity of childhood had been breached, adult life was flooding in unchecked.  Privy to their parents fears, drives, ambitions and the very fast pace of their lives, the children were busy trying to construct their own boundaries, their own level of safety..."

"Our society, with its pressures of too much, is waging an undeclared war on childhood..."

"ADD, or attention deficit disorder, in my opinion should be called API, attention priority issue..."

"Americans consume 80% of the worlds Ritalin..."

"Imagine your home as a place where time passes a little slower..."

"When your child seems to deserve affection least is when they need it most."

The book gives you so much to think about and digest, and I think it is addressing something we all know, deep inside, that we need to be watchful of in our own lives, at least I know that I do.  Dr. Payne used the analogy of the frog in 'frying pan':  Research has been done that has proven that if a live frog is dumped into a pot of boiling hot water, it will try very hard to jump out.  But if it is put into a pot of room temperature water, and then heated slowly to a boiling point, it will not notice and therefore not try to escape the water until it is too late.  Although morbid, this really stood out to me as the course our Society could be on.  As we add more and more and more and more to our plates, it sometimes seems that we will not stop until it is too late and we have consumed everything and destroyed the things in this life that really matter.  Not only will simplifying our lives help our children to be "calmer, happier, and more secure", but it will put much less strain on the environment, which we are already pushing to its limits.  From a Biblical perspective, God gave us dominion over the earth not to destroy it, but to care for it.  "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" Genesis 2:15 ESV.

If you have read this book, give me your thoughts...if not, what do you think of the little bits I have included here?  Is it something you would be interested in reading?  Please consider it, I have enjoyed it and will definitely read it again in the future.  

artificial food

fresh food - homegrown broccoli plant

minimally processed food - homemade whole wheat bread 

ultra-processed food

Below is an article I found while perusing the web today, which I felt merited sharing on my blog. I have copied this from the website, Fooducate.

New Food Definitions

In “The Big Issue is Ultra-processing. There is No Such Thing as a Healthy Ultra-Processed Product,” Dr. Carlos Monteiro makes a distinction among three types of food:

The first type is fresh food, such as the cauliflower at the farmer’s market.  Fresh food is generally rich in nutrients and low in calories, and we can accurately call this type of food “natural.”

The second type is minimally processed food, such as a cake’s basic ingredients—salt, sugar, and flour.  We can’t call these foods “natural,” because they have undergone a certain amount of processing to meet our demands.  On the other hand, the processing is not harmful because it doesn’t change the basic nature of these foods.

Whether a salt is processed mechanically with trace elements removed and iodine added or by hand with trace elements intact, it remains salt—a product we use to enhance the flavor of other foods.

More importantly, minimally processed foods, whether unrefined (whole wheat flour) or refined (white flour) do not threaten our health when eaten in appropriate, moderate, and reasonable amounts for our individual bodies.  This last condition is important.  Each of us has different tolerances and react differently to foods.  However, generally speaking, eating any food in excess is likely to be harmful to health, no matter what it is.

The third type is ultra-processed food. Monteiro describes these as “ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat ‘fast’ dishes, snacks and drink.” He says that they are made from “cheap or degraded ingredients,” and are low in nutrients, high in calories, and full of fat, sugar, and/or salt.

Ultra-processed foods, then, are artificial foods, created through chemical additives and the additional processing of fresh and minimally processed foods.  Manufacturers of these foods have distorted healthful ingredients to the point that they no longer have healthy benefits.

In fact, Monteiro counters any health claims made by manufacturers for ultra-processed food: “Manipulation of the formulation to reduce any of their ingredients, or to add synthetic nutrients, does not change their basic nature.”

These are the processed foods that are bad for us individually and globally, healthwise and socially. Monteiro says that they contribute to obesity and thus health problems, undermine traditional food systems, and undercut regional and national food identities.

This whole issue of food is something that has been very important to Steve and I, and only seems more important now that we have a baby on the way.  We want to limit the amount of ultra-processed or artificial foods, that we eat.  This is something that, undeniably, takes a lot of time and discipline to do.  But every time I make something from minimally processed foods rather than just grabbing the ultra-processed version on the shelf I feel a sense of accomplishment and pleasure from taking the time to be a good steward of the body I've been given.  

This weekend one of those things I decided to make rather than buy was polenta.  It turned out wonderful, and I was once again shocked at how easy it was to "make" this dish rather than buy it.  Things like polenta and pizza crust used to be items I viewed as minimally processed themselves, because they seemed to me just one ingredient in the entire meal I was making.  The more I learn the more I strive to get the foods I'm eating down to the least ingredients and minimal processing possible.

There are some ultra-processed foods I know I will never be able to cut out of my diet, cereal being the one that is foremost in my mind (I'm sure there are many others, I just can't think of them right now).  But I do try to be very diligent in reading the ingredients, and I try to buy things with the least artificial ingredients possible.  Things I really tend to look for are artificial sweeteners and food colorings.  I would much rather eat sugar than high fructose corn syrup or aspartame.  I don't want to condemn the eating habits or choices of others, just to make a marked effort for myself and my family to eat things that are better for our bodies.  So that is what is on my mind today, hope you are all having a wonderful Monday afternoon!  

Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm Fall Festival

It is amazing how beautiful fall is each year.  I always remember that I love fall, but I don't think I ever really do it justice in my memories.  Colors seem more vivid and beautifully contrast against the crisp blue skies.  My favorite color contrast of fall is how the trunks of the trees seem to darken and appear almost black, a stark contrast for the orange and yellow leaves.

The mountains seem to stand out more and maybe appear taller and more real, I can't take them for granted like I seem to do during the summer. The air is clean and snappy, and although this is probably all in my imagination, breathing it in seems to feel better - it always brings a smile to my face.

I love being layered in cozy clothes - cardigans, sweaters and warm fuzzy Uggs.  I think it is during the fall season that I really enjoy the sunshine the most, it is not too hot, yet I can still feel its warmth on my face.

Fall is also the beginning of the holiday season, which is, by far, my most favorite time of year.  I love seeing all of the fall decorations up around town - hay bales, pumpkins, and fall themed 'Welcome' signs.  Time passes quickly, soon it will be Halloween, then Thanksgiving and from then on it's just pure joy and excitement for me. I always put up my Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving (or as soon as possible if we go to Homer).

With little Riggs coming this year, it just seems to make this time even more exciting and special.  My usual countdown to Christmas is also a countdown to when my boy will be born!  How much more exciting can it get?

Kelsey, the boys, and I headed out to Palmer last Saturday for the Fall Festival at Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm, the largest U-pick farm in Alaska.  It was an amazing experience!  We got to grab a wagon and some bags and headed out into the fields to pick the veggies that we wanted to take home with us.  The boys loved it, and I admit there is something so circular and cozy about bending over in the field, working hard to harvest the veggies I would later be eating at home with Steve.  What a great learning experience for the boys about sustainability and the importance of knowing where your food comes from.

Kelsey and I thought it would probably be even nicer to go on less crowded day, but we still had a blast.  The beautiful weather was the icing on the cake, and we all went home happy with the fruits of our labor.

Noah with all the u-pickers behind him in the fields

Kesley and her (youngest) boy

harvesting some peas

Farmer Corbin

Farmer Noah

Shelling the peas at home

In other news, I've been crocheting away at projects for Riggs, here is one that's nearly finished

and one last funny one...hey at least they admit it!

life without plastic...and other random things

With a new baby on the way, Steve and I are really trying to make some choices now that will impact our child's life right from the beginning for the better.  One thing we feel pretty strongly about it choosing to raise baby with the least plastic possible.  Mostly, we are concerned about plastic dishes, spoons, forks, cups, etc.  Although most plastics now are BPA free, we still know that there are other ways for plastic to leech into our foods.  We have no idea exactly what chemicals are put into plastics, and many of the chemicals we do know are in plastics make them very hard to recycle (here's an blog post about just another plastic scare).  Plus, we try not to microwave very often, and when we do it is NEVER in plastic, so there's not really any point to storing things in plastic anyway.

Currently we use a variety of glass bowls for our leftovers, but since I plan on making my own baby food, we will undoubtedly need more.  I am planning on purchasing this set from Amazon at some point in the near future.

 

These storage containers are made in the USA (really important too) and their plastic lids are BPA free and don't really come in contact with the food.  

I am not adverse to the idea of feeding baby out of glass, but once they are feeding themselves and have a greater chance of knocking the glass off the table, I would like to avoid things like glass shards in our feet (from crawling toddlers, to pets, to us adults, to running nephews, the likelihood would be high that there would be some sort of incident).  So something else I've been thinking about is wood for when baby is older.

 <- This is a really cool website with plenty of products for eco-minded moms and dads.  I found some great items I would love to purchase here and thought I'd share!

    



I also found an amazing website with too many wonderful things to list for baby and child.
 <- SO many cool things here!

   
I guess I'm done for now, I could just keep adding and adding and adding things!  GO VISIT THIS WEBSITE! lol done now :)