Monday, December 5, 2011

Changing the way we eat, one thing at a time

My kids have begun to think I’m crazy. 

I quit buying bread from the store about a month ago.  Did you know that almost every brand of bread at our grocery store has high fructose corn syrup?  I had a really hard time finding one that didn’t.  And when I did it was $3.00 a loaf.  So, I started making homemade bread. We love it.  I found a great recipe for sandwich bread.  You can read my recipe here.

Last week, we joined a herd share.  For a small start up fee and a monthly maintenance fee we are now getting a gallon and a half of raw milk every week.   My kids love it.  We all actually think it is delicious.  And we are not getting the hormones and antibiotics that are in store bought milk.  I was buying organic milk for awhile before this and it was almost $8 a gallon.  This is cheaper and better.  We get to see the cows it came from when we go pick it up.  How cool is that?

So, anyway, we are slowly changing the way we eat.  I’m tired of all of the GMO’s, antibiotics and growth hormones that are so bad for us.

Today, we went to my Mom’s.  Of course the kids acted like I hadn’t fed them in weeks.  I think there is something about my Mom’s front door that makes them hungry?  Still haven’t figured that one out yet.  When we step in the house, they’re starved.

So, she made them sandwiches.  She had Butternut wheat bread and Sunbeam white bread.  The kids picked the white bread.  Now, these are both brands that I used to buy. 

And we liked them.

As soon as they took a bite, Bella said “this bread is gross”.  It tastes weird.  Griffin said, “It tastes like vinegar". 

I smelled it and it did smell weird.  They were both brand new loaves.  It was just all of the chemicals that they haven’t been eating in our bread now smelled funny to them.  

They didn’t eat it and said they would just eat my bread when we get home.

Ahh, something I’m doing is finally working.  Even though they swore it wouldn’t. 

Shh, don’t tell them, I really do know what’s best for them.

Happy Homeschooling.

14 comments:

Beth B. said...

Great minds think alike! I've been baking our bread since September. I got a flour mill to grind our own whole wheat (when you're ready to take the next big leap). We also get raw cow's milk. Do you make your own butter? My aunt was almost in tears when she had mine at Thankgiving--it reminded her of growing up on a farm.

Becky K. said...

We also love raw milk! I wish I knew how to make butter from it - it's way too expensive at the farm we frequent. Admire you for making your own bread. I've been looking at the "artisan bread in 15 minutes" type books lately - maybe I'll give it a try!

Heidi said...

Good for you, Lori. Ashley and I tried our hand at baking bread last year, after being inspired by the West ladies. We loved it, but it's just so time-consuming. I'm a total bread-snob and HATE store-bought bread.

Erika said...

Good for you! Isn't it rewarding when your kids make good food choices all on their own?

Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads said...

Wow! Your organic milk cost $8 a gallon. I thought $4 and some change a gallon was high. lol! I would love to be able to do raw, organic milk, but it's not available around here.

We are able to get delicious raw cheese which doesn't give me any issues. (I'm lactose intolerant.)

Nothing beats fresh baked bread with no added "stuff" in it. Now that it's cooled off here, I'm looking forward to getting back into gluten free baking.

@Heidi - bread machine. ;)

Stefanie said...

Sounds yummy!!

I wish I hadn't gotten rid of our bread machine. Our kitchen is so small I can barely fit dishes. (And no I'm not one of those people who would make dough by hand. lol)

Loving learning at Home said...

Beth, I love homemade butter. I tried to make it in the bread machine but it took way too much of the cream off of the top and I only got about a TBS of butter. It was pretty funny. I hoarded that TBS and wouldn't let anyone have any.

Loving learning at Home said...

Becky, I started with the artisan bread from Mother Earth News. It was pretty easy but my kids don't like the hard crust. So, I was super happy to find this recipe.

Loving learning at Home said...

Heidi, I use my Kitchenaide and it really doesn't take that long. If it is warm in the house it only takes about 45 minutes the first rise and 30 the second. Well worth it. I also have made it in the bread machine and just let it do all the work. But that does take longer, about 3 1/2 hours total. Try the recipe, I promise you'll think it's worth it.

Loving learning at Home said...

Heather, yep, organic milk is crazy expensive here. I could only find it at Kroger and Meiijer and it was around $4 a 1/2 gallon. Hard to fit that in the grocery budget. LOL

Loving learning at Home said...

Giggly Girls, I totally hear ya. I cannot knead bread without my mixer. It hurts my wrists way to bad.

Stef said...

WHAT? I never would have thought bread had HFCS - I just checked ours (natures own whole wheat - doesn't)

I do make my own banana bread - but that's about it. I wish I was more skilled in the kitchen!

very impressive

Mary said...

We love homemade bread, but it is just so time consuming and the loaves are small. A loaf can disappear 30 minutes after coming out of the oven!

I may give your sandwich bread recipe a try. :)

Unknown said...

It is so interesting how we get used to the taste of these things.

I am going to try your bread recipe soon! Thanks for sharing.

Disclosure

I would like to let you know that this blog contains reviews done by me in exchange for products from certain companies. I have not received any other compensation for the honest reviews that I post. I will never promise a favorable review. If I don't like the product, I will honestly tell you why.

I would like to disclose the following existing relationships with affiliates: CurrClick, AdSense. I am an affiliate with the aforementioned companies and may receive compensation if a reader clicks through a link on my blog and makes a purchase.

If you have any questions about this, please e-mail me at loriboling@gmail.com.,\