Updates on the baby steps

I just thought everyone might like to see how the project is going!

1. Eliminate soda:  It's going pretty well.  Hubby brought how 5 two-liter bottles from work one day last week and I've had a couple glasses.  Both times it tasted sickening sweet and I had to have a glass of water to combat the sugar.  I'm definitely over the addiction.  I drink mostly water and tea with the occasional glass of orange juice.
2. Salads:  Still buying organic lettuce and making my own Caesar and ranch dressings.  I'm not overly thrilled with the 1000 island recipe and need to do some more searching.
3. Crackers:  I'm making all graham crackers, cheese crackers and animal crackers.  I've given up on the snack cracker for right now and I'm buying Kashi 7-grain crackers.  They are a little pricey, but so is using pound upon pound of flour for crackers that are ok, but not "to die for."
4. Eliminate GMO sugar:  I finally purged the last of my cheap powdered sugar stash over the weekend.  I am now buying evaporated cane juice (and trying to use less overall), and C&H brown sugar and powdered sugar.  Eventually I'll probably get rid of brown sugar and add a bit of molasses and extra cane juice in substitution in recipes, but for now C&H is cane sugar so no genetically modified sugar beets and that's good enough.  Down the road, when I have more money to devote to groceries, I'll buy large quanitities of Rapadura, but right now that's not an option.  I will make this change knowing that there is better, but what I'm doing is better than nothing at all.
5. Organic apples have been reasonably priced, so not buying them hasn't even been a consideration.  As of yesterday, they were within $.10/pound of conventionally grown apples.  That's not enough of a difference to justify buying the cheaper ones.
6. MSG and nitrate(ite) free meats:  I'm doing reasonably well.  Yesterday I bought nitrate/nitrite free deli meat and bacon.  I like the Hormel deli meat (if not the company), so 2-3 packages/month will work there and I bought Applewood Farms Bacon.  It's on the menu for tonight, so hopefully it's tasty.  For now, we are really limiting ham.  In the past months, I purchased a whole ham and we used it for 4-5 meals.  I'm steering away from that.  There isn't a nitrate free version that is remotely affordable, so we will still eat it on holidays or family gatherings, but not as part of our normal meal rotation.
7. Following superfoods recommendations:  Meal planning was a little harder than I imagined, but not too bad.  The food that I found getting skipped most often (and it really surprised me) was tomatoes.  Hubby's digestive system doesn't do too well if he eats a lot of acidic foods, so we try to only have tomato-based foods every third or fourth day.  Therefore, we are lacking there.  Since canned tomatoes have BPA in the lining of the cans, not consuming so much might not be a bad thing anyway.  We'll see what happens with our garden this summer.
8. Meal planning:  I did a lot better last week and with this month's plan, I tried to incorporate several easy meals and easy alternatives.  I also bumped up the budget back to $500/month (including any eating out).  If I were feeding just the 5 of us, I don't think $300 would be unreasonable.  Feeding the daycare kids and providing the variety of options is proving more difficult than I had imagined, especially since food prices have gone up even in the last month.  Additionally, I've added a consistent morning snack which increases the cost as well, but I think it helps the little ones focus more and play together better, which is important for their development.  I'm hoping (fingers crossed here) that once I start buying in bulk and get the garden going, that I can bring that number back down.  We'll see.

Overall, I've fallen off the wagon a couple times, but not too bad.  I've got to go.  I'm off to make mac 'n cheese for snack and an apple salad for dinner.

Zucchini Muffins

I thought I would spend this week revamping a few of my favorite recipes to include my new, "healthier" choices.  The first thing that came to mind were these zucchini muffins.  Last year was the first year I put out a garden and I ended up with a few zucchini.  I shredded and froze them in 1 cup portions.  They are ideal for muffins.  The kids will be having these mini muffins for snack today.

Most of the muffins I make are mini muffins (the exception being blueberry muffins and that's only because my blueberries are so big that they aren't conducive to a small muffin).  I find that young children find mini muffins very appealing.  They are easy to hold and to take a bite of.  They aren't overwhelming to the picky eater or child who doesn't eat much at one time.  I like mini muffins because I think it reduces food waste.  If a child is only hungry for one or two mini muffins, I would have wasted some if I had given them a large one.  Also, if a child is particularly hungry but couldn't eat a second large muffin, the situation could be remedied by just having "one more" mini muffin until they are full.

Not wasting food is a great way to be both thrifty and green.  If I have extra muffins, I bag them up and toss them in the freezer.  They make quick and easy breakfasts on school mornings, or a second snack if I have enough leftovers.  Getting baked goods in the freezer also helps my family not overeat.  If something is laying on the counter, you can bet that there will be a starving child or husband that NEEDS those muffins.  But, if they are out of sight, they are out of mind!

Recipe

1/2 C. natural sugar

1/3 C. coconut oil

1 ripe banana, mashed (You could use an egg here, but I was running low and didn't want to sacrifice one.)

2 Tbsp. honey

1/4 C. liquid dairy (I used half & half, but milk or a non-milk alternative would work.)

1 C. shredded zucchini

1 tsp. cinnamon

 1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C. wheat flour (I used white whole wheat.)

Cream together oil and sugar.  Add other wet ingredients and combine.  At this point recipe books will tell you to combine dry ingredients separately and add little by little.  I'm a rebel.  I just dump all my dry ingredients in and stir it up until the flour is incorporated.  Spray a mini muffin pan and fill the cups about 2/3 full.  I use the Pampered Chef small scoop that holds about 1 tablespoon of batter.  (Unfortunately I'm not being compensated by PC to talk about their product.  It just happens to be the one I use.)

Bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes.  Turn out on a rack to cool.

Blogger's note:  I'm not a photographer and that becomes more obvious with each picture I take!

Week 4: Sugar

I have been making many things from scratch for the past year or so and have found that I buy a lot of sugar.  Of course, I wait for the $1.69 sale on the 4 pound bag and stock up.  Or at least that's what I had been doing-until this month. 

I've been doing some reading on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as called genetically engineered organisms (GEOs).  My conclusion is that while I'm sure this scientific process was begun with the best intentions, I think it has now become a way for corporate agricultual giants to get bigger and continue to squash the small-time farmer.  In addition to the ethical concerns I have, there are also great health concerns.  In my opinion, these genetic modifications to our food do not have the long-term testing that is needed to conclude their safety.  In light of that, I'm trying to rid our diet (as much as possible) of GMOs.

Those little buggers sneak in everywhere.  Essentially if you buy anything non-organic that has corn or soy in it, it is a GMO.  I recently learned that sugar beets and rapeseed (canola) are also genetically modified.  There goes my $1.69 bags of sugar and my regular, easy to find, canola oil.  So, first plan of attack is the sugar.  I have already plotted and planned my big bulk sugar purchase from Azure Standard, but until I can afford that, I purchased some Florida Crystals Natual Cane Sugar.  The ingredient is evaporated cane juice.  This is not the highest on the scale of health, but it isn't genetically modified.  The rapadura that I plan to purchase has been processed in a way that leaves all the minerals in tact.  That doesn't make it the ultimate health food, but does give it some nutritional value.

Next on my list to change are my canola oil and rice.  I have removed almost all of the corn and soy from the house-just a few things that we are finishing up and they won't be replaced.

This week, look for recipes featuring my new found sugar-used sparingly because it is expensive!

Here are a few links that explain GMOs.

Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?

Genetically Modified Organisms-Answers.com