Sproutin'

Sprouts aren't just for the granola freaks.  Maybe you don't even know what a sprout is.  Well, sprouting is taking a seed, like a bean or wheat, soaking it overnight and letting it...well...sprout.  It turns into something that looks like this.


You may be wondering why in the world you should care about sprouts.  Well, they are insanely good for you.  Did you know that sprouting makes the bean or seed that you are sprouting 600 times more nutritious than if you were to eat it as the bean or seed?  Since a sprout comes from a bean or seed that has not been cooked, it also keeps all of it's natural enzymes, which are very good for our bodies.  For example, these enzymes are very beneficial for our digestive tract and colon health.  Sprouts are also very high in antioxidants.  Sprouts are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein as well.

These are all good reasons to sprout.  It's really easy too.  The sprouts can be used and eaten on sandwiches or salads.  I would tell you to put them in your smoothies, but I just can't.  I think it is disgusting and overpowers the smoothie.  Try it out yourself, but heed my warning.

If you are interested in sprouting, they sell trays that are very handy in the sprouting process.  If you don't want to spend the money on that, there are other, very simple ways to sprout out of a mason jar, or really any other type of container.  You can do a simple google search and find tons of information about what types of beans or seeds that you can sprout and why.  There is also tons of information on how to sprout.  This website tells you everything you need to know, but can also be a little wordy.  I know that in the research I have done, I have found that there are great mixes that you can buy to sprout.  I have bought mine from Bridgeport Farm and Gardens outside of Dallas.  These mixes make it a lot easier than buying a bunch of seperate seeds to sprout and will typically contain the most beneficial and popular sprouting seeds and/or beans.

Honestly, the only thing you need to know about sprouting is to soak the seeds or beans overnight, put them in something that is breathable, whether it be a sprouting tray or a mason jar with cloth over the top.  Rinse it 1-2 times a day, drain and let sit.  Keep out of direct light.  Eat them when they sprout.  Don't let them go too long or they will get bitter.  Put them in the fridge when they are done and they will keep about a week.  That's the extremely simple version.  You will learn through trial and error as you go.  You will figure out what works best for you and what you think tastes the best and all that.

Also, consider buying sprouted breads.  You can find these in health food stores.  The benefits are endless.  Did you know that unsprouted, cooked wheat can cause mucous congestion, allergic reactions and constipation?  If you suffer from these, I would definitely suggest you look into sprouted breads.  Wheat was definitely not meant for all of us and sprouted is much healthier for all.  Trader Joe's and Dave's Killer Bread makes a great sprouted bread.

I hope you consider sprouting.  I hope I start sprouting regularly again too, it's been way too long since I did it last.  Laziness...it's a epidemic.

Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1 and Green 3. Yummm...sounds delicious!

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of dyes in our food and cosmetics.  For good reason, I believe.  I'm just going to present some basic information on this in case some of you haven't ever heard about the dangers of these dyes.  Some of you will be very surprised at just how many things you consume that are dyed and the impact they may have on our health.

Citrus Red 2, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 are some of the most commonly used dyes.  All of these dyes are known to contain cancer-causing chemicals.  Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are known to trigger reactions in people with allergies.

Now, the FDA claims that they are aware that there could be potential dangers if someone were to ingest too much of one of these dyes, so they have put restrictions on them.  Big deal.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that these dyes are not GOOD for our bodies, no matter what the amount.  I personally think they are unnatural and harmful.  You can look at the research and draw your own conclusion.

A lot of the foods and products containing dye are pretty obvious.  It is mostly junk food, such as candy, gum, processed foods, artificially colored beverages, etc.  However, there are a few things that contain dyes that may surprise some of you.  Here are a few:

• Cereals
• Spaghetti sauce
• Orange peels...yep
• Medications
• Dairy products
• A lot of hygiene products
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Cured meats

There are probably many, many more.  Please share with us if you have more items that we should know about.  If you want to avoid dyes, read the labels or shop somewhere that doesn't sell this junk.  We try to avoid dyes as much as we can, but we are human and give in to our cravings sometimes.  Do your best, it's all you can do.

Every little thing we do.



I have days where I wonder why I should even unload that dishwasher one more time.  Why even bother to clean the floors, clean up, organize, etc.  On these days I wake up in the morning, way earlier than I want to.  I am woken up by little faces staring down at me, whining for something and demanding I get out of bed.  I shuffle my way out of bed, carrying one of these little creatures to the living room in order to get what they want, feeling rather irritated and....TIRED!  I meet the little creatures demands and finally sit down with a cup of coffee to try and gather a thought.  I have a little bit of a headache.  Crap, I hate that.  The creatures start whining again.  Then they start fighting and arguing.  This persists throughout the day.  I work my way through mundane chores, being interrupted constantly by the little creatures demands and outbursts.  I feel like I hardly accomplish anything.  I put something together for dinner and no one likes it.  Everyone has a comment to make about it and then there I am, holding my tongue, trying to not to FREAK OUT!  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I yell, make a snide comment or just take a really loud deep breath and hope they notice my irritation.  Well, clean up time.  Glad I'm cleaning up after this dinner that no one even liked.  My back hurts and I just want to collapse.  Somehow I manage to make it through the rest of the evening.  I finally get the creatures in to bed and I'm exhausted.  I'm mad.  I wonder why I do it and I feel depressed at the thought of having to get up tomorrow morning and do the same thing over again.

When I get caught in these cycles, it's usually an accumulation of a few bad days and circumstances.  But it is mostly due to my own attitude and self pity.  When I finally stop feeling sorry for myself and remember God, I think of this verse: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

There's no one like God to whip you back in to shape and tell you what's up.  This song keeps coming on the radio about all of these little things we do and how they do matter to someone...God.  Then I read a great blog post from Drops of Living Water about the same thing.  I love when God just slams me in the face with something like that.  Gotta love a good wake up call, especially when it leaves you feeling humble and renewed.  "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord," Acts 3:19.  Lord knows I need constant refreshing, especially when it comes to this subject.

Those little creatures I mentioned before...those are my two little gifts from God.  I can view them as a nuisance or a blessing, it's my choice.  My husband who leaves his socks laying around is also a gift, someone God chose for me.  Those chores, the thankless dinners and all the other unappreciated gestures?  Well, I can look at those as a burden or my job.  The job that God has put me in charge of.  I know that where I am is exactly where God wants me to be.  Knowing that, I should also know that every task I do to keep my home, raise my family and honor my husband are pleasing to God.  It doesn't matter if the task is scrubbing a toilet.  I don't have to save the world to please God.  God promises me this: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

And you know what, most days I love my job.  I have nothing to complain about.  I am blessed.  As far as those bad days..or well, let's be honest...weeks.  Well, I'm workin' on it.  Constantly.  Well, along with a lot of other things actually. :)



Hot Dogs

For Fourth of July, I had a little get together at my house.  Just a small thing with a few family members.  We had the usual foods, including hot dogs.  This sparked a conversation about hot dogs and this stuff called nitrates that were found in a lot of hot dogs that was supposedly harmful.  I had noticed that some of the labels on hot dogs stated that they were "nitrate free", so I had assumed that there was something about these nitrates that had sprung some debate.  I don't typically buy hot dogs because I don't know where to even buy organic ones and for the most part, they gross me out.  But, one can't deny that on special occasions, a regular old hot dog is pretty good.  Especially with the horrible Doritos we had with them.  So good though.  Oh, and the Coors Light.  It was a night of letting go and ingesting those chemicals like a true American would.

So.  Anyways.  Got off subject a little bit.  So what about these nitrates?  I looked in to it and found out exactly what nitrates were and why they certainly do not appear good for our health.  Nitrates are actually a normally occurring compound in plants(like vegetables we eat).  These nitrates turn in to nitrites when they are exposed to bacteria.  These naturally occurring nitrates are a lot different when they are found in vegetables as opposed to when they are introduced artificially in to hot dogs.  Nitrates from vegetables are a lot different than the artificial ways that companies are putting them in to hot dogs, using sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.

Nitrates are put in to hot dogs as a preserving agent, to give the hot dogs the pink color and to keep botulism at bay.  They are also used to give the meat the flavor that people are accustomed to.  Oh, you know, that unnatural flavor that we all love so much! ;)

The problem with nitrates.  Well, when combined with the meat, the nitrates are combined with amines(naturally found in meat), which cause a carcinogen called N-nitroso to form.  This carcinogenic compound is linked to cancer and all sorts of other not so fun health risks. 

So, there you have it.  Glad I know what this whole nitrate/nitrite deal is about.  Now you know too, if you didn't already know before.  Hopefully we all look for the nitrate and nitrite free hot dogs next time we go to the store.

"Natural"

We see this word used on so many of our food labels these days.  The good news is that there are a lot more people trying to eat healthy and there is a much higher demand for healthy food.  The bad news is that there is not a lot of truth left in the food industry these days.  The companies who produce our foods are aware that there is a market for healthy, organic and "natural" foods and they are using it to their advantage.  Typically speaking, this is to our disadvantage.

Consumers, for the most part are very gullible.  I mean, after all, don't we want to believe that we are being told the truth?  It's in our nature, and it's really sweet and Godly.  However, wake up!  We are being sold a bunch of crap and being manipulated into believing that it's good for us.  I am not saying that every food company in the world is evil...just most of them ;).

So, the point?  Well, I wanted to find out what this term "natural" really meant...so I did.  Natural most certainly does not mean organic.  You see, even the FDA has fairly stringent guidelines for a company to be able to claim that they are organic.  Probably not strict enough, but it's about as good as we are going to get at this point and time, ok. The FDA doesn't really do much to monitor what the companies are doing who claim to sell these "all natural" products.  They may claim to be, but they are not.  Don't believe me....look in to it and come to your own conclusion.  There are companies out there who are claiming that their products are natural after they are processing them with chemicals and unnatural products, stating that they came from a "natural" source to begin with....I guess.  It's totally bogus.

Let's take deep fried foods for example.  Heating foods to extremely high temperatures in oil and dousing them in processed salt.  Is that natural to anyone?  Or what about the hyrodgenated oils you see on a lot of "natural" products?  There is nothing natural about these oils that are heated to extreme temperatures, which cause trans fats to be introduced.  How about hiding the term MSG in products by using the names like yeast extract and autolyzed or hydrolyzed proteins?  Well, just think about it this way.  You know how organic items have to have the seal on them that says "USDA Certified Organic"?  There isn't even a seal for the term "natural" because it's a suggestion, not a requirement.  Listen.  I could bore you all day with this stuff, but this post is getting a little long. 

My point is that the term "natural" doesn't mean squat and in almost all cases, it is not going to guarantee you that you are buying a healthy product.  This doesn't mean that there are not some reputable companies out there that actually do sell healthy, natural products.  There are some good places out there, but you have to be smart.  You have to read the labels of the products that you are buying and know who you can trust.  That takes time, I know.  If it's important to you, you'll do it.  Maybe reading this will at least get you thinking about those "natural" products you buy and perhaps you will look into them a little further.

Also, there are a few places that I have bought food items from that I know are a good source, but they don't have the USDA organic seal on them.  Some places really do sell awesome, organic products but can't afford to jump through all of the hoops to get their products certified.  Just use your judgment and ask questions.

Summertime

I used to think that spring was my favorite season, but when I really think about it, there are so many things that I absolutely love about summer.  Lately we experienced those warm rains that have that distinct smell, something that only happens in the summer.  I love that kind of rain(well, unless it decides to go overboard). It's the kind of rain that I would envision the people from the movies dancing in.  Dorky, I know.

What about the days being longer so you can stay up later and sleep in?  Not having a schedule and planning fun things, but only when you feel like it.  Oh, and the warm nights.  Sitting out on the deck, having a drink and just talking.  Having your windows open and feeling that classic breeze starting to come in.  I love that. 

The feeling of walking outside in the morning and feeling the crisp, cool air and then feeling the first warmth of the sun on your skin.  This sounds so dorky, but it's true.  The kids getting to play outside all day long if we want to.  They get as dirty as can be and only come inside when I make them to eat, sleep and poop(well...that's another story).  I just love watching them play outside, finding things to do to entertain themselves with sticks, dirt and all the animals.  It's amazing how they never get bored outside...ever. 

The garden.  Ahhhh.  Those of you who enjoy gardening will totally know what I am talking about.  There is something so totally awesome about planting a garden, tending to it and watching all of your stuff grow.  When you get to eat it, it's even awesomer(yes, I know that's not a word).  I go out to my garden sometimes three or more times a day and just poke around, sometimes just to admire it.  Oh, wow, this is kind of embarrassing.

Driving the car with the windows down.  All the yummy summer treats and the BBQ's that only happen this time of year.  Strawberry shortcake, grilled meat, cold salads, etc.  There are so many good things to eat during the summer.

I don't know.  I just really feel like I am enjoying this summer more than any summer before.  I am so insanely blessed to be able to stay home with my kids and enjoy all that summer has for us human beings.  God is good.  I hope that you all enjoy your summers and the joys that there are to be had.

A few things about chickens.

We have kept chickens for about 5 years now.  Other than a dog, they are the first animal that we brought to our place in the country.  We had heard that they were cheap, easy to care for and gave you eggs.  We decided to give it a shot.  I thought I would share my experiences with you.  Again, I only have 5 years experience, so go ahead and find someone else who knows a lot more.  I probably would.  I recently heard that Dallas is allowing residents to keep chickens in their backyard.  That is awesome! 

So, here are some tips and tricks that we have learned through trial and error:

• Chickens are disgusting creatures and will eat nearly anything.  This includes all table scraps(except raw potatoes for some odd reason).  I even give mine the old chicken carcasses after I cook one and they will eat it up, including the bones.  It is a great way to get rid of any waste, less for the garbage can and better on the food bill as well.  The chickens will also need some type of chicken food that you can buy in 50 lb bags at the feed store for about $13.  If you want to know what I feed, let me know.  I found a good deal on great food, way better than the feed store stuff.  They will eat all day long and so we only throw as much as we think they need and let them fend for themselves on pasture.  If your chickens aren't allowed access to gravel or other very small rocks and what not, you will need to get them some little rocks they sell at the feed store.  The chickens need those to process the food in their guts.  If you end up with soft shelled eggs, they aren't getting enough calcium.  I throw mine egg shells and the food I feed them has oyster shells in it and I haven't had a problem.
• Chickens will scratch up your yard, pretty flower beds and peck everything to death.  We have nothing pretty at our house, but if you have a manicured lawn and flower beds, you will not want to allow your chickens access to it.  It will be bug free, but also scratched and pecked to death. 
• Chickens poop a lot and poop on everything.  They will poop on the sidewalks, on the driveway, decks, etc.  So, something to consider.  I have to spray my sidewalks with a hose a lot and it's a pain in the butt and makes me mad.
• They will not lay eggs every day or year round and how much they lay depends on numerous factors.  During the winter we only get half or sometimes even less of the eggs we do during the warmer months.  Putting a heat lamp or even just a light with a regular bulb in their coop is supposed to help during those winter months because it tricks them in to thinking the days are longer and they get a little more heat.  I wouldn't want to lay an egg if I was freezing my butt off either.  Hens will also stop during the time when they are moulting which happens for about a couple weeks one time a year.  I really think that having a rooster(only 1) helps with egg production.  So, depending on how many eggs you want to get, should play a role in how many hens you should get.  I have 15 laying hens right now and get between 6 to 9 eggs a day.  That is more than we can eat as a family, but we sell some of them.  During the winter months I may only get 3 a day...
• The little buggers can fly better than you think.  We have had them fly over an 8 ft fence and could probably fly out of something higher.  If you need to keep them contained, you can clip their wings, but keep in mind that it's something you have to continue to do when the feathers grow back.
• They lay phenomenal eggs.  Well, that's if you are treating them right.  See my previous post on the nutrition of eggs here.  You need to allow your chickens to graze on pasture or grass, whatever you have.  The eggs cannot be compared to those from the store.  They are just way better and it's cool to get your own eggs.
• They need a coop.  Anything that keeps them dry, has a place for them to lay their eggs(lay boxes), a place to roost and can keep them safe from predators will work.  If you want to get fancy, there are many factors to consider and I would suggest you look at some plans online.  There are definitely things that I would change about mine had I known what I know now.
• Remember when I mentioned that they were gross and pooped a lot?  Well, you will need to clean their coop regularly.  I use straw on the bottom of ours.  I put a thicker layer right under their roosting area because that is where they will poop the most.  I also put straw in the lay boxes and have to change that more often that I change the straw from the floor.  If you don't keep the lay boxes clean, you will end up with dirty eggs.  That will happen sometimes even if you have just cleaned them, but that's life with chickens.  I clean the coop about every two weeks, but change the straw in the lay boxes once or more a week, depending on the need.  I just scope it out each day I gather the eggs.  The straw is great for use in the compost pile if you have one. 
• Mites and other diseases.  There are like 10 million things that chickens can get.  We have had mites, but now we dust the coop with diatomaceous earth and haven't had a problem since.  We have had a couple that just got diseased and we have no idea what it was.  Those are the times it's nice to have a heartless husband who can take care of that little problem ;).
• They are so fun to watch.  I love watching them peck around outside and my kids have had so much fun with them.  They are not too much work, but like with any pet, they do require care.  Feed them, clean up after them, give them water and grass and you should have some pretty happy chickens. 

I hope you consider keeping chickens if it's right for you.  They really have been fun to have and I never see us without them.  If you haven't ever kept chickens and are interested in knowing more, I would be happy to help.  If you are a fellow chicken person, please share your thoughts.