Organic Milk Costs How Much?

I find myself continuing to try to make better choices for my family on so many levels, but most recently I have been very concerned about their nutrition. I really want for us to minimize the fast food life style and achieve “healthy” eating.  try to do meal planning, and incorporate fruits and veggies. The fruit always popular, but confession here… not always organic. Eeek. I know I know. But that organic fruit is so expensive, and I try not to be influenced by this superficial society but the non organic fruit is so much prettier.  The hubby has bought into the vegetables, you can find him most nights with something green on his plate. But the kids…….Oh, the melt downs over a green bean.  In the last year I have decided to lead by example and have started to make some healthy choices, although they are not always easy choices.

Seven months ago I decided to become a vegetarian. I had decided to switch to third shift, this promoted my opportunity to catch up on some documentaries. I watched Food Inc. and learned some things about our farming industry. I was so disturbed by the images of the inhumane treatment of animals that I made my decision to give up meat. Surprisingly, for me this was a relatively easy change. I decided to respect the wishes of my little family who choose to continue to eat meat and continue to purchase and prepare meat for their consumption. But.. I did decide to purchase free range, antibiotic free, steroid free meat for my family. Also, organic milk (holy cow, the price of organic milk!). Ouch, the prices of organic food at times are a little staggering. In order to save money on meat I decided to purchase an animal for meat through a local farm. More on this below.

I must confess there are times when we are out of milk and I have to run into a store really quick and often they don’t have organic milk. So for the next few days my kids might have non organic milk. Oh the guilt. We live in a society that can lead us to feel guilty for not being “good enough”.  Ultimately, we are so blessed to live in a country where we have an excess of food and so many options at our fingertips and we can’t lose sight of that.  If you are reading this fellow mommy I know that you too are trying to make better, healthy choices for your little people. Keep forging and know that you are lovingly attempting to nourish your family. And though we may not be perfect, we are good mommies and we are good enough!

TIP: Going meatless even one day a week can save your budget. Also, consider making the investment in a deep freezer. This will allow you the option to buy and stockpile when things are on sale. Like I mentioned before you could purchase an animal for meat, even split it with friends and family. If you are interested in finding a local farm you can do a search on http://www.localharvest.org to find local farms near you.

I WANT TO BE A FARMER BUT CAN’T KEEP A HOUSE PLANT ALIVE

Lately, I just can’t shake this feeling, this obsession that I want to be a farmer. I think it all started when I joined this crop share over the summer. A crop share can take a variety of forms. Basically, you can pay a certain amount and pick up an amount of vegetables/fruits per week from a local farm, sometimes they deliver, sometimes you can actually help work on the land for a discount.

So every week this summer I drive out to a farm to get these beautiful, fresh vegetables. I talk with these local farmers who are attempting to make a living “off the land”. They are lovely, they smell of vegetables and have dirt under their nails. I love them… I want to be them. I can see it now… me in mud soaked cow girl boots, the kids covered in dirt. My husband in the house laying on the couch. 🙂

So then I started buying fresh eggs from the farm. Yum, they taste amazing. Now, I begin to obsess about having chickens. Next, I am researching types of chickens, chicken coops, how to keep chickens warm in the winter etc…

Then.. I think I should really have goats if I have chickens…then I start researching types of goats.. how to milk a goat.. etc.. Now what I might not have mentioned… I live in the a 1200 square foot house on a busy road in the city. My house is a little like a farm as it is filled with 2 crazy kids, a hubby, 1 cat and 3 crazy dogs. My pug does resemble a pot bellied pig. 🙂

I find myself feeling sad because this new dream is not a reality. Longing for my chickens.. texting my best friend about how I NEED to have chickens. I think for me this just represents a desire for a simpler life. Research shows that more women are now taking on the career of farmer. Maybe after so long of feeling the pressure to be everything to everyone we as women are now choosing a simpler path, one more at touch with the earth. For me it represents finding balance, and peace. For now I will continue to keep forging on to bring more natural options into our busy, city life until the time comes to move this funny farm into the country.

TIP: Now, I know this seems basic and obvious… but this has made a big impact in staying organized. Get a cloth bag (must always be the same bag) mine is a fancy Thirty One bag with organizing pockets 🙂 keep it in one place like your mud room or a coat rack. Every time you get flyers, coupons, magazines, parent papers from school, junk mail.. things that you need to look at later put them in this “to do” bag. Keep a pair of scissors and your coupon organizer in this bag. I also keep my planner in this bag, I know we live in the land of electronics but our life is so crazy I still need a paper form. Then.. every time you are headed out somewhere where there may be down time take your bag. Then while you are at a sporting event, picking up your kids from an activity, picking up prescriptions etc.. pull out your portable junk drawer and organize. I have found that I actually get some of these random tasks completed by dragging this fancy bag around with me. Yay for productive time.