An early Easter celebration with the cousins!

Traditional Easter Foods

As I get older, I feel like I am going back to my roots. Growing up, religion was a big part of my life. As I went off to college, I slowly lost touch with my faith. I always believed in God but didn't have the same involvement I did as a child. Now that I am a parent, I feel a responsibility to give my children a religious foundation/education that reinforces our morals and values. I want them to be spiritual and have a relationship with God. As Eater approaches, I am trying to teach them about the true meaning of the holiday....right now they think it is all about candy and the Easter bunny! :) I found this great website that breaks down traditional Easter foods/symbols and their meaning. I love that food can bring such special meaning and memories to a family. One thing I may try to make for our Easter morning brunch is hot cross buns with a frosting cross. Read about the meanings of our favorite Easter traditions below:

EASTER EGGS
Eggs are traditionally connected with rebirth, rejuvenation and immortality. This is why they are often associated with Easter. On a more practical level? In the early Christian calendar eggs were forbidden during Lent. This made them bountiful and exciting forty days later. Easter eggs are sometimes decorated with bright colors to honor this celebration.

Why do we have Easter egg hunts?

"From very early days the finding of eggs has been identified with riches. The relationship is readily apparent. Eggs are a treasure, a bounty of nature, and when hens are unconfined they deposit these treasures in unexpected places. To find such a hidden nest before a hen has started to set and incubate the eggs is a perfect analogy to finding hidden treasure."

Why do we decorate eggs?
Historians tell us the people have been decorating eggs for thousands of years. The practice was inspired by religion. Techniques and styles vary according to culture and period.

WHERE DID THE EASTER BUNNY COME FROM? "Among the most familiar Easter symbols [is] the rabbit. The Easter bunny or rabbit is...most likely of pre-Christain origin. The rabbit was known as an extraordinarily fertile creature, and hence it symbolized the coming of spring. Although adopted in a number of Christian cultures, the Easter bunny has never received any specific Christian interpretation."

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE SERVE HAM FOR EASTER DINNER?
Historians tell us religions sometimes use food (taboos/traditional holiday meals) to forge identity and create community. Early Christians embraced ham, in part, to proclaim their religious beliefs.

Easter Breads
Bread has long played an important role in religious ceremonies and holidays. This is true in many cultures and cuisines. Holiday breads are often baked in symbolic shapes and include special ingredients. Easter breads often feature eggs, a commodity forbidden by the Catholic Church during lent. English Hot Cross Buns, Italian Colomba & Russian Kulich are two prime examples of this culinary genre.

Bread symbolism
"Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ but it also celebrates fertility, and the season of renewal...On Holy Thursday to commemorate the Last Supper, when Christ shared bread with his disciples, they prepare in absolute silence a brioche or egg bread called koulitch. On the Saturday night of Resurrection, they walk in procession to church with a basket of eggs, holding a candle in one hand, and the bread in the other. They exchange a kiss and ask each other's forgiveness for any offense they might have committed against one another, as a token of peace for the future.

From foodtimeline.org

Fun Family Dining!

Up until recently, Kevin and I put a ban on eating out with our kids. It was just too hectic. Although when we read about Batman visiting a local restaurant we knew we had to suck it up and give it a go. Lana had reservations about Batman sitting next to her in the booth, as you can clearly see from the look on her face in the first picture. Jake professed his love to Batman by telling him he loved him and Luke and Ben were fascinated with Batman's mode of transportation...Why couldn't they see the batmobile??? :) Despite Batman being a little bit creepy, it was a super fun night out. Maybe we should try to get out more often...

For Vegans and anyone else who
enjoys healthy living....

http://elizabethskindcafe.com/

My friend Jennifer, that I used to work with, shared her cousin's blog with me recently. Her cousin is dedicated to healthy living and veganism. She is a really beautiful woman and looks like a picture of health! I'd like to do what she is doing... ha ha! Anyway, her website has great recipes and fun healthy living tips. She also is a big fan of cooking with her kids, which I also am a huge advocate of doing. Here is a recipe from her blog below. Check it out:

Roasted Root Vegetable

Ingredients:

3 Daikon

3 Turnips

1 Sweet Potato

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 tbls maple syrup

1 tbls safflower oil

Sea salt and Pepper to taste

1 Cup dries cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Peel sweet potatoes, turnips, and daikon. Cut all vegetables into similarly sized small cubes so they cook evenly, and place in casserole dish. Pour remaining ingredients on top, and mix together with your hands. Cook for about 45 minutes. Add dried cherries in after it's finished cooking in the oven.

"25% of health is actually because of hard-coded genetics. This means
that 75% of health is up to environmental factors..."

- Super Nutrition for Babies by Katherine Erlich, M.D., and Kelly Genzilinger, C.N.C., C.M.T.A.

How exciting that we have this much control over our health!!!! By eating right, drinking clean water, eliminating toxins from our home, and getting lots of fresh air and sunshine we can control a large portion of our health!

Forks Over Knives: Movie Review- PART TWO

One thing is clear....no matter what diet you eat, most health experts agree, real foods and less toxins are really important. However, there are some areas that they do disagree on that I will list below. I would also like to say that I personally respect the morals and values that a vegan/vegetarian uphold. Their dedication to animals is inspiring. Here is the opposition to a plant based diet:

Expert #1: Kelly Genzilger, C.N.C., C.M.T.A & Katherine Erlich, M.D., authors of Super Nutrition for Babies. Kelly and Dr. Erlich are Lana's nutritionist and pediatrician. They have been personal guides to me through Lana's recent health issue. Here's what they have to say:

"Over the last 10 years that I have researched food and nutrients - and I have conclusively found that the truth is found in traditional foods. No traditionally vegetarian or vegan diet can substantiate claims that it is healthier. When you look at instinctual and indigenous eating that includes superior health, animal foods are always part of the diet. There are many nutrients that are in a bio-available form only in animal foods, and other nutrients that are simply *only* found in animal foods. Actually, I wanted this addressed in Super Nutrition for Babies, since this is such a confusing area of trying to optimize health through nutrition. Additionally, though, when considering the "healthiness'' of animal foods, one must consider what those animals ate and how they were raised. Pigs will yield lard very rich in vitamin D if they are allowed to forage outside. Eggs will have as much Omega-3 as salmon, if the chickens are allowed to peck and eat bugs and wild greens outside. Factory-farming - which yields our common animal foods - is partly why animal foods are now maligned. Steaks from confined cows will be rich in the inflammatory Omega-6 fats - bad for arteries - because their diet is not clover and grass as it should be, but is soy and corn "feed". Finally, a diet free of all animal foods is very high in carbohydrates, and there are myriad issues with high-carb diets - particularly if they include too much fruit, juice, grains, and sugar - which they inevitably do - leading to insulin problems, heart disease, sugar addiction, and obesity."

From page 48 of their new book:
Diets free of animal foods, include low levels of , or less available, nutrients of the following:
1. Vitamin D and A (fat-soluble activators) resulting in poor mineral usage.
2. Body-ready essential fatty acids (AA, EPA, and DHA) Necessary for brain and cognitive development, immune support, and anti-inflammation.
3. CoQ10
4. Cholesterol (necessary for brain development and cellular communication)
5. Body-ready B6
6. B12
7. Body-ready zinc and iron
8. Amino acids

"Several researchers have found that animal foods are so important in ensuring proper growth and height, strength, and intelligence in children..."

2. Expert #2: From my friend/super smart cousin, Kelly Scanlon, C.N. :)

"As far as veganism goes, while I do believe some of their message is important (stay away from processed meats/foods/box meals/fake foods- and to focus more on fresh foods/veg/fruits etc) I do not think it is a healthful way of eating long term. It is a modern diet, as without modern help, a vegan would not be able to survive (B12 from animal foods)…there are no traditional vegan diets so vegans rely on supplements and fortified foods (something that was not available in a traditional diet, but with more modern diets). I also think an over emphasis on grains, beans, starches can be very tough on the GI tract. PLANT EMPHASIZED diets are crucial…but does that mean we all need to be vegans? In my opinion, no. People are not dying of heart disease because of animal meat, they are dying because they abuse their bodies with the quality and quantity of foods they eat. A vegan diet, to me, is not the answer to high blood pressure and diabetes. But eating modest amounts of QUALITY animal protein along with plants I believe is the key. I also believe people should pay more attention to what their blood sugar is doing, than whether they had some grass fed beef. NOW, keep in mind, there are many situations where people have abused their bodies to the point where they have serious food intolerances and GOING VEGAN makes them feel incredibly better, because they are removing the most common protein offenders. But, to me, this just gives further evidence that we should be paying MORE attention to how we digest our food and the condition of our GI tract, than smacking a label down and saying “you will all die if you do not eat vegan”.

3. Expert #3: Angelle, Holistic Health Coach from Nourish MD.

"Basically there isn’t a culture that has sustained

a vegan diet over generations that I’m aware of.

And, in our research we’ve found there

are some issues with fertility for vegetarians.

As far as animal products, the issue is the quality of the animal products -

pasture raised, free range, etc. Those animals

have very healthy nutritional value.

There is also the issue of metabolic typing – I am

a protein type and I oxidize/digest food

quickly and I have a dominant parasympathetic

nervous system – I do much better with animal

products than without. Some people can do better

with less than me, but that doesn’t mean they

don’t benefit from some. Basically vegan

diets are a bit of an experiment – I say

if you want to do it as an adult, go for it, but eat REAL

and don’t get into all the fake foods made with soy.

Going vegan with a child is a bit risky in my opinion, based

on the reading I’ve done. They get so many nutrient-dense

foods when they eat high quality animal products."

Keep in mind these statements come from four like-minded adults. However, these four individuals are highly educated and dedicate their life to healthy living. Watch Forks Over Knives and do your homework. Use your knowledge, values, and intuition to make the best decision for your family. Best of luck!!!!!

Movie Review: Forks Over Knives- PART ONE

Check out youtube for the trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-OzTWY2J8E

One of my health mentors, my mother-in-law has been practicing good health way before it was trendy! She has inspired her whole family to be healthy. She is living proof that eating healthy pays off. She is almost 60 and has a body that most 20 year old woman strive for. :) She really does practice what she preaches. I value her advice and am inspired by her constant effort to LEARN!

She recently took a big step in becoming vegan. One really powerful documentary that played a role in her new choice was Forks Over Knives. Kevin and I decided to watch the documentary this past weekend. It was a very compelling and left me feeling confused about my food choices. We eat a variety traditional foods-- vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, meat, dairy, etc. which the documentary pushes a plant based diet.

My circle of health mentors have concerns about vegetarian and vegan diets so this was very confusing to me. The people I look up to have very different opinions of what is "healthy." One thing that continues to ring in my ears are these two points:

1. There has never, in the entire history of man, been a country, culture or race that subsisted entirely on vegetables without animal flesh of some kind.

2. Why does our body require B12 which only comes from animal protein?

Plus, I personally feel energized and full when I consume animal protein. I do think everyone's make-up is digestively different and what makes one person feels good may make someone else feel bad. Because I am limited in nutrition education (just a personal passion/hobby of mine) I took it to some experts to see what their thoughts were on this topic. That will be part two of the movie review. I am anxious to hear their thoughts.

I do feel like the documentary inspired me to learn more about vegetarian cooking and expand my horizons as the family chef. We will not be giving up meat because we believe grass-fed meat and wild caught fish have many good benefits to our health but I like to stay open minded and continue the process of learning. As I have said before, my blog serves as my own personal health quest...trying to figure out what is the best for my family. Its so hard to know with all of the information out there but my personal search continues... More to come from the experts!

The Final Stretch....

We are almost free and clear of cold and flu season! Here are a few tips to help you stay healthy for the final stretch:

1. Keep finger nails very short and clean. Most viruses come from touching your face. You can become infected from touching your ears, nose, eyes and of course your mouth. YUCK!
2. If you know you are going to a germ fest (Jungle Java, Chucke Cheese, etc.) double your dose of Vitamin D and C. Give half before the event and half after.
3. After washing your hands with soap and warm water for twenty seconds, be sure to dry thoroughly. Drying is just as important as washing.
4. Also, if you fear you are getting ill (or your child) stay away from sugar and dairy for a few days.
5. If you or one of your family members gets hit, be sure to wash their towels, pillow case and disinfect their toothbrush by throwing it in the dishwasher.

Lastly, drink water, get good sleep and stay away from processed foods! Almost there.....

Dooms Day Preppers!

Have you seen this show on the National Geographic Channel??? My husband and I are obsessed. The people on the show are preparing for some type of dooms day...an economic collapse, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. These people are very intense and in my opinion spend their life living in fear. However, the show has given us a lot to think about, especially when it comes to one of my favorite topics...FOOD!

My general rule of thumb is to follow experts that practice eating real foods while still maintaining a healthy relationship with food. I basically try to eat what my grandmother ate as a child. Her mother butchered her own chicken in their laundry room sink! I will NOT be doing that...but I will have a local farmer respectably care and butcher his own grass-fed animals so that I can purchase good quality food for my family. My great grandmother gardened, canned, raised her own chickens, and made every thing from scratch. I am so envious of all of her skills. I know we live in a different time but sometimes I wish I was more self-sufficient.

We live in a time where people expect to be taken care of instead of being resourceful and self-sufficient. My husband spends many hours reading about our economy and is very fearful of an economic collapse...similar to the Great Depression. If this happens, prices of food will sky rocket. Even worse, store bought food will not be readily available to us. Of course this is the worst case scenario but I need/want to become someone with more skills. Not only for the fear of a depression but I believe these skills will be healthier options for my family. One way I have been trying to improve my skill set is by going to the Healthy Traditions Cooking classes. So far I have been to classes on homemade stocks, canning, and cooking from scratch. Check out their website for more information if interested. We also are trying to become more dependent on farmers, gardening, etc and less dependent on grocery stores. Yes, we are big time amateurs but we are hoping overtime we will improve our skills and gain more knowledge.

In a nut shell, we are not dooms day preppers but we believe learning certain skills will not only provide a healthier foundation for our family but will also give us extra security...God forbid something happens to our food supply. Check out the show and see what you think!

Ben and Jake on a property in Traverse City.

Weekend Wind Down!

I am winding down with my cup of tea and feeling a little emotional about our weekend. I recently heard a mom talk about "out of the box milestones" and how we should celebrate ALL of our children's milestones. We all know when our child walked or what their first word was but this particular mom told me she celebrated "out of the box milestones." For example, my "out of the box milestone" was our family room make over. My family room was basically a toy room for the last six years with little to no decorations. It contained some old beat down couches and a toy box filled with monster trucks and other boy toys. Tonight, my husband and I are enjoying our new room and it feels a little bitter sweet. Its is a sign that we are moving from the roll around the family room floor with all of the toys stage to a normal functioning family room...pictures on the wall and all.

As much as I loved those long days playing on the family room floor with the kids I am excited about our new transition. I am excited about family game nights and more adult entertaining. Time really does go quickly. As much as I try to cherish every stage of my children's lives, it seems to be passing me by, far too quickly. The saying "the days are long but the years are short" is so, so TRUE!

By the way, my tea tonight contains Bee Pollen. Bee Pollen has lots of wonderful health benefits. Weight loss, immune system boost, increased energy, increased sex drive, etc. etc. I put a few pellets in my tea and it quickly dissolves and you don't even know its there. Be careful if you have an allergic reaction to bee stings and be sure to read about all of the side effects before trying it.

Good night!