All posts tagged Megan Ciampa

How to Find Locally-Grown Food & Support Small Businesses

May 8, 2013 by   Megan

By Megan Ciampa, Contributing Writer

We’ve all heard that buying local and supporting small businesses is one of the best things you can do for your local economy.  We might even grow our vegetables or gardens, which is probably the very best way to “go local” — right in your own backyard!  But for those of us on that gradual learning curve to buying local and supporting locally owned small businesses, what’s another way to go about it?

In the past few years I’ve gradually tried to purchase foods closer and closer to home.  Sometimes that is within a couple miles’ radius, sometimes it is foods grown within my state, which could span hundreds of miles.  Other times, I may buy from a small business located out of state. Either way, I’m supporting a family operation and feel good about purchasing foods in this manner.  (To be sure though, I also do purchase many foods at my local chain grocery stores.)

If you are trying to find local foods, whether it be produce, meat, or dairy and eggs, try these options to find what’s available in your area.

Online Resources to find Local Foods:

  • EatWild.com – “Your source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles.”
  • LocalHarvest.org – “Real food. Real Harvest. Real Community.”  The site lists farms, CSAs (community supported agriculture), farmer’s markets, wholesale, grocery/co-ops, meat processors, and even restaurants in your area.
  • Find your local Weston A. Price Foundation chapter – http://www.westonaprice.org/local-chapters/find-local-chapter.  Even if you are not a member or familiar with WAPF principles, contacting the leader of your local group may inform you of nearby resources for meats, dairy, produce, or other various co-ops.
  • PickYourOwn.org - Interested in local u-pick farms? This is a massive inventory spanning several countries and continents. It tells you when the seasons are to pick which fruit or vegetable and lists contact informations for the farms.
  • Paleo by City – Bill & Hayley of Primal Palate have created a forum where you can look up  restaurants, shops, farmers markets and other resources that are available in your neck of the woods.  In some cases they may even list naturally-minded medical practitioners.
  • FarmersMarket.com – As the name suggests, it aims to list all the local farmer’s markets by name, address or zip code.  
  • The Resources page on your favorite blog ;-) … See Healthy Home Economist or Mommypotamus’ resources pages for additional examples!

If you feel all out of luck or live in an area where there is little grown locally, there are still several options where you can order food online and have it shipped to you. Amazon.com, USWellnessMeats.com, TropicalTraditions.com all carry gourmet foods, grocery items, or food items in bulk.  

Best of all: Word of Mouth

Perhaps the best way of all to find good local food?  The quintessential word of mouth.  Finding out from others is even easier now with social media as you can quickly list a question on your Facebook feed or on Twitter or Instagram and find out from others where they find the best resources for local food.

How do you find local food? What tips do you have to share?  What has helped you the most with becoming familiar with local farmers or farmer’s markets? Share below!

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How to Naturally Freshen Your Home (without the use of synthetics)

April 2, 2013 by   Megan

Two Boxes of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda - 6 of 6

Image by sameold2010 via Compfight

By Megan Ciampa, Contributing Writer

Ever since I learned about the hazardous toxins in everyday fragrances, I’ve been more and more inclined to find ways to naturally freshen the home without succumbing to Febreze or other synthetic air fresheners.

Keeping your home clean and neat–a task in and of itself–can go a long way towards freshening up your home, so sometimes all that’s needed is a quick wash of the dishes or emptying of the trash cans.

When you feel your home needs a little boost, here are some simple Do-It-Yourself methods for naturally freshening your home:

  • Sprinkle baking soda in your carpets or rugs before you vacuum; it is a natural deodorizer and will absorb odors instead of masking them. In a humid climate? Care2.com recommends a light spray of distilled white vinegar instead.
  • Open your windows when the weather is nice and breezy to let in some outside air to filter and clean your home.
  • Sunning your clothes, linens (if appropriate) or towels can also naturally bleach and freshen your laundry.
  • Have leftover mulling spices from fall & winter entertaining? Use them to create a fragrant welcoming scent by boiling them in water, then reducing heat to low and letting them simmer for 3-4 hours.
    Simmering mulling spices on the stove can create a warm and inviting scent in your home
  • Hang your own potpourri of dried, crushed herbs in a sachet in front of the air registers so it can waft the fragrance across the rooms in your house.  No herbs? Try soaking a thin washcloth in a mixture of water and an essential oil and draping it in front of the air vent instead.
  • Leftovers lemons?  Drop them in your garbage disposal and let them grind up a bit; it will create a clean, fresh invigorating scent in your kitchen.
  • Did you know vinegar can also absorb odors?  Place a bowl of vinegar in a room where you need a little help with the odors and let it sit overnight.  The same can be done with a cut-up onion, although your room might smell like a fajita at first.
  • Make your own essential oil air freshening spray.  All you need is a spray bottle, water, and a few drops of an essential oil (e.g., lemon).  Mist around rooms or spray at an air vent to allow it to circulate through your home.
Limon 
Image by hamad M via Compfight

What DIY natural methods have you tried to freshen up your home?  Share below!

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3 Real Food Changes That You Thought Were Hard (but are Really Simple)

March 2, 2013 by   Megan

Spilling the Beans

Image by Roger Smith via Compfight

By Megan Ciampa, Contributing Writer

If you are friends with anyone who is into preparing foods traditionally then you may have heard them say things like, “I’m making a bit pot of chili after I finishing soaking my beans,” or “I just bought 5 whole chickens and I can’t wait to make chicken stock with the bones!” or “I love having soaked oatmeal for breakfast” and you wonder, “What in the world are they talking about?”  Sure, it sounds delicious and you bet there is nutritional value to these practices, but goodness, don’t they take a lot of time?  Guess what? They take about .02 seconds to set up, but they yield innumerous ridiculous health benefits.

3 Real Food Changes That Are Really Simple

Soaking Beans

…(or nuts, legumes and other seeds) is a traditional health food tip passed on from our ancestors that allows us to absorb the nutrients in the food more easily by neutralizing enzyme inhibitors and removing phytates (phytic acid) according to Bee Wilder of HealingNaturallyByBee.com  (see her guide on properly preparing grains, nuts, seeds & legumes).

Bee also says, “These foods also contain enzyme inhibitors that interfere with the absorption of proteins, which causes gastric distress and chronic deficiencies in amino acids. Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli, and other helpful organisms to not only neutralize phytic acid, but it also removes enzyme inhibitors and breaks down complex starch” (emphasis mine).  If you want to avoid the gastric distress that often comes with eating beans “the magical fruit,” try soaking beans!

How to Soak:

Dried Beans (such as black, pinto, kidney, white, etc.)

  • Use warm filtered water to cover.
  • For medium-sized and large beans, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of acidic medium (like apple cider vinegar — or you can use baking soda) for each cup of dry, raw beans.  Small beans (like black) need 2 tablespoons of acidic medium for each cup.
  • The minimum time for soaking is 7 hours, or overnight.  Soak longer for larger beans, anywhere from 12-24 hours.
  • Drain the beans in a colander and rinse off the soaking water (to reduce phytates).  Add fresh water to cook the beans.
  • Place the beans in a stock pot, add fresh water, and cook about 1- 2 hours until the beans have softened.  Skim off any foam that rises during cooking.

TIPS:

  1. Store extra beans in plastic bags or food storage containers and freeze the extras.  These will make really fast meals in the future for chili, mexican meals, or beans & rice!
  2. If you’re converting recipes that called for canned beans, the rule of thumb is:

1 15-ounce can of beans equals

Bone Broth (chicken stock, turkey stock, beef stock)

Homemade Turkey Stock

There are loads of tutorials online about how to make chicken stock, including Kate’s, here at Modern Alternative Mama.  You can make your own broth from chicken, turkey or beef bones, and even fish bones!

After you roast your meat, you simply take your bones, dump them in a stock pot (or crockpot, see Nourished Kitchen’s easy tutorial for a slow-cooker), add 1-2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar, vegetable scraps (chopped onion, celery, carrots), and cover the bones with filtered water, and let simmer for 12-24 hours.  When you see floaty bubbles or foam rise to the top in the first 30 minutes, simply skim the foam off (those are impurities coming out of the bones).  Your house will smell wonderful and you will have loads of healthy, nourishing, chicken stock to use for several different meals!

Why make your own? Broth is naturally full of minerals your body can easily assimilate.  It contains gelatin, which strengthens your bones and helps heal your digestive lining.  Its soothing properties are powerful, which is why it’s often recommended for colds and flus.

Soaking Oatmeal

Soaking Oatmeal

As a grain, oats can still be hard to digest if not soaked or sprouted.  Either of these methods help unlock the nutrients in the oat by reducing phytic acid (an anti-nutrient) and allowing your body to assimilate the actual nutrients in the grain.  You can see my quick tutorial for soaking oatmeal at Chiquita Bambino.

In all these cases, in order to soak beans, oatmeal, or make your own bone broth, all you need are probably supplies you already have on hand (apple cider vinegar might be new if you’re newer to traditional food preparation).  The active hands-on time to start these processes is very little, maybe 10 minutes top.

In my experience, the main thing that is new is starting the process hours or a day before you’d like to use it for a meal.  As long as you are prepared, these changes are a cinch!  

What real food changes have you made in your home? What was easy? What was hard? What are you interested in trying, but just haven’t had the courage to yet?

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How to Show Respect Even When You Disagree

February 13, 2013 by   Megan

 

Original Photo by Michael Sarver 

By Megan Ciampa, Contributing Writer

“I told you so!”

Words you never enjoy hearing.

Especially when it’s between a husband and wife or anyone in any close relationship.  Those words sting even more and often signal that the person who said those words has been harboring judgment, resentment or accusations in his or her heart towards the other person.  “I was right, and you were wrong.”

We make decisions every single day, and oftentimes we as parents and spouses have to make important decisions that are not as clear-cut as the rest.

What do you do though when you and your spouse do not agree on big matters? How do you handle it if you and your husband are at odds with one another?  What’s your reaction typically like? And how does your response fit in with what the Bible says about roles and responsibilities within the home?  If you are not a believer, this part may make you groan, but if you hang on for just a tad longer, you may see that this can be applicable even if you are not involved in a Christ-centered marriage.

Here’s a quick peak at God’s instructions for Christian households in Colossians 3.  I am using The Message version because I like how it reads (emphasis in bold is mine):

18 Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
19 Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them.
[...]
24 Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.

God calls us to a higher standard than what we often see displayed on TV or in the media in marital relationships.  Wives are to be understanding and supportive, and by being submissive to our husbands (which we’ll discuss more in depth), we are honoring Christ.

Often times we see the submission verse given to women and we might shudder and think, “Oh great, just another command to the women.  The guys get off easy!”  In reality, the very next verse calls husbands to “go all out in love for your wives.”  We are to be submissive, but our instruction does not heed love!

Let’s just take a pause here and say if you knew me as a teenager, your jaw would probably drop knowing I would even discuss passages like this! Even though I grew up in a Godly household with Christian parents who modeled a very Godly marriage to me and my three brothers, I grew up with boys all around me and I often felt suppressed by the verses I read towards women. I believed false truths that these commandments put women down and were not in a woman’s best interest, and yet I was still a Christian.  It was just an area I really grappled with and didn’t enjoy discussing much in woman’s classes or hearing from the pulpit.  It really wasn’t until I grew up and got married and had a baby that I realized there was much wisdom in these commandments.

So, how can you show respect and submission to your husband even when you disagree on BIG issues (health, food, education, where you live, careers, decisions related to your children, finances, etc)?

First we must understand what submission means.  It does not mean suppression.  While it may harken back thoughts or ideas of the 1950s era or lead you to the beginnings of the feminist era, real submission does not mean suppression.  I do not believe God employed women with hearts and brains only to not use them and “play dumb.”  As helpmeets, we are employed with these assets to work alongside our husband and truly strive to make the best decisions we know how, giving glory to God.  It’s just that we will not always see eye-to-eye.

Submission means yielding.  It means letting go when you realize in order to move on as a couple, someone has to give.  It does not mean your ideas or thoughts are not valid. It does not mean your preference has no merit.  It just simply means yielding.

fPat Murray via Compfight

Imagine a wrestling match between two stiff competitors.  Both have trained hard, are in good physical and mental condition.  It’s a pretty even fight, but eventually in order for the fight to be decided, one must win and one must lose.  The one who lost is yielding.  The fight is over and both the winner and loser move on and there is probably a sense of relief among both competitors that the match is now complete.

This is sometimes how it feels when there is a major disagreement between a husband and a wife.  In the midst of the struggle, both are at odds with one another, working their hardest to prove their point.  When it all comes to a head and a decision is reached, there is often relief that follows.  I believe these feelings are probably part of God’s design.  It’s not easy to submit, but when you sense the peace and healing God’s plan can provide, it makes the act of submission a little bit easier.

About Respect

One of the biggest needs for a man is to feel respect.  As women, we often think it’s love, so we might shower our husband with the type of loving affection we like to receive, when what would really float his boat is for him to know we really respect who he is as a man and that we trust him.  (To read more about this I suggest you check out the book For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn.)

During and after a conflict, one of the easiest ways to show respect to your husband is to just yield.  It may be very hard to do so, but you can respectfully say, “I’m going to trust you on this.” You don’t have to say you disagree, it’s probably quite obvious if you’ve been fighting!  You can just simply communicate, “I have my reservations and I feel differently but I’m going to trust you on this and we’re in this together.”  That sentiment will probably mean more than anything to your husband.  To know that you stand beside him will give him the confidence to proceed with the decision.

It also puts the ball back in his court so that he really has to consider for himself, “Am I making the right decision?”

If you yield, then just yield.  I’d advise not coming back and saying “I told you so” or acting like a jerk or being disrespectful.  The simple act of yielding creates trust and respect, and creating trust in your marriage is one of the most important things you can do.
Yield Sunset

Image by Sean Molin via Compfight

When a decision has been made, as a couple you bear the outcome together.  Whether it’s a good choice or a bad choice in the end, it’s something that both the husband and wife need to be united on.  It’s ever so tempting in the face of a bad choice to say to someone, “Well, I wanted to do ____, but he said…” and knock down your husband.  Let’s not do this!

When it’s a good choice, you can also share in the victory of that, but avoid the temptation to be a fair-weather friend.

One last reminder:  Never forget the words in 1 Peter 3:1:

“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives” (NIV).

Even if your husband and you are not on the same page about issues you find incredibly important, by yielding and showing respect, you may gradually win over your husband with less heartache and torture than you would by fighting over every single issue.  (When it comes to real food and health, I found this post by Katie of Kitchen Stewardship incredibly encouraging: How to Boil a Husband.  She recommends: Share information, communicate, build trust, retain normalcy, and show results.)

How do you show respect and submission in your relationship?  How have you improved this aspect of your marriage? What makes it easier? Harder?

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Why Setting Goals May Not Be Your Best Approach

January 5, 2013 by   Megan

Image by Vinni123

By Megan, Contributing Writer

Daily Tip: Avoid discouragement by focusing on what is best for your family and not what “The Jones’ are doing.” (Danielle Tate, More Than Four Walls)

At the beginning of every year it is not uncommon to hear people setting New Year’s Resolutions–usually a list of goals or ambitions they want to accomplish by year’s end.  And usually within only a few months of creating the list of resolutions, most people abandon their list entirely, feeling a sense of guilt for not accomplishing what they set out to do.Why do people fail at these goals or resolutions, and furthermore, should we set goals and resolutions each year?

The answers to both of these questions are somewhat entangled in each other.  Setting goals for ourselves can be very profitable, but if we do not know how to set goals properly, we can set ourselves up for failure, also burdening ourselves with an unnecessary load of guilt.  As if us moms need any more guilt!  I’ll explain how to set goals properly, and what to do if setting goals just doesn’t “jive” with you.

If you’re never participated in a goal-setting session before, then you might not be familiar with the acroynm S.M.A.R.T. for setting goals.  The S.M.A.R.T. acronym is a device to help you remember that when you set goals, in order to give yourself the best opportunity to reach them, your goals must be:

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Relevant
T – Time-oriented

Image by Midconnections.com


There are variations on what all the letters in S.M.A.R.T. may stand for, but this is a good starting point.  To give yourself a fighting chance, it’s better to create a goal that matches these aspects.For example, a “S.M.A.R.T.” goal for you or your family in 2013 may be:
Transition off all refined sugars by June 2013.  

To make it more specific, you might add: Only use sucanat/rapadura, honey, Grade b Maple Syrup, date sugar, coconut sugar, etc. for sweeteners.

Now your goal is specific (you’ve specified exactly which natural sweeteners you mean), measurable (you’ll be able to evaluate your sweeteners by what is or is not included), attainable (you can always order these products on Amazon.com if you cannot find them locally!); relevant (if you are a reader of this blog and other traditional foods blogs, this is highly relevant!) and time-oriented(you’ve given yourself a timeframe, so start swapping out sugars over the next few months to meet goal by June).  Not only is this a smart goal, it’s also a healthy one!

Here’s an example of a “not-so-S.M.A.R.T.” goal:
I want to be healthier in 2013.

Now, that is a great goal, but it doesn’t really fit the S.M.A.R.T. model, instead, it fits an area of focus — health.

For some, setting areas of focus may be more beneficial than setting goals, because it allows you innumerable opportunities to improve.  It leaves you with fewer parameters, timelines, and barriers, and in the end may allow you to reach more goals than you may have originally intended.  There is even research showing that it may be more effective than setting goals.  So, which should I do?

Well, if you’re like me, I would do both.  

15-06-10 Lets Go I Want To Go All The Way To The Horizon ~ Explored Front Page :) 
Image by Βethan via Compfight

Set areas of focus, and within those areas of focus, set 1-3 goals minimum.  

Coincidentally, as I was getting ready to write this post, my husband sent me a link to Harvard Business Review, which included an articleby Peter Bregman that was a little anti-goal-setting for 2013!  Sounded like a lazy excuse to not do anything until I read further:

“A goal defines an outcome you want to achieve; an area of focus establishes activities you want to spend your time doing. A goal is a result; an area of focus is a path. A goal points to a future you intend to reach; an area of focus settles you into the present.”

I can get down with that.

Bregman adds,

“An area of focus taps into your intrinsic motivation, offers no stimulus or incentive to cheat or take unnecessary risks, leaves every positive possibility and opportunity open, and encourages collaboration while reducing corrosive competition. All while moving forward on the things you [...] value most.”

In other words, an area of focus offers all the advantages of a goal without the negative side effects.

How do you do it? It’s simple: identify the things you want to spend your time doing [...] — and spend your time doing those things. The rest takes care of itself. I have found that five major things are about the limit before your efforts get diluted” (emphasis mine).

A couple of years ago, on a blog I once kept up (but have now sorely slacked on!), I set some goals for myself in 2011.  I ended up getting pregnant a few months into that year, and some of my goals went out the window.  I did try making my own kombucha, yogurt, and mayonnaise, but I never got around to making my own ketchup, or sourcing actual coconuts to make my daughter’s coconut milk.  And for a while, I felt guilty about that!  But eventually, without my even consciously recognizing it, I changed from setting goals to setting areas of focus or areas of preference: I would prefer to be healthy.  I would prefer to eat nutrient-dense foods. I would prefer to do things that strengthen my body, soul and mind.  I would prefer to be apart of and participate in activities that enrich my family.

So, instead of setting limits that I made myself believe I had to meet in 30 days, or 3 months, I shifted my thinking to a path I wanted to be on, and let go of hard & fast rules in exchange for ideals.  Over time, it has softened some of my edges, and allowed me to be open to various opportunities.

What goals, preferences or areas of focus are most important to you and your family in 2013? What would you like see yourself or your family accomplish? Do you set goals?  Share your experience below!

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