as summer moves into august...

it seems that many weekends are spent canning and freezing...
most years it has been tomatoes, grape jelly and applesauce
this year we have branched out into other loved items all in a quest to buy less
processed items and eat a more natural whole food diet.

corn on the cob...
my first attempt at freezing it on the cob
and yes buying frozen corn is actually a good choice the ingredient list is usually one item
and if you read labels you know how rare that is.
but I liked knowing where my corn was grown, and what stuff was put on it during the growing season
(finding organic in my area is difficult...so plan B is knowing who grew it and choosing those who
think like me.)  buying local is a win win situation...
I love when reducing my carbon footprint...

and those sliced peaches in the top photo made there way into peaach crisp
(again not organic, sigh I trust the tide will turn and soon organice won't be a novelty but
instead the norm)  perhaps not the perfect whole food scenerio but I do know what went into
it ...plenty of organic ingredients..and so it is a better option than buying it in the store.
As we have slowly switched our buying habits
-going for organic when possible
-purchasing grass fed beef and pork
-free range chicken and eggs
-whole wheat raised organically
-not eating white foods, sugar, wheat, and salt
(we still eat them we just use the whole food versions somehow discovering that in order for it to be white
the processing included bleach, yes bleach turned me from ever needing to eat white again)
-buying local
at first i thought we would be giving up...
and instead I have discovered the furthest thing from that.
-we eat less than we used to.
-we are full until the next meal, no longer needing to snack all the time
-the food tastes better, love hearing the kids say, what is this it tastes awesome?
yes we stopped buying the boxed foods that so often in the past filled the cupboards and panty..
now our "hamburger helper" made from scratch with real food options and this version
they love even more.
and so as this summer of change continues the freezeers have become empty of packaged convience foods
(there are still a few frozen pizzas and some ice cream haning out in the freezer)
and have started fill with strawberries, blueberries, corn and now peach crisp
we have tried beefalo and grass fed beef
the chickens we now buy from a vender at the farmers market almost make you
weep, they taste that good.  the chicken stock made from the roasting chicken is
filling  a freezer shelf waiting to be enoyed in soups and dishes all winter long.
as I spend more time preparing food (more time as in not opening a packaging and popping it in the oven)
I find that cooking has become something i want to do, i enjoy doing.
and as one thing is figured out I find that the willingness to try something new becomes
more common...next up...home made tortillas, and home made french fries.
(there is high fructose corn syrup in those bad boys in buy in the freezer section at the grocery store...really
why is there corn in my potatoes????)
...and that is another post all that corn we eat.