Gardening with kids: the impact I never imagined I'd make by starting an organic garden

It's become a ritual in our house to look at the tray of just-started seeds every time we come home. The kids go check on them every time they wake up, when they get home from school, when they are finished getting ready for school in the morning, before bed time.

When we were choosing our seeds, the kids helped pick out their favorite veggies and new ones they wanted to try. They helped work up the existing beds around the house and actually enjoyed doing a chore for the first time ever. They have been adamantly watching the weather forecasts just waiting for the day they can help move all the plants outside.

The kids have gotten very involved in making our organic gardening dreams come true. They are learning what it means to grow organically and why it is important to our health and the environment. More than that, they've been eating more healthfully with no complaints. The produce section at the supermarket is a place of wonder all of the sudden. They search the racks for the veggies they picked out as seeds and are happy to eat them knowing that, in a few short months, the seeds they are diligently watching for signs of growth will create that very same produce.

Those tiny plants have made the transition to eating whole, organic foods so much more exciting, and therefore less painful, for our family. The kids (and my husband) have been happily eating raw spinach, even!

It's astounding to me what a few seeds and dirt under our finger nails has done for our family's well being. A little common ground (pun intended) has worked wonders for our relationships. We cooperate better, truly listen to one another, and talk more all due to a few seedlings and a plan.

P.S., The pictures are our seedlings today (3/27), my son (age 4) checking on his snow peas, my daughter L (age 7) showing off her summer squash, and daughter K (age 3) displaying the carrots she picked out.

Handiest kitchen tools for making whole foods work for your household

Making the leap to becoming a whole food household can be a daunting task. If you have a crowd to please, like I do, it becomes even more difficult. However, there are a few kitchen tools that can make the transition a little easier. Here's my list of life-savers.

1. A full set of sauce pans and skillets with lids: We use a LOT more dishes around here when we don't eat from freezer to microwave. I'd regularly be washing dishes while trying to cook if I didn't have a whole set.

2. A sharp, high quality knife: You don't necessarily need an entire set of very expensive knives in your kitchen, but having one for those jobs that require a tougher or more precise utensil will make your life a little easier. Mine is the utility knife from the Pampered Chef's cutlery line. I love it because it was relatively affordable, works fabulously, and has a life-time warranty.

3. A sturdy grater: Store bought shredded cheese has additives to keep it from getting too moist and clumping. Block cheese does not. Grating your own cheese is difficult with a plastic framed grater. It's worth the extra $5 or so to spring for one that is all metal and far more heavy duty. It just might keep you from  grating your knuckles as well.

4. Glass storage bowls: These are great for storing and heating leftovers without the possible harmful chemicals released by heating plastic. They also work well for bagged lunches, because it's highly unlikely that you'll find a healthy, whole food meal in the vending machine at work.

5. A sturdy stand mixer: I know a high quality stand mixer can be a big investment, but if you're planning on baking from scratch regularly, it's totally worth it. I find myself a lot more likely to tackle a batch of cookies, quick bread, or homemade whipped cream with my Kitchen-Aid on my side. Plus, Kitchen-Aid makes many attachments that can transform your mixer into many specialized kitchen appliances.

6. Pampered Chef's Kitchen Spritzer: Avoid aerosol cooking sprays but keep the simplicity of them. Fill this gadget with healthy liquid cooking oil and pump it to spray. I find I use a lot less oil that way. There may be similar items on the market, but I've never found one.

7. Coffee grinder: Organic, fair-trade coffee is tough to find pre-ground. If you're a coffee connoisseur, it's definitely worth having one around. It really opens up your options as far as the brands and types of java you can buy.

8.  A microwave chip maker: If you have a chip fanatic in the house, you may want to consider investing in one of these. You simply throw thinly sliced potatoes on without overlapping them, season to taste, and pop them in the microwave, no oil necessary. It helps keep more processed snacks out of the house. You can even use other veggies like sweet potatoes and radishes. I found mine at, you guessed it, The Pampered Chef.

What kitchen implement do you use to make preparing real foods easier? What task in real food cooking do you wish was easier or faster? Maybe we can help each other find solutions to our whole food hang-ups.

P.S., below you'll see pictures of my microwave chip maker and one of my glass storage containers (please ignore the leftover steel cut oats inside it)

Our first REAL meal- Steel cut oatmeal

This morning, I made oatmeal. Doesn't seem like a big deal? For us, it is. This was our first meal made with whole food, made from scratch. Okay, the peanut butter we added to the oatmeal was store bought, but it was organic and without additives.

We're transitioning. We are striving towards eating whole foods that are unprocessed, with no preservatives, no artificial dyes or flavors, no chemicals that you need a masters in chemistry to figure out just what they are.

Switching to whole grain versions of foods you already eat is a great way to make a healthy change in your diet. We used to use instant microwave oatmeal. If I could find a box of name brand instant oatmeal packets (about a pound) on sale, I could snag them for $2.50. At the local food co-op, I found bulk organic steel cut oats for $1.05/lb. I bought just over 3 lbs for under $3.50. I used one cup of the oats for our breakfast, which fed all three kids and me with oats to spare (which I saved for leftovers). Can you say CHEAP?!

To cook the oats, I boiled four cups of water, then added one cup of oats. I turned the heat down to medium low and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Be sure to stir often!

I added a little bit of local clover honey and let the kids pick out some dried fruit to throw in for added flavor and texture. Then we stirred in a spoonful of peanut butter. It was delicious, had great texture, and I stayed full all morning. Plus, I feel energized already (though that could just be enthusiasm and my new outlook on food).

There are lots of whole grain products out there. We will be making the switch from white flours and processed grains to whole, more hearty counterparts. Trade white rice for brown rice. Ditch the all-purpose white flour for whole grain versions. These are not exceptionally expensive changes. Whole grains bought in bulk can even come much cheaper, plus they eliminate a lot of packaging waste.

On a side note, do you know how many kinds of flour you can get? A fabulous organic, health conscious company called Bob's Red Mill has managed to make flour out of just about everything you can think of. Their products are available at your local health food store and on Amazon.

Your local natural food grocer can be an incredibly inspiring place. If you've got one around and have never visited before, just make a little time to go in and explore. The employees at ours were incredibly helpful, and didn't even mock us for being total (and obvious) newbs to the real food thing. If you don't normally bring your own bags to the store, I'd suggest picking up a few reusable bags, or better yet, sewing some. Hop on over to flakymomcrafts.blogspot.com (my craft blog) where I'll put up a tutorial soon.

My next post will focus on starting our organic gardening adventures. I'm so looking forward to growing our own produce! The idea of literally working directly for our food appeals to me, as does the idea of knowing exactly what went into fertilizing and protecting our food from pests.

Resolve to eat real food..not for a month, but for life.

It is time to make a change in our household. It is no huge revelation that we (we being my three children ages 7, 4, and 3, my husband, and myself) aren't eating the best possible diet. Toaster pastries, frozen chicken nuggets, potato chips, and diet soda are commonly found in our fridge or pantry.

Are foods like that present in your kitchen? If so, go pull a few out and check out the labels. What did you see? Were you able to recognize all the ingredients? Probably not (unless of course you are a chemist).

The human body isn't made to process artificial dyes, flavors, and sweeteners. Sure, being omnivores, we muddle through okay. Food goes in and goes out and we still seem relatively unscathed for all the junk we typically consume. We are all still standing. We all feel okay.

I for one am tired of feeling okay, though. Regular fatigue, headaches, joint and muscle pain are everyday occurrences. That's okay, right? I trudge through. It's not like I'm dying or something.

But it's really NOT okay! I want to feel good. I want to feel healthy and vital and energetic. I want my kids to have the oomph to do well in school and at play. I don't want them to make the food choices we are making right now when they are adults.

And so a plan has been hatched.

What is our plan, you ask?

The first phase was research and development. I pulled out some of the more questionable items in the fridge and pantry. I checked for weird, chemical-y sounding names among the ingredients and I Googled until I had a better idea of what I was actually feeding my family. The results of my search were surprising at best and nauseating at worst.

For example, I found TBHQ in the list of ingredients on the microwave popcorn box, and had no idea what it was. It turns out it is a form of butane, as in butane lighter. Yikes! I won't even get in to the great aspartame debate; I'll simply say I decided I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Much of the food on supermarket shelves seems to contain ingredients that are non-nutritive, non-natural, or altered in some way. I don't know what you all think of that, but it makes me nervous. Though the FDA stands by these products, I've decided that they aren't the right choice for my family.

That decision made, it's time to execute a plan to phase out store bought processed, non-organic food. That means no more convenience foods, no more store bought baked goods, no more tubes of meat. It means baking our own bread and delicious treats.

It also meant a trip to a local food cooperative. I had never even been there before, as it's about 30 miles from our home. They had an amazing selection of local products, which really appeals to me (plus they advertise the distance the product traveled to get to the store). We bought non-homogenized milk, cage-free eggs, raw honey, organic yogurt, and lots of other good, real food produced right here in our state. Plus I found a great grass-fed beef and poultry farm just ten miles from our doorstep.

From here on out, we will only purchase REAL food. Since it's cold around here, we're kind of stuck with store-bought vegetables, but we will be growing as much of our own produce as possible when the time comes. I'll dedicate a post to beginning our organic gardening adventures in the very near future.

Now, I'm not trying to preach to anyone here. Everyone is entitled to make their own decisions about the food that they eat. Eating real, chemical free food is mine. I hope to inspire. I hope that I can show people that if I can forego the convenience of processed food, they can too. We aren't rich, we don't own a farm or live in a commune. We're a busy family with three picky children (plus my picky husband, who calls potato chips a food group) to feed. I'm going to share the ways I'm managing to make this work for our family, and just maybe they'll work for your family, too.