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The kitchen is certainly my favorite place to create and be artistic.  I’m one of those people who was always interested in cooking & preparing food from a young age.  I remember making the most awful concoctions at my grandma’s house, and watching eagerly as my big sister pretended to enjoy them.  I still can’t thank Barbara enough for encouraging me, she’s been my main supporter in our family since I ventured out into the world as a young adult.

I can remember being interested in the value of what is in our food as early as my pre-teen years when I first questioned the safety of “cheese foods” on my sandwiches and artificial coloring or flavorings in my drinks.  Those were also the years when sugar substitutes were being blamed for causing cancer!  There was a lot of uncertainty during that time and it really laid the foundation for my present day interest in health through nutrition.  Over the years I have learned a great deal obviously, and once I know better, I do better (or at least I try as hard as is reasonable). 

Since beginning the farmstead I have inadvertently become a bit of a fanatic about healthy food and learning what exactly are the “right foods” for all of our animals but especially the human animals.  Unfortunately, as I take each small step toward deciphering the truth about food fit for human consumption, I take a similar small step AWAY from mainstream feeding procedures. 

Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion:
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

This opposite reaction leads me down the path of better daily health, fitness, happiness & pride.  This path enables humans to live in good health and harmony with the body & soul.  I believe that most of us can live long healthy lives, well into what we formerly called our Golden Years with vitality, strength & dignity.  I have my theories as to why we lost sight of this information, but what I care most about is that we turn it around before our children suffer the same fate that we and our parents and maybe even their parents have endured.

 “ORGANIC isn't a fancy label or a fad, it's a statement about how well your able to balance your own needs VS. those of the planet and the others living on this planet with you.”

When I started this journey, I too thought that eating healthy food, organic foods, fruits & vegetables, was more expensive than mainstream food stuffs.  But boy oh boy was I wrong!  It actually costs more, a LOT more, to eat crappy fake foods and fillers, than it does to eat a healthy filling nutrient rich diet.

“Eating healthy food is NOT more expensive!  It’s overeating healthy food that is more expensive !”

Now, there are times when money or supply just will not allow you to buy Organic products.  I also think there can be certain products that are the exception to this rule; that don’t necessarily have to be Organic to reduce pesticide exposure.  The point I want to make is, if you can afford it, EVEN if you have to stretch a little, please buy the 100% Organic product.  If one isn’t available, make mention of it to your grocer, store manager or produce guy.  It will take a few people to request them, and then BUY them when they are there, before they will start to stock those products regularly and begin expanding their supply. 

For instance, when I buy at my local farmer’s market, I know through the process of asking questions, which farmer’s use pesticides; how and why.  I can make my decisions based on that and not an label.  Sometimes in small gardens, light pesticides are used before the fruiting stage of the plant, I do this in my own garden, which means when the fruit or vegetables finally appear, there is no need to use any bug deterrents because no one is already living on the plant!  To me, it makes a difference if pesticides have been sprayed or sprinkled ON the food I plan to eat, vs. on the plant BEFORE the food even appears!  Also what about the produce that is sprayed traditionally, but lives deep underground?  I don’t know for sure how much the leaves absorb and then perhaps send into the fruits & vegetables, BUT I know that this is certainly going to be less than foods directly sprayed which then have pesticide on the skin.  And then there are a few crops that aren’t even really ever affected by pests and farmers of those crops don’t need to worry about pesticides or being organic!  Smaller farmers often don’t worry about obtaining their Organic certification, and so ONLY looking for organic labels, will not work or I would miss out on a LOT of available local food.  Calculated risks are a part of daily life, in this family one of our goals is to minimize unnecessary daily risk, and this is one of the ways I do it.

Have a look as some of the wonderful art I make in my kitchen, and keep your eyes out for my upcoming cookbook!