Monday, April 22, 2013

Uncle Sam Wants YOU- To Grow Your Own Food

 

... Well, at least he did, once upon a time! I recently read somewhere on the internet that the first grocery stores didn't really appear in America until 1946.  While I am not certain that this date is exactly accurate (groceteria.com cites dry-goods stores around 1859, Piggly Wiggly opening in 1916, chain grocery stores emerging in the 1920's, and supermarkets in the 1930's and 1940's), it really got me thinking and the sentiment is still true- there were not always grocery stores, super-centers, or convenience stores on any given city block.  So where did the food on the dinner table come from?  In large part, right out side the kitchen door.

Indeed, there once was a time when the American government all but begged good citizens to grow their own food, eat a largely plant-based diet, and practice as much self-sufficiency as possible! Don't have any yard space? Not to worry, the government and companies would even offer an allotment of land to be worked for growing food. Further, those who didn't subscribe to these practices were seen as downright unpatriotic and not-so-subtly frowned upon socially.  Sounds a little different from the now familiar consumer driven culture we live in now, hmm? We would all do well with little history lesson and a heaping helping of appreciation for the Victory Garden. 

Here is a great round-up of some powerful Victory Garden posters:


Wait, what? Sugar? From nature? You mean to tell me that sugar can come from nature
and doesn't need to be a processed, refined food product
that scarcely resembles any kind of real food??
Looks like someone should let that unpatriotic,
sad ol' Mrs. Waster in on that secret too...


 Read it again: "You can use the land you have 
to grow the foods you need".
 Most of our homes are surrounded by 
enormous lawn space.  Lawn- just grass 
that begs to be manicured and maintained. 
Think of how much food could be grown in that land!


Of course, Victory Gardens are sexy. Duh.



For their sake, feed children vegetables 
and fruit- real food.  Teach children that food 
comes from the earth, not a grocery store or a drive-thru.

"Grow your own- be sure" takes on a whole new meaning today.  When you grow your own YOU have the control of what you are eating.  YOU decide if you eat GMO's or not, organic or not- no food labels required!



Saturday, April 20, 2013

Homemade Lara Bars


As we are updating our kitchen, one of everyone's favorite additions is the pantry.  We've never had a real pantry before!  The kids (at ages 2 and 4) feel so independent when they can open the door and help themselves to a snack.  Knowing this, I have stocked the shelves at toddler level with snacks that I don't mind them helping themselves to- even when I am not looking.  Their shelves hold things like sunflower seeds and nuts, raisins, banana chips, fruit leather, and "baby food" packets of fruit/vegetable smoothie types.  I love that even when given a choice, my kids will usually prefer snacks a Lara bar, Cliff bar or Z bar over a candy bar!

I am a firm believer in making as much of the food we eat from scratch as I possibly can, and every day I get a little closer to eliminating our dependence on processed foods.  To clarify my view of processed food, I heard once in a documentary "processed foods are any food that goes through a building before it gets to you".  This statement really hit home for me, and a light bulb went off over my head! Such a simple truth that had never occurred to me.  So here we go, one more step in reducing the amount of buildings between my family and our food...

Instructions:
This style of snack bars really couldn't be easier to make!  I wish I had known this years ago- I will never pay $$ for the store-bought ones again!
  • Combine ingredients in food processor beginning with nuts/seeds, then fruit, then lemon juice (driest or hardest to softest).
  • Press firmly in a glass baking dish (metal would probably work just as well, but I don't have one so I can't attest to how easily the bars would remove).
  • Chill and cut out. I only chilled them because I was afraid that they wouldn't hold the "bar" shape.  I am not entirely sure this step is necessary, but we were happy with the results!
  • That's it!


      
      Ingredients:
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1 cup dried blueberries
  • 1/2 cup banana chips
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice



      
      Ingredients:
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes
  • 1 1/2 cup dates
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice



    
      Ingredients:
  •  1/2 cup pistachios
  • 1 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 1/2 cup dates
  • 1/2 dried cranberries
  • 1/2 dried goji berries
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice