Menu Plan Monday- July 19

So, I have been doing this Menu Plan Monday (MPM for all the cool nerds out there) for a couple months now and love it. I got it from a fav blog of mine, orgjunkie.com. When the menu is already planned it's like someone else is doing the cooking... Well I'm not that lucky, but it does save me from hitting my head against the cabinet trying to find something to eat. Now before you get all crazy critical of my recipes you must remember that I just post the general recipes I find, but I typically change ingredients for healthier things or organic if possible...so don't freak. Here is what we will be eating this week, for the most part. (Don't judge me)

• Monday- Zio's leftovers from yesterday...yum
• Tuesday- Dinner out for my step-dad's bday
• Wednesday- Most likely PB&J before church (Yes, I realize that I have done no cooking yet, but that's not the point. The point is I planned to not cook, so there.)
• Thursday- Out for friend's wedding rehearsal dinner
• Friday- Dinner at friend's house
• Saturday- Night before wedding picnic
• Sunday- Wedding

Man...this is gonna be a rough week.

The Inspiration of Me (Week 1)

So, I have decided to post weekly about my inspirations for why I do what I do. Now...you may have to hold me to it, but I shall do my best.
Week numero uno is fantastic!!! I ran across this blog while I was searching through earth911.com and have become jealous. Her name is Marisa and she started a blog called 365 Dresses, 365 Days, $365 where she finds these ridiculous dresses (yes, that is one of my fav words) and turns them into these great vintage masterpieces. Do I sound jealous? Well, I am! If only I had the time..the patience...the sewing ability. Not only is she creative she is recycling and she is awesome. You must check it out!
http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/
I swear she stole some of those dresses from my grandmother's closet...

The Important Organic

While it is way too pricey for me to eat all organic there are certain items, especially produce, that are very important to buy organic because of the ridiculous levels of pesticides used.
Here are 12 produce items that should be in top priority when buying organic (high-pesticide items):

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Cherries
4. Grapes
5. Lettuce
6. Nectarines
7. Pears
8. Potatoes
9. Spinach
10. Strawberries
11. Sweet Bell Peppers
12. Peaches

I know what you're thinking, because I was thinking it too when I first read this list, "I just bought every single item on that list...." Don't fret, pesticides are only strong chemicals used to kill insects and small animals....umm
To help you feel better about yourself here are 12 items that do not necessarily have to be bought organic (low-pesticide items):

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cabbage
6. Eggplant
7. Kiwis
8. Mangoes
9. Onions
10. Pineapples
11. Sweet Corn
12. Sweet Peas

And after I read this list I found myself thinking I need to eat more asparagus just because I don't have to buy it organic....

National Organic Program's Standards (Reading the Labels)

USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) regulates standards for any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wantes to sell an agriculteral product as organically produced. Previous posts have listed some requirements for food to be considered organic, but here is what the NOP's labeling standards are:

• Products labeled "100% organic" must contain at least 95% organic ingredients
• The label "made with organic ingredients" can contain anywhere between 70 to 95% organic ingredients
• Organic products cannot be irradiated and are not allowed to contain preservatives or flavor-enhancing chemicals
• Organic products cannot conatin traces of heavy metals or other contaminants in excess tolerences set by the FDA
• The pesticide residue levels in organic food cannot be higher than 5%

Reference: Joseph Mercola D.O.

The Organic Label

Sometimes I am just running on information overload when it comes to how necessary it is to buy organic foods with all the different views on it as well as many different types of organic foods. If you would've asked me a couple years ago what my thoughts were I would have told you that the necessity of organic food is a marketing ploy the big boys of grocery stores put into play to make us spend more money, but the more I learn the more I would have to disagree with my former self.
 "Many "health" experts continue to argue that there is little difference between organic and conventionally raised produce, but the scientific evidence---and common sense----says otherwise" (Joseph Mercola, D.O.) This was the quote in big bold print on an article in one of my favorite magazines, "Pathways" ,and it caught my attention. I buy many things organic, due to lack of convincing argument (and money) I don't buy all organic, but after reading this article I was given a clear list of things that should absolutely be bought organic and what to look for when buying organic. I wanted to break down this information for you because if your as overloaded with information as I am it is nice to see a nice organized list with bite-size bullets of knowledge(or maybe it's my OCD tendencies showing...) I will be using information written by Joseph Mercola, D.O. from his article Which Organic Labels Should You Trust?.

• A $25 million study by the European Union called the Quality Low Input Food Project found that organic produce is far more nutritious than ordinary produce
• Organic fruits and veggies contain up to 40% more antioxidants
• Organic produce has higher levels of minerals like iron and zinc
• Milk from organic herds contains up to 90% more antioxidants
• Eating organic foods can help increase the nutrient intake of people who don't eat the recommended number of fruit and veggie servings per day
• Many organic labels have been tainted. For example, Wal-Mart is selling milk that comes from factory farm dairies, importing cheap organic foods from China and Brazil and posting signs that mislead people to believe that nonorganic foods are actually organic
• Many organic foods are rip offs. One of the biggest rip offs if organic milk since it is not raw milk it is still pasteurized and is associated with all the same health problems as non-organic milk
• Another big rip off is "organic" junk food such as crackers, ice cream, pizza and potato chips.
• There are many organic labels, but only one relates directly to food, the USDA organic seal. This is the seal you should trust since in order for growers and manufacturers to have this seal they must meet very strict guidelines, more so than any other organic regulated group.
• In order to qualify as organic a product must be grown  and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity. Crops must be grown without synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers and sewage fertilizers. Livestock must have access to the outdoors and cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones. 

A Favorite Green Video

I love to watch this guy on YouTube anyway, but when he talks about being green....you know I had to post it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwhOhzo_REU

Diaper Rash Craziness

So, Faelyn was 8 months old yesterday and had never really had any issues with diaper rash until maybe 2 weeks ago. She broke out with this crazy rash that didn't get any better no matter what I did. Of course I started out putting on some herbal cream a wonderful friend of mine had given me, but after diligently lathering it on every hour and seeing no difference I started using a traditional diaper cream...still no change. What did I do you ask? I called my super hero chiropractor Jim Bob of course! Why would I call a chiropractor about a diaper rash you ask? Because him and his awesome wife Cindy have a vitamin for everything! Seriously, you have a problem...they know the vitamin for the job. All you geniuses out there are thinking, "This is an easy one! It has to be vitamin E, the one that says its for healthy skin right on the bottle!". Well, I must tell you in a loving way that you are WRONG! Vitamin A is the correct answer today ladies and gentlemen. I bought the gel capsules, broke a few open and rub the oil on the infected skin at diaper changes. I already noticed the scabbing getting better and Faelyn doesn't seem as bothered by it. But where did it come from?! Jim Bob said that when a baby is teething the acidity levels in their urine rise which can cause a diaper rash. Huh....so simple.

The Beginning of it All.....

Having a child has changed my life. I know all you moms out there are thinking, "Well...duh!", but it has changed my life in ways other than the level of difficulty it is to find  a moment to take a shower or make a trip to Wal-Mart. Is it just me or does the distance from the car to the doors get longer and hotter once you have a child?
This whole story covers about a year and a half span of time, so I am going to try to just hit on the basics and leave out the foofy details (yes, I said foofy). It all began when Matt and I found out we were pregnant. It was kind of like a ridiculously fantastic smack in the face. You know one of those woo hoo/OMG moments? We decided we didn't want to have a conventional hospital birth, but rather go the midwife/homebirth route. I know you may think I am brave for that, but I'm most assuredly not. It was all God's peace and an amazing group of people. It was this amazingly awesome, unbelievably splendid group of people that began the lifestyle that birthed the desire for most of the things this blog will contain.
My midwife, Christy (who is ridiculously awesome, have I mentioned that?), taught me a lot about what to eat, what to avoid and lifestyle choices while I was pregnant, then my chiropractor, Jim Bob (the super hero chiropractor) and all the people at their office, took it a step further. My daughter is 8 months old now and because of their influence and crazy amounts of research we decided to go vaccine free, have regular adjustments and live a greener life.
As far as the creative side goes I must give the props to my fabulous mama Dianne. Anyone who remotely knows her will tell you that she is a flippin' creative genius and I think it may have rubbed off on me, well maybe not to the genius level quite yet, but I'm working on it.
The Clean side of the blog came from living in a house that was going to be sold and having to "stage" it. Being forced to keep my house clean because someone my drop by to view it any moment is a great push in the right direction as far as putting away all the randomness that invades the house. After seeing how much nicer it was to live in a clean, organized house I can never return to the dark side!
SO with all that said, I hope it made some sort of sense, my blogging goal is to pass on information I have squeezed out of important people in my life and that I have gather along the way to YOU people out there.