Day Twenty-one and it's over!

Well we came, concurred and decided to make our 30 day challenge a 20 day challenge!  We spent the past weekend in Auburn with family and friends.  It was a whopping 98 degree there and we just had to have a beer--plus it's hard to stick with a different diet when you aren't at home.  I brought oatmeal, veggies and fruit and we did our best but we had to deviate slightly.  After all, we are human!

Regardless, we learned a lot over the past 3 weeks and I am definitely making some permanent changes for my family.  There they are:

1. No alcohol on weekdays -- unless it's a special occasion
2. I will try my best to soak all our our grains and beans prior to cooking
3. I will only buy organic, local beef, chicken, eggs, and produce when possible
4. We will have only raw milk, cheese and yogurt when possible
5. We will continue to have more animal fat in our diets

I have learned to cook some wonderful meals and would love to share them with anyone who is interested.  I make my own stock weekly and use it in place of water when cooking rice, beans and lentils.  I make weekly stews and soups that we have grown to love.  We are having more smoothies, fresh fruits and vegetables.

I am going to at least 2 weekly farmers markets and bringing my own bags.  I always have reusable cups, boxes and utensils in my car and stroller.  I am trying to make Travis homemade lunches to take with him to work.

And finally our big news is...we are proud owners of a herd of beautiful Jersey girl cows. We own a share of the herd.  One share provides us with 1 gallon of raw milk every week and kefir and yogurt if we chose. We will let you know how it goes.

Thank you for reading and stay healthy!!

Day Twelve

Trav here....

Wow...we haven't really been blogging!  We'll catch up...We have been doing pretty well...both dropping some pounds (though that's not really the goal).  I have been sneaking a latte every now and then but otherwise sticking to the plan.  We found some bread at Whole Foods that is made on site from 5 organic ingredients; unbleached flour, buttermilk, butter, cage free eggs, yeast and water.  Nice to have some bread, seriously.  Ang has been hitting the farmers markets around the area and getting some great fruit and veg.  Sam has been enjoying his diet....but it hasn't really changed much for him as that is how he normally eats.  We have been eating a bit more animal fats than usual but still dropping a little weight and feeling good.  I still have some stomach woes, but I think it is due to having more milk than normal and not always getting raw milk. I would like to open up the 4th as a semi-free day as it is un-American not to consume beer on such a holiday....I can't lie, I'm really looking forward to it.  We found a healthy cookie recipe that we'll be working on this weekend..yum.  Look for peanut clusters in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.  Ang has been using this book a lot for this little experiment in traditional eating.