The winter flu season and BROTH!

The flu season seems to be upon us, as nearly every family I know has been or is currently being hit with some sort of flu. Ours included! Zach and I recently had a mild case of the flu that we were able to get over in a matter of a couple of days, with mild discomfort.

This brings me to the point of this blog entry: Homemade Broth and Stock! Foods made with real broth and stocks have all but disappeared from our homes. Canned and "boxed" imitations, so readily available at the store have taken their place. This is a very unfortunate thing, as real broths and stocks can be one of your best defenses against the myriad of germs and viruses that make the rounds every winter.

Why? Broths and Stocks made from bones, simmered for hours on your stovetop, contain real geletin, which not only heals the lining of the entire digestive tract, but provides an atmoshphere where the digestive tract can funtion as your "primary immune system". When your digestive tract is unhealthy, many foreign organisms (including bacteria, viruses, and pieces of food - which contribute to food allergies) are able to pass through to your bloodstream. These organisms are now in your body, causing you to become sick. With a healthy gut, these organisms are NOT allowed through, and pass out of your system, w/o your knowledge that you were infected at all! Sally Fallon write, in Nourishing Traditions, "Modern research has confirmed that broth helps prevent and mitigate infectious diseases. The wise food provider, who uses a gelatin-rich broth on a daily or frequent basis, provided continuous protection from many health problems." (NT p. 117)

Stocks also have many more health benefits, some of which include:
*Stocks contain the minerals of bone, marrow, cartilage, and vegetables (if organic vegetables were used to make it) as an electrolyte solution, and are extremely nutritious. Electrolyes are a form of nutrients that the body can assimilate completely and immediately. Rather than buy all those expensive "electrolyte drinks", you can be comforted with a bowl of real chicken soup when you are sick! Furthermore, the minerals (from the bones you used to make it) in the electrolye form and assimilated and used to build your own stong bones!

*Stocks, also, while not a complete protein in and of themselves, are considered to be a "protein sparer". This means that they "allow the body to better utilize the complete proteins that are taken in." (Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions p. 116). So, when you make a soup with real stock and use only a small amount of meat, your body will assimilate more of the protein than you would have had you eaten that same small amount alone. You can use your small amounts of leftover meats in soups, for a highly nutritious, economic meal!

*The Geletin in stocks, that is not present in "canned broth" is also healing to your joints and cartilage. Consuming real broths and stocks will serve as a protection against arthritis and other bone disorders.

So - how do you make real broths and stocks? Simply simmer some chicken or beef bones in a large stock pot of water all day! Throw in a spash of vinegar, and you'll draw out more of the minerals, further fortifying your broth. Add some organic veggies (carrots, celery, onions) and you'll add more minerals that these veggies have from the soil. Put in a piece of peeled ginger (an inch or so) and you'll add an immune-boosting quality to your broth.

I frequently roast a whole chicken. At the end of the meal, I take the leftover "carcass" and put it in a gallon sized freezer bag. When I'l low on stock, I simply take it out, put it in the largest pot I have, add my veggies and sometimes ginger, fill it with water, toss in a splash of vineger, then bring it to a simmer. It simmers on low all day, filling my home with a wonderful aroma. At the end of the day, I remove the bones and veggies with a slotted spoon then fill 1 c, 4 c, and 8 c freezer containers. I then put these containers in the freezer to use in soups, to cook brown rice in, to use in place of store-bought chicken broth in various meals (such as chicken pot pie, or to make the sauce for my homemade chicken enchiladas), and to make gravy - which we consume often!

We consume foods made with real stocks and broths frequently, each week. Especially during the winter, we probably consume some sort of stock atleast every other day.

This brings me back to the point I made at the beginning of the post: Zach and I had a *mild* case of the flu, that we got over very quickly, on our own. I firmly believe that since making the changes to whole foods eating, that we have significantly improved our immune systems, to the point that we rarely need medicines to get over common "bugs" that seem to knock everyone else we know out, along with the secondary infections that come with that. After discussing this at length with our family doctor, he concurs. Because our bodies are not overrun with junk foods, preservatives, msg, chemicals etc, our immune system can be in reserve for when we really do get a bug. Add to that the positive effect of nourishing your body regularly with real food, you have vitamin and mineral reserves to fight off infection when it comes. A healthy gut (which is your first line of defense) further aids this, as it prevents most bugs from "getting through to the bloodstream". I can't prove this of course, but what I can tell you, is that I can count on 1 hand the number of times that our entire family (everyone included) has been to the doctor for a "sick visit" in the last 4 years combined! I believe the frequent use of stock and broths play a vital role in that.

Not to mention - foods made from real stocks and broths don't compare with their "canned counterparts". The taste alone is enough to encourage you to put in the minimal work required!

Shauna

*The information in this post is not intended to be medical advice, but is rather, a summary of what the author understands of the principals presented in the book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon, and should be construed as the author's opinion only.

Well, I really haven't disappeared.....

I'm going back on hiatus, as I care for my mom, who is now in the care of hospice. It may be a few months before I'm up to posting again.....I will be back. Right now, however, I'm spending the last few weeks of my mom's life with her, and eventually, I'll be up to posting again.

Thanks for understanding.....

Shauna

Well - Hiatus is over!

It's mid-August, and I am finally back from my summer as head cook at our church camp. I've been home a few weeks, and am settling back into the "swing of things". It's time for my blogging hiatus to come to an end. ~smile

That brings me to: what to blog..... what to blog..... ?

Since I don't have any profound "musings" at the moment, I thought I'd just share a little of what is going on in my home presently:

Homeschooling is getting ready to start back up. Our big box of curriculum arrived recently, and it's nearly all sorted and organized and ready for the new school year! My oldest, who is in school, will be registering for 8th grade next week. That is a little hard to believe. What's even harder to believe is that the following year will be HIGH SCHOOL!

My French classes (for homeschoolers) will be starting soon, and so I am currently knee-deep in textbooks, syllabi, class lists and the like. I have been listening to a lot of French on itunes, getting myself geared up and refreshed. I always love using my French!

Canning season is on the horizon. I've done my green beans, and that's about it. Refrigerator pickles need to be done, and I've got enough hot peppers out of the garden that I'm ready to do a canner-load. Thankfully, this year, I don't have nearly as much that needs to be done. I still have a good supply of beets, pears, applesauce, jams, salsa verde, and relish from last year. I also still have a lot of carrots put up in the freezer, and will likely only do corn and some brocolli this year.

What I am really focusing on, are a couple of organization projects that I've wanted to do for quite some time. Namely: the linen closet and the coat closet. Do those two things EVER stay neat and tidy? I'm also working on implementing a better routine to my day. I've never had the luxury of having a house-cleaning service, nor have I had "mom's day out" or "regular childcare" at my disposal. As such, I've always had to juggle the demands of mothering and homemaking on my own. Every year, as the kids grow into a different season, I evaluate my routine. The way I can tackle the every-day-demands of managing a household look VERY different today, than they did when I had babies and ever-busy toddlers running a-muck! So, once again, as I am coming into fall, I am figuring out just how early I need to be up each morning, and how much/what should be accomplished before the house stirrs....... and how to fit all the things that I need to do in with the homeschooling, classes, errands and such.

I am also continuing with my running. I wasn't able to keep up my running to the point that I would have liked while being away all summer, so in some ways, I'm really getting back at it. I'm following my own 5 day training schedule, with 2 rest days, similar to what I did when training for the 10K. I plan to run my first half-marathon next spring, and so, I'll need to keep up my running through the winter in order to be prepared to start that training in early February.

Most of all, I am reminded that truly, the bulk of my home life is not filled with the "glamourous", or the "luxurious". Much of my days involve the mundane, the routine, the re-doing of what is constantly un-done. Dishes, laundry, sweeping, wiping down, picking up, straightening, reading to a child, engaging in conversation with my children,......... not a fancy life in the least bit, but when I do it well, and when I do it faithfully, I am reminded that a full life can really be found in the small things.

Shauna

Summer Hiatis

I realize it's been an eon since I've blogged...... what can I say, life sometimes just gets too busy to keep up with technology!

June and July will be hiatis months for me, as I will be away working at camp this summer. Weekends will be too precious with my family to spend much time on the old 'puter..... so unless inspiration strikes and won't let go, I'm giving myself a hiatus from blogging until August.

Have a great summer, and I'll blog at ya in a couple of months!

Shauna

The Art of Letter Writing

The other day, I received a strange thing in the mail....... a LETTER! I'm talking about a REAL letter - handwritten on pretty stationary, from a friend out of state that I hadn't heard from in awhile. Now - this friend has email, and a telephone. We've corresponded by email many times, and chatted on the phone for hours in the past.......but this time, she decided to send me an old-fashioned LETTER.

"Old-Fashioned Letter". Just the term seems strange. It wasn't that long ago, when I was a girl, and I had several "pen pals" with whom I regularly exchanged letters. It was always so much fun to open the mailbox and find a letter from one of them. One pen pal, in particular, had this really neat "pencil stationary" that she always used. Another just wrote on notebook paper and always folded it to fit into one of the "smaller" envelopes rather than the "standard letter size". I remember having several stationary pads with corresponding envelopes, and browsing at Hallmark to pick see what was new in the Stationary aisle.

You know - getting an email just doesn't hold the same excitement as receiving a real letter!

Her letter was just a update, along with some new things to share. It was just so much more personal to read her handwriting rather than the sterile type of my email inbox.

Today, I sat down to write her a letter in return. It had been a long time since I'd written a letter. I had to dig a little, but yes, I did manage to find a box of stationary with a pretty flower motif, and some lined matching envelopes. I ended up writing 4 pages - and boy, after the first page, was my hand TIRED! I realized that we really don't WRITE anymore, we type. I had to slow down, and take care to use pretty penmanship. It really didn't take me that long, maybe 15 minutes or so. Both my son and daughter said to me, "Mom, whatcha doing?" "I'm writing a letter"..... "To who?"...... and then "Why would you do that?" Oh boy. I think it's time to ressurect a few "old fashioned letter writing skills" in this household. Sending a card is one thing - writing a real letter is enitirely another.

I've always been of the opinion that gadgets and technology cost us far more than they give in return. Sure, I love my BOSCH, and I appreciate the convenience of my cell phone....... but we have lost the personal touches that real relationships bring. Even in correspondance, reading the letter from my friend, in her hand that I recognized as distinctly hers, brought closeness and relationship to the context.

Besides - am I the only one who dreads the BILLS and JUNKMAIL in the mailbox? Choose someone you care about, and write them a real letter!

Shauna

Reflections As I Countdown To My 1st 10K!

As of today, I have completed 15 weeks of training, with 1 week to go. My first 10K is one week from TODAY!

As I was climbing my big hill today at the start of my 5 mile run, I reflected on my training, and how far I've come. I actually started running about this time last year! On my first run, I made it less than half a mile, before I started walking. I was sucking air and felt like I wanted to puke. My heart was pounding out of my chest. It took weeks of walk/run combinations before I could run a mile without dying. Then, it took longer to make it two miles. Last summer, I remember reaching a plateau where I didn't think I would ever break through to 3 miles! Even when I did, I could only run 3 miles occasionally. Most days were my "typical 2 mile runs". By the end of summer, I was running 3 miles regularly, with an *occasional* 4 mile run in there. Then - winter hit, and I determined to keep up my running. With new running gear to keep me warm and dry, and the help of yak-tracks that literally made it possible to run in snow and ice, I battled the cold season! I forced myself to get 1-2 two-mile runs in per week. I ran in the snow, the bitter cold wind, and on days where I just plain thought I was CRAZY to be out running! I drew the line at single-digit wind chills though. So long as it was teens or above - I could hack it out. My goal was merely to maintain my fitness. I also added a weight lifting regimine to my weekly running, which helped me to build strength.

January hit, and I decided to set my sights on the 5th/3rd Riverbank Run in May. Nervously, I decided to train for the 10K. I knew I could do the 5K, and I wanted something to stretch myself and challenge myself - something lofty, but not too out of reach, to strive for. I started the training schedule at the first of February. My 2 days week of running immediately changed to 5 days! The schedule increased mileage every 2 weeks, so slowly, I built up more endurance and more speed.

The greatest enjoyment came from menally conquering running. Running is far more mental to me than physical. Yes, physically, running is hard work. I would never down play that fact, nor would I gloss over the hard work I've put into getting ready for this 10K...... but the harder challenge for me, is the mental discipline. When I'm doing my speedwork, or when I'm increasing my distance, or when I have to go out for an "easy run" and the wind is horrific - my *MIND* wants to call it quits..... but my body is really okay. Learning how to focus, how to play the mind game, how to mentally force my body to relax and to just keep going, to break the run and the tasks into small pieces and mentally tackle them one at a time - that's where I've gained the greatest accomplishment!

I liken it to November of 2007, when I realized that I was 30# overweight, and gaining slowly but surely every month. It wasn't until I overcame the mental obstacles, that I was able to tackle the physical task of losing weight permanently. I had to face the things that were causing me to become and to remain overweight. There was no more "denial". Pictures showed me that I didn't look like I thought I did. There was no more "hiding behind clothes". Losing weight is not a difficult physical thing to do - once you have conquered it MENTALLY. For me, once I determined mentally that I was DONE with being overweight, and I was no longer going to give into the eating habits that kept me trapped in this body, the changes were not hard at all. The weight fell off, and hasn't been back since!

I became a runner AFTER I lost all my weight. I think finally being thin again, gave me the drive to be healthy and strong. I used to be very phyically active. I was alway strong as a little girl, and as a teenager. I wasn't a "soft child", but one with strong bones and muscles. I was very active - out climbing the boys when it came to the highest trees, choosing to run and play kickball on recess even if it meant being all sweaty in school rather than standing around with the girls. I ran track in high school, and taught an aerobics class my Freshman year in college. Years of gym memberships followed, where I took step classes 4 days a week and kept up with my weights. Tom and I went to the gym regularly as newly marrieds - but when I became preganant with my first child, all that stopped. Other than 1 summer recently when I did alot of walking, I had a decade of little to no physical activity. 3 pregnancies in which I gained close to 50# a piece, did me in!

So - last year, after I had conquered my weight, I started running again. I feel like I have discovered the "old me" in many ways. I haven't been this strong and lean in decades!

Today, as I was running my 5 miles, at my comfortable pace - realizing that I'm hardly having to work at breathing, my heart isn't pounding out of my chest, my legs are strong and carrying me...... and I was RELAXED and enjoying the run, I recalled my first day - when I wondered if I'd EVER make it past the "I want to puke" stage! Here I am, 1 year later, a week away from running my first 10K! Now, I'm not competitive runner, and I'm sure I'll finish toward the back of the pack...... but that's okay! Running this 10K is a huge accomplishment that means the most to ME. It is symbolic of just how far I have come, and how good I feel, and how healthy I know that I am compared to where I was just a short time ago.

I want to encourage anyone out there, that you CAN set goals for better health. Maybe running isn't your thing, perhaps something else inspires you to set goals and work toward them. The important thing is to just START with something. Eliminate your snacks and second helpings..... get out and walk around the block. Just START. Work on your mental mindset. Conquer those things that emotionally keep you enslaved to turning to food and sedentary lifestyles that ruin our health and set us up for disease and a lifetime of prescription medications. Start small - and just be consistant. You'll be amazed too, where you'll be in a year's time!!

Shauna

My worst day of running EVER!

Okay - so I discovered today that not only am I NOT a morning runner, but I had better get my training in gear so that I can become one! My 10K is in 3 weeks - and it's in the morning!

I decided to do a 6 mile run first thing this morning, since I'll be racing 6 miles in just a few weeks...... It's a good thing I did! I would have been MISERABLE if I did as poorly on race day as I did today! This was my worst run EVER.

Normally, I run mid-afternoon or early evening, whichever my schedule will allow. I've been putting in some awesome weeks, and had peaked with an 18 mile week, 2 weeks ago. I've felt very strong, and my running has been becoming more "effortless". In addition, the last 6 mile run I did, I ran consistant 8 minute mile splits, and felt good when I was done.

Imagine my surprise, when this morning, my body completly shut down! My first mile, I had a 7.5 minute split. Then, all of the sudden - my muscles were HEAVY, I felt incredibly THIRSTY, and I just simply could not run! On my route there is about a 3/4 mile hill that I run up, before it plateaus out for another 2 miles or so...... well - today, I could NOT make it up the hill. I've run that hill many, many times - and felt good doing it.... but today - I had to WALK. The dreaded WALKING when you're supposed to be running! I'm telling you, I didn't even run/walk my routes when I was first starting my training! Today, after I've had weeks and weeks of solid training, and peaking at my longest distances..... I had to WALK.

As I was walking, and feeling completely defeated...... I started to analyze what was going wrong. A few things occured to me:
1) I'm not used to running first thing in the morning
2) I was probably dehydrated because normally, after my morning coffee, I am extremely good about getting in atleast 32 oz of water or more during the day to prepare for my afternoon run
3) I had not eaten! Oh, sure, I grabbed 1 banana when I got up - because I knew I needed something, but I didn't want to run with food in my stomach NOR had I eaten many carbs the night before. My evening meal was chicken and vegetables. I was beginning to understand the importance of "carbo-loading"

I did manage to complete the 6 miles - but I bet I walked nearly 2 of them total. When I reached the 3 mile mark, and had to turn around to come home, I didn't think I was going to make it. My mile splits were horrible, after that first "good one". They were between 9 and 10 minutes!

I came back - and reminded myself of what I read in my running book...... "Good runners look at their failures as learning experiences". I'm really glad that I learned this of myself, and my running NOW. I've got 3 weeks to do something about it!

I'm going to do some more research of how to plan for my eating and hydration for morning runs (I'm guessing it means that I have to get up EARLIER so that I have time for a light breakfast and to let it digest before going to run!), as well as considering some "carbo-loading" in my evening meals. Come to think of it - I do remember eating the giant plates of spaghetti before track meets! I'm also going to be shifting my running to the mornings. I need one more week of "peak training" before I taper off before the big day.

I sure hope I can get myself adjusted in time! And - I never want to have a day of running like I did this morning...... that was miserable!

Shauna